Busting Brackets Power 32 Poll: Syracuse Keeps Rolling
By Jamal Murphy
Another week, another edition of the Power 32 Poll. And once again, there is no surprise at the top, as Syracuse is still undefeated.
But what about everyone else? Let’s get right to this week’s rankings!
1. Syracuse (20-0) – Still perfect, but two interesting road tests coming up against Notre Dame and Cincinnati.
2. Kentucky (18-1) – Struggled a little at Tennessee but bounced back with a dominant win against Arkansas. They host Alabama on Saturday.
3. Baylor (17-1) – Lost their first game of the season at Kansas and things won’t get any easier as they host Missouri this weekend.
4. Ohio State (16-3) – Got revenge on the Hoosiers and should have no trouble in their next two games (Nebraska and Penn State).
5. Missouri (17-1) – Could switch spots with Baylor with a win at the Ferrell Center on Saturday.
6. Duke (15-2) – Everyone is looking forward to the showdown with Florida State this weekend, especially considering what the Seminoles did to North Carolina.
7. Kansas (15-3) – At the top of the Big 12 right now with a trip to Texas on the horizon.
8. UNLV (16-3) – Suffered a tough loss at San Diego State, and gets TCU tonight for a meeting with New Mexico.
9. North Carolina (15-3) – How do the Tar Heels respond after the beatdown at Florida State? We’ll know tomorrow night when they visit Virginia Tech.
10. Georgetown (15-3) – Only one game this week, but it comes against a pesky Rutgers team.
11. Michigan State (15-4) – The Spartans need to turn things around after losing two straight.
12. UConn (14-3) – The Huskies face a tough task tonight as they host Cincinnati.
13. Indiana (15-3) – Finally get a chance to feed on the bottom tier of the Big Ten after a tough schedule to start.
14. Creighton (16-2) – Clearly the class of the Missouri Valley along with Wichita State.
15. Murray St (18-0) – Although they are down this year, Morehead State could give them quite the test tonight.
16. Michigan (15-4) – Huge win against the rival Spartans, and now go out of conference with a visit to Arkansas.
17. Miss St (15-3) – Gets rival Ole Miss before a big road test at Vanderbilt on Saturday.
18. Marquette (15-4) – Cruising right along, with a very favorable schedule coming up in the next few weeks.
19. Illinois (15-3) – The current leaders of the Big Ten have two winnable games against Penn State and Wisconsin this week.
20. Florida (14-4) – Host LSU on Saturday as they try and stay in the thick of things at the top of the SEC.
21. San Diego St (15-2) – Took down UNLV, but get a very difficult road test at New Mexico tonight.
22. Wichita St (15-3) – The Shockers visit Northern Iowa tonight in what should be an interesting matchup.
23. Wisconsin (14-5) – Really need to find their groove against Northwestern before visiting Illinois.
24. Alabama (13-4) – A Thursday/Saturday slate in which they host Vandy and visit Kentucky is daunting.
25. Louisville (14-5) – The loss of Raheem Buckels is not good for a team that was already struggling.
26. Kansas St (12-4) – Followed up a near upset of Baylor with a bad loss at Oklahoma.
27. Seton Hall (15-3) – Were rolling right along before a loss at South Florida.
28. Virginia (14-2) – Can’t afford a letdown at Georgia Tech after almost knocking off Duke last week.
29. Purdue (14-5) – Four of their next five come against current Top 20 teams (Michigan State, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio State).
30. St Mary’s (17-2) – Road visits to Loyola Marymount and BYU next week could be tough.
31. Gonzaga (14-3) – Squeaked one out against LMU after the blowout loss at Saint Mary’s.
32. New Mexico (15-2) – Winners of 13 straight, they get their two biggest challenges of the year starting tonight with San Diego State, and Saturday at UNLV.
What are your thoughts on this week’s rankings?