It was a nasty week, not only for the weather but for ranked college basketball teams, as well. Eight of the top nine teams in last week’s Power 16 – all but North Carolina – suffered a loss.
That bit of on-court upheaval resulted in North Carolina switching places with former No. 1 Oklahoma this week.
And that’s fine. After all, the Tar Heels have probably – the key word being probably – have been playing better than anyone else for a month or so.
The rankings figure to get a bit of a shaking up this week, too, with matchups such as No. 11
Kansas at Iowa State (Monday); No. 5 Xavier at No. 6 Providence (Tuesday); No. 4 Texas A&M at Arkansas (Wednesday); No. 7 Iowa at No. 9 Maryland (Thursday); and No. 14 Virginia at No.
15 Louisville, Iowa State at No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 2 Oklahoma at LSU and No. 16 Kentucky at No. 11 Kentucky (Sunday).
This week’s updated Power 16:
Rank (Last week’s rank) | Record | Comment |
1. North Carolina (2) | 18-2 | The Tar Heels, with an 11-game winning streak, have just a Saturday home game vs. Boston College this week. |
2. Oklahoma (1) | 16-2 | The Sooners bounced back nicely from the loss in Ames by winning in Waco. |
3. Villanova (3) | 17-3 | The home-court advantage wasn’t much for the Wildcats against Providence Sunday. |
4. Texas A&M (10) | 17-2 | Billy Kennedy should be on any short list of candidates for National Coach of the Year. |
5. Xavier (4) | 17-2 | Batting .500 during the week, especially in the Big East, isn’t always a bad thing for highly ranked teams. |
6. Providence (11) | 17-3 | In so many ways – the run for a Big East title, Big East tournament and NCAA tournament seeding – that win at Villanova was huge for the Friars. |
7. Iowa (14) | 16-3 | The Hawkeyes’ three losses were by a total of 12 points. |
8. Michigan St. (9) | 17-4 | The Spartans picked a perfect time to snap a three-game losing streak. |
9. Maryland (7) | 17-3 | Fortunately for the Terps, there are no more games scheduled in Michigan this season. |
10. West Virginia (8) | 16-3 | The Mountaineers recovered from a home loss in time to edge Texas Tech in Lubbock. |
11. Kansas (6) | 16-3 | The Jayhawks’ past two road games have ended in 11- (West Virginia) and 19-point (Oklahoma State losses), which might not bode well for what happens in Ames Monday night. |
12. SMU (5) | 18-1 | There was a downside to being in Philadelphia beyond the snow. |
13. Indiana (NR) | 17-3 | I haven’t seen a lot written of late about Tom Crean’s job status. |
14. Virginia (NR) | 15-4 | Consecutive home wins over Clemson and Syracuse eased memories – for a bit, at least – of the three-game road ACC losing streak the Cavaliers have hanging over their heads for now. |
15. Louisville (NR) | 16-3 | All things considered, this is one of Rick Pitino’s best coaching jobs during a career in which few have coached as well. |
16. Kentucky (NR) | 15-4 | All things considered, it was the best on-court week in a while for the Wildcats. |
ON THE CUSP: Arizona 16-4, Arkansas-Little Rock 17-2, Baylor 15-4, Cal 14-6, Clemson 12-7, Dayton 16-3, Duke 15-5, Iowa State 15-4, Miami-Fla. 15-3, Oregon 16-4, Pittsburgh 16-3, Purdue 17-4, Saint Mary’s 17-2, San Diego State 14-6, South Carolina 17-2 and Wichita State 14-5.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK (Jan. 18-24)
*Devin Coleman (Temple): The senior guard came off the bench to hit all eight shots – seven of those from behind the arc – to score 23 points as the Owls handed SMU its first loss of the season Sunday in Philadelphia.
*Yogi Ferrell (Indiana): The senior point guard averaged 16.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 7.5 assists in wins over Northwestern and Illinois as the Hoosiers improved to 7-zip in the Big Ten.
*Brice Johnson (North Carolina): The 6-9 senior averaged 23.0 points, 14.0 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 3.0 steals in ACC wins over Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
*Trey Kell (San Diego State): The 6-4 sophomore averaged 21.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals as the Aztecs knocked off Fresno State and Utah State to improve to 7-0 in the MWC.
*Jakob Poeltl (Utah): The 7-foot sophomore picked up Pac 12 POW honors for the third time after averaging 21.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in road victories against Washington State and Washington.
Follow Frank on twitter @FrankieBur. Also make sure to follow his website at www.burlisononbasketball.com. College coaching staffs interested in Burlison’s scouting service should contact him at [email protected].
Uhh Big East much….Iowa
Uhh Big East much….Iowa should be ahead of all three of those teams and that is as a Villanova fan.
Uhh Big East much….Iowa
Uhh Big East much….Iowa should be ahead of all three of those teams and that is as a Villanova fan.