NCAA Basketball: Illinois, Ohio State rises in latest top-25 power rankings

25. UCLA Bruins (13-4, 9-2)

What looked like a fun matchup on paper between USC and UCLA became a clear mismatch once both Jalen Hill and Cody Riley were declared out. The Trojans took advantage inside and won 66-48. Johnny Juzang had 13 points and 13 rebounds and freshman big man Mac Etienne had a solid debut with eight points in 27 minutes off the bench.

UCLA will remain on the road in Pac-12 play this week against both Washington and Washington State, two teams who although are at the bottom of the standings have been much more competitive as of late. If the Bruins aren’t fully equipped, they could very well lose either or both of those games.

24. Loyola-Chicago Ramblers (16-3, 11-1)

The Ramblers have entered the top-25 rankings on a nine-game winning streak, including a dominant road sweep over Missouri State and most recently, a 68-55 victory over Evansville at home. Cameron Krutwig led the team with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists.

Loyola-Chicago has another game against Evansville on Sunday before the anticipated two-game series this upcoming week against Drake. Both teams are now tied at the top of the Missouri Valley Conference standings and each has at-large aspirations for the NCAA Tournament. This will be a must-watch pair of games.

23. USC Trojans (15-3, 9-2)

This week was big for the Trojans, starting off with a road win over Stanford. They followed it up with a win over rival UCLA by 19 points. Ethan Anderson led all scorers with 19 points off the bench, while Tahj Eaddy chipped in with 16.

USC is now in first place in the Pac-12 standings due to a tiebreaker over UCLA. And just like the Bruins, the Trojans will go on the road and face both Washington and Washington State this week. We’ll see if either LA program can get the sweep in the state of Washington.