NCAA Basketball: UVA drops, Kansas reappears in latest top-25 power rankings

15. Virginia Cavaliers (15-5, 11-3)

A week of televised opportunities for the Cavaliers turned into defeats for many to see. They first got blown off the floor by 21 points on Monday on the road at Florida State, ceding control of their destiny for the ACC regular-season championship. They then had a tough 40-minute against a desperate Duke team on Saturday, but couldn’t get a good shot off at the end, losing by one point. Jay Huff and Sam Hauser combined for 39 points and 20 rebounds, while Kihei Clark had 15 points from the perimeter.

The good news for Virginia is that they’ll be home this upcoming week, taking on a pair of depleted programs in Miami and NC State. They’lll be the heavy favorites to win both of them but national questions remain as to how good they can be once March Madness arrives.

14. Texas Longhorns (13-6, 7-5)

Texas looked to be on its way to winning the lone game of the week, at home against West Virginia. They had a big lead late but saw it evaporate, coughing it up in the final seconds to lose by two points. It wasted a career-high 28 points and seven made three-pointers from Courtney Ramey, along with 20 points on 8/9 shooting from Matt Coleman.

The good news for Texas is that they play the final three games of the regular season at home. The bad news is that it’s against three expected ranked opponents in West Virginia, Kansas, and Texas Tech. Texas has already beaten two of them and only lost to the Red Raiders by two points in the previous matchups this season.

13. Houston Cougars (17-3, 11-3)

The Cougars had short-term bad news this week, falling to Wichita State on the road, 68-63. Losing to the Shockers isn’t a shame but this will hurt their quest to get a 2 seed for the NCAA Tournament. The long-term good news is that forward Fabian White Jr., who was thought to be gone for the season, made his debut, playing in eight minutes off the bench. He adds a boost to the frontcourt depth and will have an impact down the road.

Houston now looks to rebound on Sunday at home against the Cincinnati Bearcats. It’s the first matchup of the season between the AAC rivals and even though Cincy is down compared to previous years, they’re still a threat to knock off a top team like the Cougars in league play.