NCAA Basketball: Texas, Michigan and Northwestern move up in top-25 power rankings

25. Louisville Cardinals (7-1, 2-0)

Although still not at full health, the Cardinals continue chugging along, beating rival Kentucky last week before beating Boston College on the road. Sophomore guard David Johnson had 20 points in that win and continues his breakout campaign.

They’re at home this week against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech, two teams on paper that are evenly matched with Louisville. Right now, this team is at the top of the ACC standings and once fully healthy, can make a real run at a regular-season title.

24. Northwestern Wildcats (6-2, 3-1)

It looked as if the shocking upset over Michigan State a couple of weeks was just a one-time thing, but then the Wildcats followed that up with convincing victories over Ohio State and Indiana to claim a spot on the AP top-25 rankings. Even in this week’s 15-point loss to Iowa, they were very competitive for most of the game before it getting away from them.

The gauntlet continues for Northwestern, with matchups against Michigan and Illinois up next. But with three conference wins already, there looks to be another contender in a league already considered the deepest in NCAA Basketball.

23. Virginia Tech Hokies (8-1, 2-0)

The Hokies had a difficult time putting away Miami despite not having their best player in Chris Lykes. But Virginia Tech’s best player, Keve Aluma, made sure no upset was going to occur, scoring a game-high 26 points for the 80-78 win. Fellow forward Justyn Mutt also had a strong performance of 15 points and nine rebounds.

The Hokies have a big-time matchup with fellow ACC unbeaten team Louisville. The winner of that game this week will be 3-0 and add another resume-building victory. With Malik Williams still out for the Cardinals, it’s a good bet that Aluma could go off yet again.