NCAA Basketball: Gonzaga, UCLA on top of latest top-25 power rankings
18. Houston Cougars (2-0)
The Cougars nearly made national news on opening night for the wrong reasons, as they were trailing by double-digits to Hofstra at home for most of the game. However, a big comeback was made by the top-20 team and led by 25 points from Marcus Sasser and a double-double from Kyler Edwards allowed them to win in overtime. Things were much easier against Rice in a blowout victory, with Sasser going for another 26 points.
Sasser and Houston’s scoring potential will be tested this week by Virginia, likely to be unranked after falling to Navy. But their imposing defense remains vaunted and star forward Jayden Gardner will be a test for the Cougars’ frontcourt as well.
17. Florida State Seminoles (1-0)
The Ivy League has done very well so far in the first few days of the season. Penn is the exception, who ran into a buzzsaw in FSU, losing 105=70. Malik Osbourne looks like the next breakout star early on, going for 18 points and 13 rebounds. Anthony Polite had 17 and guard Rayquan Evans had 14 points, along with a game-high five assists.
The Seminoles get a much tougher opponent on Sunday in the Florida Gators, who could be a top-25 team themselves if things go right. After that is another local foe in Tulane of the AAC.
*This poll was conducted before the results of FSU vs Florida on Sunday
16. Ohio State Buckeyes (2-0)
The Buckeyes were part of the first thrilling game of the 2021 NCAA Basketball season, needing a last-second bucket by Zed Key to hold off an upset loss to Akron. EJ Liddell was the star once again for the Big Ten program, leading all players with 25 points and 11 rebounds. He came up huge again in the team’s 10-point win over Niagara, going for a game-high 29 points for another close win.
There are some concerns about the offense from the guards, including Penn State transfer Jamari Wheeler. He and the others will be tested against both Bowling Green and on the road at Xavier. If the supporting cast doesn’t help out Liddell, Ohio State won’t survive the week without losing a game.