The College Basketball Power 32 Poll: Week One In The Books

In what will become a Monday tradition here on Busting Brackets, our staff has gotten together to rank the best 32 teams in college basketball as we see it right now.

Why 32? Well, we’re not entirely sure. But we figured instead of just 25, we’d throw seven more teams into the mix and let them enjoy the ranking.

You could also look it at as there are 32 teams remaining in the second…..err, third round of the NCAA Tournament.

But nonetheless, the number isn’t as important as the ranking itself. There weren’t a whole lot of upsets in week one in college basketball, however, those teams that were upset (we’re looking at you UCLA and Vanderbilt), took quite the fall in our rankings. Also, please note that we kept ties in our voting as they were, which is why you might see the same number twice.

So without any further ado, our first edition of the College Basketball Power 32:

• 1. North Carolina – A solid 12-point win over Michigan State on the USS Carl Vinson and coasting to a victory at UNC Asheville, did nothing to dissuade us from believing in the Heels.
• 2. Kentucky – The Wildcats had no trouble with Marist, but a more formidable opponent in Kansas comes on Tuesday night at MSG.
• 3. Ohio State – Dominated Wright State, but they get a real test versus Florida on Tuesday.
• 4. Connecticut – Jeremy Lamb’s 30-point outburst against Columbia was obviously a promising sign in the post-Kemba Walker era.
• 5. Syracuse – The very deep Orange predictably had no trouble with Fordham. It will be a few weeks before Boeheim’s crew gets tested.
• 6. Duke – Belmont gave them quite the scare, but their focus now turns to Coach K’s 903rd win when they take on Michigan State.
• 7. Pittsburgh – Despite a bit of a struggle against Rider on Sunday, it looks like Jamie Dixon has plenty to work with this year.
• 8. Louisville – The Cardinals are 2-0, however, losing Mike Marra for the season hurts their depth in the backcourt.
• 9. Florida – The Gator guards showed Jackson State no mercy in a 40-point beating. It will be a bit tougher against the Buckeyes tomorrow.
• 10. Xavier – Only one game in the books for the Musketeers, so not much else to say here.
• 10. Memphis – The Tigers open with Belmont on Tuesday, and you can bet they know the challenge that awaits them with Rick Byrd’s club.
• 12. Arizona – Sean Miller’s bunch rattled off three wins in the opening week, but they still have a long way to go chemistry-wise.
• 13. Baylor – No problems in their first two tune-up contests.
• 14. Kansas – They scored a huge win over Towson. Unfortunately for them, Kentucky is no Towson.
• 15. Vanderbilt – The loss of senior starting center Festus Ezeli for at least another month and change, proved to be substantial, as Cleveland State exposed on Sunday.
• 15. Wisconsin – The Badgers will likely take care of business until their late November date at North Carolina.
• 17. California – The Golden Bears look even better after destroying what should be a decent George Washington team, over the weekend.
• 18. Michigan – Only allowed 33 points in their opener against Ferris State. Should add two more wins this week (Towson and Western Illinois).
• 19. Alabama – Anthony Grant’s squad should coast at least until an interesting match-up with Maryland on Thursday.
• 20. Marquette – Racked up a whopping 26 assists in a 91-37 beatdown of Mount St. Mary’s on Friday.
• 21. Gonzaga – The Bulldogs struggled with Eastern Washington, but this talented team will have plenty of opportunities to prove themselves.
• 21. Cincinnati – The Bearcats started off their annual cupcake schedule with flying colors versus Alabama State.
• 23. Michigan State – Tom Izzo & co. looked overmatched in their first game. But hey, they were playing the best team in the country. They get another good one in Duke on Tuesday.
• 23. Florida State – The Seminoles have an interesting match-up with Central Florida today.
• 25. Villanova – Nova got off to a good start last week, but won’t see any real competition until December.
• 26. Texas A&M – Khris Middleton will be out a few weeks, but Billy Kennedy is back on the bench and they’re 2-0.
• 27. Temple – The Owls start their season against in-state smart guys Pennsylvania tonight.
• 28. Belmont – We all saw what Belmont was capable of when they took Duke to the wire. The Bruins have a great chance to upset Memphis.
• 28. Washington – Very balanced scoring in their season-opening win against Florida Atlantic.
• 30. Missouri – A solid first win against SEMO, and won’t face much of a challenge until they get the Fighting Irish next week.
• 31. UCLA – An opening night loss to neighboring Loyola Marymount got the head shaking started early this year for Ben Howland and the gang.
• 32. Cleveland State – Went into Memorial Gym and upset the seventh-ranked Commodores in very convincing fashion.

Well there you have it. What are your thoughts on this week’s rankings?

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