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NCAA Basketball Power Rankings: Duke, Michigan vie for the top spot

By Lukas Harkins

RENO, NV - DECEMBER 15: Cody Martin #11 of the Nevada Wolf Pack and brother Caleb Martin #10 of the Nevada Wolf Pack talk to head coach Eric Musselman of the Nevada Wolf Pack during the game between the Nevada Wolf Pack and the South Dakota State Jackrabbits at Lawlor Events Center on December 15, 2018 in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Jonathan Devich/Getty Images)
RENO, NV - DECEMBER 15: Cody Martin #11 of the Nevada Wolf Pack and brother Caleb Martin #10 of the Nevada Wolf Pack talk to head coach Eric Musselman of the Nevada Wolf Pack during the game between the Nevada Wolf Pack and the South Dakota State Jackrabbits at Lawlor Events Center on December 15, 2018 in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Jonathan Devich/Getty Images) /
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LOUISVILLE, KY – DECEMBER 15: McMahon #30 talks with Mack. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY – DECEMBER 15: McMahon #30 talks with Mack. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

The holiday season is here and NCAA basketball teams are jockeying for position in the national rankings. Who lands in this week’s top-25+?

Another week of NCAA basketball is complete and therefore a new edition of my top-25+ power rankings is here. Over the course of this past week, several teams landed some top-tier wins while others survived some close calls. As always, there were many shifts in the rankings from top-to-bottom.

In fact, there is a new top team in the rankings due to the fact that Kansas dropped their first game of the season. But who will that top team be? Kansas, Duke, Michigan, Tennessee, and Virginia all have legitimate arguments for the top spot and it was an extremely difficult decision to pick who would take over as my new No. 1. Read on, though, to find out who that team is.

As per usual, these rankings will list my top-25 teams with a detailed breakdown of each team. This piece will also take a look at 10 of the teams that I believe could be in the rankings soon.

Others to Watch

Nebraska Cornhuskers: Nebraska did nothing to warrant dropping out of the rankings this week but other teams simply jumped them with more impressive wins. The Cornhuskers have won three consecutive games and stand at 10-2. They have one game remaining (vs. Southwest Minnesota State) before launching completely into Big Ten play.

Seton Hall Pirates: Easily one of the most pleasant surprises of this young season, Seton Hall landed another strong win this past weekend but taking down Maryland on the road. The Pirates, who are led by elite junior guard Myles Powell, have exceeded expectations to this point in the year with a more-than-respectable 9-3 record against stiff competition. They should compete for an NCAA Tournament bid.

St. John’s Red Storm: At 12-0, St. John’s currently stands as one of the last remaining undefeated teams in the nation. With that said, though, the Red Storm have played the ninth-easiest schedule in the nation per KenPom. We will quickly find out how successful St. John’s will be once Big East play starts.

Louisville Cardinals: Head coach Chris Mack has already started to make his impact on the Louisville program. Despite entering the year without high expectations, the Cardinals stand at 9-3 and they can post a couple of very strong wins over Michigan State and Seton Hall. Sophomore forward Jordan Nwora has led the way for the team.

San Francisco Dons: I refuse to take San Francisco off this list of “others to consider”. The Dons have played excellent basketball to this point in the year and should finish second in the WCC behind Gonzaga. If they are able to roll through conference play and maybe knock off the Zags once, San Francisco could land an at-large bid.

Iowa Hawkeyes: Similar to Nebraska, Iowa did nothing to fall out the rankings but others simply added more impressive wins. The Hawkeyes, who are vastly improved on the defensive end compared to last year, stand at 10-2 on the year and their only losses came against top-20 opponents (Michigan State and Wisconsin). Watch out for how successful this team could be once Jordan Bohannon returns to his usual standards.

Butler Bulldogs: Now with Jordan Tucker eligible to play, Butler basketball is seemingly just hitting its stride. Behind elite backcourt defenders and sharpshooting wings, the Dawgs have plenty of talent to compete near the top of the Big East. Butler also added one of the more underrated wins of the week by absolutely obliterating a very solid UC-Irvine team.

Iowa State Cyclones: Iowa State will likely not stay out of my top-25 for long. The Cyclones have played a fairly weak schedule but they are still 10-2 despite playing without some of their best players so far this year. Once they are completely healthy, this team can be very dangerous.

Cincinnati Bearcats: Never bet against Mick Cronin. Despite entering the year with far lower expectations compared to normal, the Bearcats have played very solid basketball to this point in the year and should compete near the top of their conference. The AAC might be short on at-large bids compared to normal this year but it would be a surprise if UC does not go dancing.

Ole Miss Rebels: This might not be a top-25 team at any point this year but I wanted to give some attention to the Rebels for their very surprising and solid start to this season. Ole Miss, behind the tutelage of new head coach Kermit Davis (formerly at Middle Tennessee), currently stands at 9-2. They could be a darkhorse team to make a run at an at-large bid out of the SEC.

Fell out of the rankings: Iowa and Nebraska.

Now, without any further ado, let’s dive into this holiday edition of my top-25+ power rankings! (Note: All statistics used in this piece were found via Sports-Reference and KenPom. Also, the rankings take into account games played through Sunday, Dec. 23.)

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