After a somewhat quiet week in NCAA basketball, there were still several shifts in the weekly power rankings. Where does each team stand?
Due to final exams for many student-athletes around the nation, this past week was relatively quiet in NCAA basketball. With that said, the weekend still featured several superb games to help shake up my top-25+ power rankings. As per usual, these rankings reflect the play of each team to date and analyze how the team might play in the coming weeks based on their performances on both ends of the floor.
It is, though, still very early in the season and there are bound to be teams that drop out of these rankings and fall near the NCAA Tournament bubble as the year progresses. We saw both Oklahoma and Arizona State suffer dropoffs a year ago so a Big Dance bid is far from a lock for the teams currently in the top-25. With that said, though, these rankings give a look at some of the teams that have been the most impressive so far this year.
Now, without any further introduction, here is a look at 10 of the teams sitting just on the outside of the top-25+ this time around:
St. John’s Red Storm: As one of the only undefeated teams remaining in the nation, St. John’s definitely belongs in consideration for these rankings. Their weak strength of schedule, though, continues to keep them out. The Red Storm will not crack the top-25 until Big East play begins.
Kentucky Wildcats: Has Kentucky really done anything to deserve being ranked? The ‘Cats best win to date is over Utah at home and they already have two losses. They have played the 304th toughest schedule in the nation per KenPom. Still extremely talented but they don’t belong in the rankings at the moment, in my opinion.
Furman Paladins: Similar to St. John’s, Furman is also undefeated and sitting outside of the top-25 due to their SOS. One issue for the Paladins has been the continued struggles of Villanova and Loyola-Chicago, who have been their best wins by far.
San Francisco Dons: Another mid-major program, San Francisco is knocking on the top-25 door at 10-1 overall. Their only loss came against nationally-ranked Buffalo and they can boast wins over Harvard, SFA, and Cal. Not a great collection of victories but solid.
Butler Bulldogs: Butler just keeps knocking on the top-25 door instead of breaking it down. This past weekend, the Dawgs led Indiana for almost the entirety of their matchup before falling on a buzzer-beating heave. But lost in the shuffle has been that Butler almost beat a top-25 team with their two best players struggling tremendously.
Maryland Terrapins: After creeping into the top-25 a few weeks ago, Maryland has flown a bit under-the-radar. They stand at 9-2 overall and hold a few solid wins over Loyola-Chicago, Penn State, and Marshall. A couple more challenges await before completely diving into Big Ten play.
NC State Wolfpack: NC State just does not have the same collection of wins that teams ranked in the top-25 have at this point in time. The Wolfpack do stand, though, at 9-1 (only loss came at Wisconsn). If they take down Auburn this week, they will be ranked.
Cincinnati Bearcats: I moved Cincinnati into my top-25 last week and they responded with a tough loss to Mississippi State. Because of that, they fell out of the rankings but I am still higher on the Bearcats (and the AAC, for that matter) than most.
Iowa State Cyclones: Iowa State is still not at full strength. The Cyclones are, though, still sitting at 9-2 despite playing without a couple of key contributors. Once head coach Steve Prohn gets everyone on the floor, this is a very dangerous team.
Utah State Aggies: Nevada is the clear favorite to win the Mountain West but I have been impressed by Utah State as the potential runner-up this year. Sam Merrill is playing at a very high level and the Aggies might start to pile up wins in conference play. An intriguing team, in my opinion.
Now let’s dive into my actual top-25.