College Basketball Power Rankings: Week 7

1. Gonzaga (13-1) Last Week 2

The Bulldogs are an easy number one this week after Kansas lost to Villanova. Not only did Gonzaga pick up two wins in college basketball this week, but they did so convincingly. It started with their home game against North Carolina. Corey Kispert and Filip Petrusev combined for forty-six points as Gonzaga won 94-81. Gonzaga then hosted Eastern Washington, which they dominated 112-77. The Bulldogs host Detroit next, so they should enter the new year as the number one team as well.

2. Louisville (11-1) Last Week 3

Louisville moves up to the second spot after their impressive win over lowly Miami OH. Jordan Nwora was solid shooting the basketball and Dwayne Sutton dominated the glass. This should not come as a big surprise, as Miami OH is just a five hundred team. Next up for the Cardinals is a matchup against their rivals the Kentucky Wildcats. This will be Louisville’s toughest test to date, especially since they travel to Rupp Arena for this one.

3. Ohio State (11-1) Last Week 6

The Buckeyes really impressed us after their latest week of games. It started with their thirty-two point win against SE Missouri State at home. Kaleb Wesson had a double-double in that game and rode that momentum into their game with Kentucky. It was an overall team effort, as seven players had seven points or more in that game. Ohio State dominated the glass in that game, which led to fourteen more free throws. College basketball is alive and well at Ohio State and we are so excited to see it.

4. Duke Blue Devils (10-1) Last Week 4

Duke may have felt they had a trap game when they faced Wofford, but they won easily. The Blue Devils got a monster performance from Joey Baker off the bench and Vernon Carey Jr. dominated. Those two combined for 42 points as Duke won by twenty-nine against the three-point heavy Terriers. Duke faces Brown on Saturday at home, which should be another easy matchup for Coach K. Expect Duke to be 11-1 heading into their Boston College matchup Monday.

5. Kansas (9-2) Last Week 1

Kansas had not faced a tough opponent since their Dayton victory at the end of November. That was until Villanova came to town and snuck out a one-point victory against the Jayhawks. Devon Dotson had a chance to win it, but his nine-foot jumper rimmed out. With only one notable win, questions are starting to be raised about whether Kansas can beat good teams. They will have a chance to prove it in the new year. West Virginia and Baylor are two of their first three games of 2020.

6. Memphis (10-1) Last Week 8

The AP Poll may have Memphis ranked lower, but our college basketball rankings love the Tigers. Memphis had the devastating news that James Wiseman would not be returning to Memphis to play after his suspension. Despite no Wiseman, this is still a basketball team with a lot of talent. Memphis defeated lowly Jackson State by twenty-eight points, despite twenty-eight turnovers. Memphis still has plenty to be excited about.

7. Oregon (10-2) Last Week 9

Oregon is on the cusp of cracking out the top five, despite two losses this year. Oregon had two impressive victories this week to extend their winning streak to four games. They beat Montana by thirty-three and Texas Southern by six. Payton Pritchard had twenty-nine points to survive the upset and move up to seven on our list.

8. Baylor (9-1) Last Week 10

Another week, another Baylor Bears victory. Now on an eight-game winning streak, Baylor blew out TN Martin at home by twenty-eight points. Jared Butler and Davion Mitchell both had nineteen points in that game as TN Martin never threatened. Baylor has the week off, so unless a team loses they will likely hold their spot in our college rankings.

9. Auburn (11-0) Last Week 11

Auburn is still undefeated and finally in our top ten college basketball team rankings. While a weak schedule has helped, you cannot fault Auburn for it. They are beating teams, even if it was Lehigh by twenty-three points this week. Next up for them is 5-7 Lipscomb before SEC play starts in the new year. Tigers continue to roll and we hope they keep it up.

10. Villanova (8-2) Last Week 17

Tough not to move Villanova up the list quite a bit after their victory over Kansas. Knocking off the number one team is hard and Villanova was able to edge them out for the one-point win. Jermaine Samuels had a fifteen point outing to lead Jay Wright’s team to victory. No games for Villanova this week before welcoming Xavier to the Finneran Pavilion next Monday.

11. Maryland (10-2) Last Week 7

Maryland went from the top few teams two weeks ago to out of the top ten now. Now losing to Seton Hall at one hundred percent would be forgivable. What is not is losing to a banged-up Seton Hall team on the road. Maryland shot just twenty-seven percent and turned the ball over seventeen times. Maryland need to knock off Bryant on Sunday in order to prevent them from falling any further.

12. Michigan State (9-3) Last Week 14

A couple of wins pushes Michigan State back closer to the top ten in our college rankings. Michigan State travelled to Northwestern where they avoided near disaster. The Spartans were winning by ten points at halftime but held on for a five-point win. Tom Izzo’s guys rolled over Eastern Michigan by fifty-three on Saturday. Michigan State will host Western Michigan before the new year and we expect a win in that one.

