Another week of NCAA basketball is complete. How did the top-25+ power rankings shake out following some crucial matchups?
NCAA basketball season is heating up. With monster matchups every single night, there is no such thing as a day off as a college basketball writer. Over the course of this past week, there were several results that caused shifts in my top-25+ rankings for this week. And instead of diving too deep into an introduction, I’m just going to dive right into my rankings for this week. If you are unfamiliar with how my top-25+ rankings work, check back at some in the past (these are weekly)!
These rankings are updated based on results through Sunday, Jan. 13. (All statistics used in this piece were found via KenPom and Sports-Reference.)
Other to watch out for:
Also, for those questioning, this “others to watch out for” section does not include teams that dropped out of the rankings during this past week because I want to shine a light on those who might be on the rise.
Murray State Racers: I am *so* close to ranking Murray State. As I have said throughout the year, I want these rankings to reflect my beliefs on the top-25 and not how the NCAA Tournament would be seeded (that is what I have my bracketology updates for). This often leads to some top mid-majors creeping into the rankings and I am one more strong week away from putting the Racers in.
LSU Tigers: LSU entered this season as a preseason top-25 team in the country but fell out of the rankings relatively early in the year. They have, though, now won five consecutive games, four over teams ranked in the KenPom top-100, and is knocking on the top-25 door.
UCF Knights: UCF’s resume might not be superb but its 13-2 record is quite impressive. The Knights entered this year as one of the favorites to win the AAC and they should still be able to compete near the top of the league. This is a potential at-large team.
Washington Huskies: Despite some offensive struggles so far this season, Washington’s defense is still something to be reckoned with. This much has been evident over the past couple of weeks, as the Huskies have won five consecutive games. They do not have a single KenPom top-75 win, though.
Iowa Hawkeyes: With three straight big-time wins, Iowa is very close to creeping back into the top-25. The Hawkeyes are not rated especially high by predictive metrics but their resume pretty much speaks for itself.
Dropped Out: Ohio State (19), St. John’s (22), Iowa State (24), and TCU (25).