NCAA Basketball: Gonzaga, UCLA on top of latest top-25 power rankings
3. Kansas Jayhawks (2-0)
The Jayhawks didn’t have starting forward Jalen Wilson (suspension) for this week’s games against Michigan State and Tarleton State but the upsurd depth the team has made it not necessary. Senior guard Ochai Agbaji was fantastic in the Champions Classic game, going for a game-high 29 points on 9/17 shooting from the field. If he emerges as an elite scorer alongside Arizona State transfer point guard Remy Martin, Kansas is going to have a special season.
Agbaji also went for 25 points in the 88-62 victory over Tarleton State, with both Martin and Christian Braun going for 15 and 14 points respectively. The Jayhawks only have to deal with Stony Brook this upcoming week but the Seawolves have proven to be a competitive foe over the years so don’t be surprised if the margin is closer than expected.
2. UCLA Bruins (2-0)
Was the Final Four run from last season a fluke? That’s the question some had about the Bruins as they entered the season at No. 2 in the country. At least for the first week, it’s hard to take them off of there, as after beating Cal State Bakersfield on opening night, UCLA defeated No. 4 Villanova in an overtime thriller late Friday night. Johnny Juzang had 25 points and made some big baskets down the stretch, while Jaime Jaquez had 21 points and 13 rebounds. Rutgers transfer Myles Johnson played 36 minutes as Cody Riley was out with a leg injury, potentially out for a few weeks.
The Bruins have shown so far that they have the depth and starpower to overcome a missing player, now with a top-5 home win on its resume. They have Long Beach and North Florida this upcoming week but a big matchup with No. 1 Gonzaga is looming for the 23rd.
1. Gonzaga Bulldogs (2-0)
After beating Dixie State by 34 points in the season opener, all eyes were on the Saturday night matchup with Texas, who was the highest-ranked program to play in Spokane in Gonzaga’s history. The No. 5 Longhorns had a team full of transfers and new head coach Chris Beard and had an argument that they had the most talent from 1-12 on the roster.
However, the Bulldogs proved that not only are they more in synch early on, but they also have the best player between the teams in Drew Timme. The All-American big man was unstoppable in this one, going for a career-high 37 points on 15/19 shooting from the field. He and point guard Andrew Nembhard (9 points and 8 assists) and Iowa State transfer Rasir Bolton (16 points) were all that was needed for Gonzaga to win by 12 points and be up by double-digits for 90% of the game.
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The fact that No. 1 overall freshman Chet Holmgren had just two points on 1/3 shooting shows how much potential this team has overall. The rest of the supporting cast didn’t put up great numbers offensively but Gonzaga is a fairly young team overall as well. So they’ll just continue to get better too. And that’s scary because already, they look like the best team in the country.