13. Butler (11-1) Last Week 18

The Butler Bulldogs picked up a big win this week at home. They hosted the Purdue Boilermakers and sent them packing with a nine-point loss. Jordan Tucker gave them twelve points off the bench, which was huge for them. College basketball is better when Butler is good and they are once again this year.

14. Michigan (9-3) Last Week 16

Michigan ended its struggles with a blowout win over Presbyterian. Michigan’s forty-two point win was huge for the Wolverines confidence. Eli Brooks led with sixteen points as Michigan now shifts their focus to MA-Lowell on Sunday. They will need to keep building their confidence against them for sure. Three of their first five games in 2020 are against top twenty-five teams.

15. Virginia (9-2) Last Week 12

The Cavaliers had an up and down week, with both a win and loss on their resume. They hosted Stony Brook, who they held to just 44 points in the win. Four nights later however they gave up seventy points to a mid-tier SEC team in South Carolina. Virginia still cannot figure out their offence. They only have crossed sixty points three times in eleven contests. You need to score in college basketball to win and Virginia is not doing so.

16. Dayton (9-2) Last Week 13

The Flyers got shot out of the sky by Colorado this week, but just narrowly. Colorado is a strong team and Dayton took them down to the wire on the road. Jalen Crutcher had a solid nineteen point night, but it was not enough. Dayton will have the week off to figure things out before taking on North Florida next Monday.

17. San Diego State (12-0) Last Week 23

San Diego State picked up two more victories this week to remain undefeated on the season. San Diego Christian was a blowout, but what was surprising was that Utah was as well. Utah had just defeated Kentucky but got steamrolled by the Aztecs. A twenty-eight point road win against a quality opponent cannot be ignored. We hope San Diego State enters the new year undefeated still.

18. West Virginia (10-1) Last Week 19

We are showing the love to the West Virginia Mountaineers. Bob Huggins has his players competing and winning games at a high level right now. They visited Youngstown State this week taking home the eleven point win. Huggins and his guys will need to be ready for war on this coming Sunday. They visit Ohio State on Sunday to finish out 2019. A victory could be huge for their Overtime Heroics college ranking.

19. Penn State (10-2) Last Week 20

Another win for the Nittany Lions this week moves them up one spot. Winning by twenty-nine is impressive. But when your opponent has yet to taste victory you should beat them badly. Penn State faces lonely Cornell Sunday before their schedule gets much tougher. They get Iowa and Wisconsin two of the three games after, so they better be clicking on all cylinders

20. Liberty (14-0) Last Week 22

Liberty is another team that remained undefeated to start the season and moved up our college rankings. They were able to defeat Towson and Akron on a back-to-back this week by a combined twenty-five points. Their coach Ritchie McKay is doing a great job with this group and we hope it continues. Liberty will finally get a test when they take on LSU on the road this week. We are hoping for this team to remain undefeated and defeat the Tigers.

21. Kentucky (8-3) Last Week 5

Kentucky took a massive hit this week after failing to register a victory in two contests. We could forgive Kentucky a bit if they only lost to Ohio State, but the Utah loss is tough for us. Kentucky went into Utah and struggled shooting all night. They also allowed Utah to shoot fifty-six percent on the night, which is not good. Kentucky then lost to rival Ohio State by six on the road. While this loss is not as bad, back-to-back losses must be punished nonetheless. Hopefully, Coach Calipari can figure it out against Louisville on Saturday. If they do not, they may not be here this time next week.

22. Washington (9-2) Last Week 24

The PAC 12 regular season champs from a year ago picked up two victories this week. Both were at home against underperforming programs, but they won regardless. Both were by more than fifteen points and they looked comfortable all game in doing so. Washington ends their decade tonight against Hawaii on the road. The Huskies will hope to win or get dropped off the college rankings again.

23. Florida State (10-2) Last Week NR

Seminoles nation will be excited to finally see their team back on our college rankings. The AP poll has Florida State higher, but we need them to prove themselves before we are willing to do the same. Defeating South Florida by six at home is not exactly convincing. They open up 2020 against Louisville, Wake Forest, and Virginia. Two or three victories there would be huge for Leonard Hamilton’s team.

24. Arizona (10-3) Last Week 15

Arizona continues to slide after another loss this week. Not only did they lose their last two, but both were at home. St Johns is no slouch, but you cannot lose that basketball game. Nico Mannion shot just 6/15 in the game, while Zeke Nnaji had an impressive double-double. Arizona will have plenty of time to improve as they do not play again until January 4th.

25. Saint Mary’s (12-2) Last Week NR

Saint Mary’s returns to our college basketball rankings after their impressive week. The Gaels picked up two big wins, including a blowout win over Arizona State. They went on the road and won by forty thanks to Jordan Ford’s thirty-four points. They followed that up with a five-point win at home over Nevada. Ford had twenty-one in that game as well. Congrats Saint Mary’s, now do not disappoint against Seattle this week.

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