NCAA Basketball: Gonzaga, UCLA on top of latest top-25 power rankings
24. UConn Huskies (2-0)
There were some questions concerning the Huskies’ offense heading into the season but they’ve averaged 94 ppg in the first two wins, although it has come against Coppin State and Central Connecticut State. The good news is that sophomore center Adama Sanogo (20.0 ppg) is starting out strong, while guards RJ Cole and Tyrese Martin have picked up the scoring slack now that James Bouknight is off to the NBA.
UConn shouldn’t have too much trouble this week either, taking on both Binghamton and LIU Brooklyn. We’ll have to likely wait until the neutral site battle against Auburn to see how good this team really is.
23. USC Trojans (2-0)
After easily beating Cal State Northridge to start out the season by 40 points, the Trojans had to go on the road across the country to face Temple. USC dominated early to get a 19-point halftime lead but allowed the Owls to get back in the game. Chevez Goodwin’s 19 points were good enough for them to hold onto a five-point win, with guards Boogie Ellis and Drew Peterson being double-digit contributors to start out the season.
Head coach Andy Enfield will be heading back to his old job at Florida Gulf Coast, for a road matchup later in the week. The Eagles are 1-1 on the season after losing to Loyola-Chicago, although 5th-year senior guard Tavian Dunn-Martin had 34 points in that contest and will be a player for the Trojans to deal with.
22. Maryland Terrapins (3-0)
None of the three victories have come by easy for the Terrapins, as Quinnipiac, George Washington, and Vermont have all kept it close against the Big Ten program. They needed a late Fatts Russell three-pointer to skate by the Colonials as well. He’s been the team’s best player so far at 16.3 ppg, while Eric Ayala (15.3 ppg) and Georgetown transfer Qudus Wahab have been solid as well.
Maryland looks to remain unbeaten with a pair of tough matchups against George Mason and Hofstra, both of whom have looked formidable in their own right. If this team continues to keep playing it close, it’ll come back to eventually bite them late.