NCAA Basketball Power Rankings: Indiana, Marquette quietly rising

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - DECEMBER 08: Joey Hauser #22 and Sam Hauser #10 of the Marquette Golden Eagles celebrate after beating the Wisconsin Badgers 74-69 in overtime at the Fiserv Forum on December 08, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

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CINCINNATI, OH – DECEMBER 08: Cincinnati Bearcats fans get ready. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

25. Cincinnati Bearcats

Last Week: Unranked

One of the more quietly successful teams in the nation so far this season, Cincinnati has seemingly crept up on people as a 9-1 team. After losing a ton of talent this offseason, many expected the Bearcats to take a big step back this season. Yet, through 10 games, head coach Mick Cronin has his team playing at a top-25 level as one of the favorites to win the AAC for yet another season.

And while the Bearcats’ schedule (257th) has not particularly chalelnging, they do boast wins over Ole Miss, UNLV, and Xavier. Also, Cincy’s only loss to this point came to Ohio State, another ranked team, in the season-opener. Coach Cronin and Co. are slowly starting to build momentum and they have a couple of chances to prove how successful they can be with Mississippi State and UCLA up next on the schedule.

As per usual, Cincinnati is a defensively-oriented team. They are currently allowing opponents to score just 56.4 points per game (4th nationally) and rank 18th in adjusted defensive efficiency. On the offensive end, Jarron Cumberland (15.3 points) has emerged as the go-to scorer on this balanced roster.

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