Man, what a week of college basketball! We have teams that are as hot as they can be, while some teams are starting to slip out of the top 25. We had upsets and close games. I can’t wait for this upcoming week, which is loaded with more great matchups! Anyways, here are my rankings going into Monday’s games:
- Auburn (18-1) (PREV: 1)
Auburn is feeling it right now. They’re by far the #1 team in the country, especially after beating Kentucky on Saturday. The fact that people still consider Gonzaga the top team is beyond me, especially with the tough part of their schedule over. Auburn will face against one current SEC team in Missouri, while they host a future SEC opponent on Saturday in Oklahoma.
- Gonzaga (15-2) (PREV: 2)
Gonzaga is still an incredibly talented team with a great out-of-conference schedule. But, now as they’re in their West Coast Conference schedule, nothing will impress me until they make the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga has Loyola Marymount and Portland this week. That is definitely scary.
- Arizona (16-1) (PREV: 4)
Arizona is one of my favorite teams to watch right now. With Arizona, UCLA, and USC all ranked, it makes the Pac-12 a must-watch conference. The toughest part of their schedule is right in front of them, as they have to take on UCLA twice and USC once in the next four games. That will be a test to prove that Arizona belongs where they are in my ranking.
- Baylor (17-2) (PREV: 5)
After Baylor lost twice at home (in a row), the Bears picked up two good wins against West Virginia and Oklahoma. Kansas State should be easy, even though the Wildcats nearly beat Kansas, but Alabama is a good test on the road to see if they’re worth a top 5 spot. This is a week for teams to prove themselves.
- Purdue (16-3) (PREV: 3)
Purdue had two close games since last Monday, a double-overtime road win over Illinois, and a road loss to rival Indiana. However, Purdue is still loaded and still good enough to be the best team in the Big Ten. They have two big tests against Iowa and Ohio State coming up.
- Kansas (16-2) (PREV: 6)
Kansas is on a four-game winning streak, but that nearly didn’t happen as they needed a comeback against Kansas State to win. The Jayhawks have an extremely tough schedule this week, hosting both Texas Tech and Kentucky. Win both of those, and they’ll find themselves well in the top 5.
- UCLA (13-2) (PREV: 8)
After the Bruins lost in overtime to Oregon, they have won three straight, with momentum coming into a huge Tuesday battle against Arizona. Should they win that game, it will be possibly their biggest win of the season. With fans now back in Pauley Pavilion, that late-night battle is a must-watch.
- Michigan State (15-3) (PREV: 13)
After losing to Northwestern in East Lansing, the Spartans had nearly a week to prepare for their visit to Madison to take on Wisconsin. Michigan State dominated most of the game and came out with their biggest road win of the season, as well as first place in the Big Ten. The Spartans have two big games coming up this week, with a road battle against Illinois and a home rivalry game against Michigan. Something tells me that the win over Wisconsin is the start of a big winning streak for Michigan State.
- Houston (17-2) (PREV: 12)
Houston is in the weak American Athletic Conference, which seemed to get weaker as Penny Hardaway kept losing games. The Cougars are a great team and I’m happy to see Josh Carlton thrive. Their only game this week is Saturday on the road against UCF, which should be a double-digit victory.
- Wisconsin (15-3) (PREV: 7)
Wisconsin was undefeated in the Big Ten up until their loss to Michigan State at home, bringing the Badgers down three spots. However, with Johnny Davis leading the way, I have faith that Wisconsin will bounce back from that loss. Their schedule this week isn’t very competitive, however. They head to Lincoln to play the bottom feeder in Nebraska, then host Minnesota. Yawn.
- Duke (14-3) (PREV: 11)
Duke lost to Florida State last week, making Florida teams seem like their kryptonite. The one thing I’m concerned about for the Blue Devils is the status of Trevor Keels, one of their best players. He got hurt in the loss against Florida State. Coach K’s team bounced back with a blowout win at home against Syracuse. Duke’s schedule isn’t too hard as the ACC seems weak.
- Kentucky (15-4) (PREV: 9)
Kentucky has been phenomenal this season and looked that way against #2 Auburn up until TyTy Washington got hurt. Auburn took advantage of that and won in the second half. With a blue-blood Saturday battle on the road against Kansas, it becomes possibly the biggest game of the season for the Wildcats, as they want to keep their momentum in big games. Oscar Tshiebwe has been the answer for Kentucky. The question we’re all asking is: when will TyTy Washington come back? John Calipari’s guard depth gets smaller without his star guard healthy.
