1. Kansas Jayhawks
Last Week: No. 2
Kansas has not been, in my opinion, extremely impressive thus far this season but the team just continues to rack up big wins. While playing one of the most difficult schedules in the nation (14th by KenPom), the Jayhawks are still undefeated at 8-0 and it is hard to imagine anyone else truly worthy of the top spot because of this. Sure, the team has not dominated as many predicted before the season but they do hold wins over top-25 teams in Michigan State, Marquette, and Tennessee, all on neutral courts.
And while Kansas is yet to play a single true road game, they have tested themselves at neutral-site locations. Their strong collection of wins should not go overlooked and they are led by the upperclassmen duo of Dedric Lawson (19.1 points, 10.6 rebounds) and Lagerald Vick (16.3 points). While the injury to Udoka Azubuike is surely limiting the ceiling of this team, his absence should improve the frontcourt depth once he does return.
Looking ahead, Kansas has two extremely tough tests coming up. For starters, the defending national champions, the Villanova Wildcats, come to Allen Fieldhouse in what will be an extremely highly-touted matchup. Then, soon thereafter, the Jayhawks will take on Arizona State in their first true road game of the year. Both of these teams are currently ranked in the AP top-25 and should be tough tests for Kansas.
This past week saw many shifts in the top-25+ power rankings for NCAA basketball and five new teams joined the list. Will there be even more new additions next week or will the rankings begin to stabilize now that we are a full month into the season?