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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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 21: Head coach Hurley of the Arizona State Sun Devils looks. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images) /

21. Arizona State Sun Devils

Last Week: No. 16

Arizona State put together a fairly strong performance against Nevada during this past week before eventually falling down the stretch. But, a neutral-site loss to a top-10 team in the nation should not (and does not, in this case) drop a team very far. In this case, the Sun Devils fall five spots but mainly because of the play of the next teams in these rankings. Oh, and I may have been a bit too high on Arizona State last week.

But following the loss to Nevada, the schedule does not get any easier during this coming week. Georgia (A), Vanderbilt (A), and Kansas (H) are up next on the Arizona State schedule and finishing 2-1 would be huge for the team moving forward. These matchups provide opportunities for the team to prove just how successful they can be this year.

The key for the team moving forward will be speeding up opponents. Arizona State plays at a fairly quick pace and this allows the team to excel on both ends of the floor. The Sun Devils are one of the best rebounding teams in the nation and they can get out and run in transition in a hurry. They have only played two games (out of eight) so far this year with less than 70 possessions.

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