- Villanova (14-5) (PREV: 10)
Villanova let Georgetown into the game for quite a while, which wasn’t a good look for the Wildcats. Georgetown is a rival, but they have been awful this year. Losing to the red-hot Marquette Golden Eagles doesn’t help their resume. They have two games this week that should be easier than Marquette, hosting both St. John’s and DePaul. However, I would not count the Red Storm out, with Julian Champagnie being one of the best scorers in the Big East, along with more depth than DePaul offers.
- Texas Tech (15-4) (PREV: 15)
Texas Tech surprised me this year, considering they had head coach Chris Beard and star guard Mac McClung leave. The Red Raiders are competing in a year where every Big 12 team has a winning record. That conference is unbelievable this year. With wins over Iowa State and West Virginia, they deserve to move up a spot. Kansas tonight is a tough challenge, so Texas Tech must be ready.
- USC (16-2) (PREV: 18)
USC has surprised me as well, with Evan Mobley departing after last season. However, his brother, Isaiah Mobley, has turned out to be the star the Trojans needed. After losing to Oregon, USC edged Colorado and beat Utah. Not too convincing, and facing teams in the bottom half of the conference this week (besides Stanford) doesn’t help them.
- Providence (16-2) (PREV: 19)
I know that KenPom is an algorithm, but please explain how the Providence Friars are the luckiest team in the country. They have proven over and over again that they are well worthy of a top 25 spot. Playing three bottom Big East teams stinks, but it shows the Friars have resilience. I’ve loved how AJ Reeves has contributed and hope that he comes back from his finger injury soon. Also, they need to get that UConn at Providence game rescheduled. I’m positive that will be one of the best games Providence is involved in.
- Ohio State (12-4) (PREV: 20)
Ohio State routed IUPUI 83-37, after beating Penn State by a much closer margin. Seriously, we’re still playing buy games well into January? Ridiculous. That doesn’t help the Buckeyes at all. Sunday’s game against Purdue is quite important, however. Make sure to tune in for that one, just before the AFC Championship.
- Tennessee (13-5) (PREV: 22)
Tennessee met my expectations as they were able to beat LSU at home. However, I did not expect them to beat the Tigers by 14. What a great win for the Volunteers! Florida and Texas are next up for Kennedy Chandler and Co., so they better be ready to battle in two big games this week.
- UConn (13-4) (PREV: 23)
UConn moves ahead of many other teams because they were able to pick up wins while the others weren’t. Playing Butler back-to-back Tuesday and Thursday made for a challenge, despite Butler’s lack of success this season. UConn’s playing really well right now, but facing Georgetown and DePaul will lack the excitement most Big East games have. Give Adama Sanogo the Kareem Award right now.
- Xavier (14-4) (PREV: 21)
Xavier isn’t too hot right now, but they are not as cold as the team ranked #21 right now. I’ll get to them in a minute. With two big games against Providence and Creighton coming up, it’s a test to see if Xavier can get back into the groove of things.
- LSU (15-4) (PREV: 14)
LSU is ice cold. Losing three straight games doesn’t help them, especially when they should have been able to beat Arkansas in Baton Rouge. I get the other two because LSU was going up against two very good teams on the road. Get two convincing wins over Texas A&M and TCU: that’s all I ask of you.
- Illinois (13-5) (PREV: 17)
Illinois is one of the two teams that dropped two straight games recently. Losing to Purdue at home in double overtime is what made them stay out of the last spot in the rankings. At least Andre Curbelo is playing much better, but the absence of Kofi Cockburn due to a concussion could become a serious problem for the Fighting Illini if they can’t get him back sooner. They have a big game this week against Michigan State, then visit their in-state rival Northwestern on Saturday.
- Iowa State (14-5) (PREV: 16)
Iowa State hasn’t been impressive in their last two games, losing to Texas Tech and TCU. Not only that, but they were both double-digit losses. Not good if you’re the Cyclones. Iowa State needs to bounce back against Oklahoma State if they want to see them in my rankings next week. Otherwise, it’s bye-bye Iowa State, and hello Wake Forest in my top 25 next week.
- Florida State (13-5) (PREV: 24)
Florida State took over first place in the ACC, as they were able to beat Miami (FL). Florida State is red hot right now, winning six straight games. To be fair, one came against North Florida, which by the way, why are we still playing buy games in January? Because of how weak the ACC is outside of Duke, Florida State needs to prove they belong with convincing wins over Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech this week.
- Marquette (14-6) (PREV: N/A)
Marquette is red hot right now as well! They have won six straight, all against Big East opponents. This includes a road win against Villanova, and home wins over Providence and Xavier. Watch out, because Shaka Smart and the Golden Eagles are coming.
Calhoun's Corner 