NCAA Basketball: Texas Tech, Virginia rises in latest top- 25 power rankings
7. Tennessee Volunteers (10-1, 4-1)
The Vols had just one game to work with this past week, handling the Vanderbilt Commodores by 20 points Keon Johnson led the team with 16 points off the bench, while John Fulkerson had 15 points. Freshman Jaden Springer had arguably his best game so far, producing 10 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
Tennessee has a busy upcoming week, taking on a desperate Florida team in the midst of a losing skid before facing Missouri for the second time. The Vols handled them by 20 points in the first go-around but look for this matchup to be a bit closer.
6. Michigan Wolverines (11-1, 6-1)
The Wolverines were the national media darlings of NCAA Basketball this week after leading Wisconsin by nearly 40 points in a blowout victory. However, the undefeated run for Michigan ended on Saturday, falling on the road at Minnesota by 18 points.
Michigan is still considered a top-5 caliber team by many and is on top of the Big Ten. They have a chance to keep it that way this week, taking on Maryland and Purdue. They won’t face another ranked opponent for a few weeks, so this is the time for them to rack up more wins to make a case for a one seed in March.
5. Texas Longhorns (12-2, 5-1)
The six-game winning streak for the Longhorns came to an end against Texas Tech, losing by two on a last-second shot. But they were able to rebound and handle Kansas State this weekend, 82-67. Andrew Jones led the way with 19 points, while reserve forward Kamaka Hepa scored 15 points, replacing Greg Brown after he was declared a no-go for the game.
Texas has good news and bad news concerning this upcoming week. The good news is that they face Iowa State and TCU, two of the three worst teams in the Big 12. The bad news is that they’re both on the road. This team has improved leaps and bounds this season to become a contender. But this week will be a unique test of that growth if they can handle business against inferior opponents.