What a week of college basketball. Chris Beard’s unwelcoming return to Lubbock. Duke and Kansas demolishing rivals. UCLA losing twice in one week. Six losses by Top 13 teams. This week had everything you can ask for as a fan and we still have another month of regular season basketball. Sit back and enjoy the ride as our power rankings endure a major shake-up heading into February.
1. Auburn (22-1)
It sure wasn’t pretty, but the Tigers remained undefeated this week despite a major scare from the measly Georgia Bulldogs. There’s been more surviving than thriving since the Tigers reached No.1 in the AP Poll but the Tigers pulled out the victory and belong at the top spot until someone knocks them off.
2. Gonzaga (19-2)
This Gonzaga team is kinda good, huh? BYU is no pushover, especially on their home floor, and the Zags made them look like a D3 school that built their team with 12 walk-ons. Nobody in their right mind wants to play this team and they are almost a lock to return to the Final Four no matter who tries to stop them.
3. Purdue (19-3)
Jaden Ivey is playing like the best player in the country and is working his way into the conversation for the top overall pick in the draft. The Boilermakers will host Illinois in what could ultimately decide the Big Ten Championship and it should be a thriller on Tuesday.
4. Kentucky (19-4)
If Daimion Collins is going to emerge in the way he did against Alabama, this team is going to the Final Four. They have the depth and talent to go that far anyway, but if there’s any questions about this team, it is depth in the frontcourt. You can make the argument that the Cats would’ve beat Auburn on the road if they stayed healthy, and they’ve only played better since that fourth loss of the season. Nobody in the country has had a more impressive seven-day stretch than the one these Wildcats just had.
5. Houston (20-2)
I’m not sure how he’s doing it, but Kelvin Sampson continues to obliterate his competition without two sensational players lost for the season. They are now at 12 straight wins and could easily go into the NCAA Tournament on the longest winning streak in the nation.
6. Arizona (19-2)
This was a needed bounce back week for the Wildcats who learned they can win with fast-paced offense and grind-it-out physical basketball against one of the most physical teams in the country and the USC Trojans.
7. Duke (19-3)
It’s rare to see an annihilation like the one we saw in Chapel Hill on Saturday in such a big rivalry, especially when it comes on your opponent’s home floor. This is a game Coach K will never forget and he gave the Tar Heels one final loss in his last appearance at the Dean Dome as an opposing head coach.
8. Illinois (17-5)
These Fighting Illini are one of the most underrated teams in the country. At full strength they’ve looked nearly unbeatable, with the one exception coming against Purdue, who is an extremely bad matchup for Brad Underwood’s squad. They’ll get another crack at them on Tuesday, which would give them a ton of breathing room at the top of the Big Ten standings.
9. Kansas (19-3)
Everything that Kentucky did at Allen Fieldhouse last Saturday, Kansas did right back to Baylor in a 24-point throttling over the defending national champions. The Jayhawks jumped out to a huge early lead, and never looked back proving their ceiling is as high as anyone in the country and letting us all forget how pathetic they looked just one week ago.
10. Baylor (19-4)
There isn’t a team that needs to get healthy more than Scott Drew and the Bears. They haven’t had a full roster in a month and they were 15-0 at the time. Since, they are 4-4 and look nothing like the title contenders they were a month ago. All these guys need is to get back to full strength and hot at the right time and they’ll be able to turn their season around.
11. UCLA (16-4)
Every big win for the Bruins has come on their own home floor so you’ll see my belief in them is a lot lower than many others in the industry. The Bruins are good, but there are a lot of great teams that simply boast a far more impressive resume and more satisfying eye test than the 11-seed from a season ago. A loss to previously 6-13 Arizona State also doesn’t help the cause.
12. Texas Tech (18-5)
The Red Raiders are a major threat to take the Big 12 crown from either Baylor or Kansas this season. Mark Adams and the Lubbock faithful enjoyed Chris Beard’s return by sending the Longhorns home with an impressive 13-point win. That game showed everything that is so beautiful about college athletics, and college basketball specifically, with one of the most electric atmospheres I’ve ever seen in all of sports.
13. Providence (20-2)
Ed Cooley and the Friars are having a historic season as two more wins helped them improve to 20-2 on the season. That’s seven in row and 15 of the last 16 going in their favor. A two-game cushion in the loss column is monumental as the Friars are looking to hold on to their first regular season Big East title in school history.
14. Marquette (16-7)
Marquette is another scorching hot team climbing the Big East standings with 8 wins in the last 9 games, with the only loss coming to the Friars. Shaka Smart completed a season sweep of the Villanova Wildcats with a start to finish domination of the Cats on Wednesday.
15. Ohio State (14-5)
The Iowa game was the 5th cancellation of the season and it’s a shame because these Buckeyes are really fun to watch. They have depth and experience as impressive as anyone and a complete superstar in EJ Liddell.
16. Wisconsin (18-4)
Johnny Davis was held to a season-low 4 points against Penn State, but the Badgers were still able to find a way to win. If the role players can continue to step up and shine, the ceiling will only continue to rise in Madison for Greg Gard and his Badgers.
Next 5: Villanova, Michigan State, USC, Murray State, Connecticut
Players of the Week:
Jaden Ivey, PG/SG, #4 Purdue Boilermakers
An 0-6 performance from beyond the arc typically signals a poor performance by a player, but Ivey was somehow the star of the show despite his perimeter struggles. His playmaking skills were on full display with seven assists, but he was also effective finishing around the rim with flashy dunks and flexible layups to maneuver around the big men clogging the paint. Another sensational week for the sophomore has him in the discussion for the top prospect in the draft and he is undoubtedly the best guard by a large margin.
Chet Holmgren, PF/C, #2 Gonzaga Bulldogs
Are seven-footers supposed to shoot 64% from the 3-point line? Because that’s exactly what Gonzaga’s superstar freshman is doing in seven conference games. BYU never stood a chance after the first five minutes against the Zags and Holmgren was the biggest reason why. He finished with 20 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 blocks as he put together the best all-around performance of his young career.
AJ Griffin, SF, #9 Duke Blue Devils
Speaking of never standing a chance, North Carolina was out for the count for the entire 40 minutes against Duke. Griffin took advantage of less athletic defenders all night to the tune of 27 points with incredible efficiency at 65% from the field. The 6’6 freshman has gone from unsettled bench player to superstar starter in a matter of a month and he’s gone from potential 2023 first-rounder to 2022 top-10 pick in the same time frame.
Kofi Cockburn, C, #18 Illinois Fighting Illini
The only team capable of slowing down Cockburn this season will have to find a way to do it again on Tuesday as the Illini get a shot at revenge against the fourth-ranked Boilermakers. The Illini’s mammoth junior destroyed a weak Wisconsin frontcourt with 37 points and 12 rebounds and has his team playing better than they ever have the past two seasons.
Hunter Maldonado and Graham Ike, Wyoming Cowboys
It was a huge week for the Cowboys who needed a pair of huge performances to knock off Colorado State and Boise State in a loaded and underrated Mountain West Conference. It started on Monday night when Maldonado poured in 35 points and 7 assists for his second consecutive 30-point game. Ike took the reins and tamed the Broncos on Thursday with a 33-point double-double to end the fourth-longest winning streak of the season at 14 games.
Play of the Week:
While the Tigers were still having fun against Georgia with a big lead, Devan Cambridge delivered a powerful one-handed slam that was set up perfectly off the backboard by Wendell Green. Cambridge is no stranger to highlight dunks, so check out his latest below!
