NCAA Basketball: BYU, Seton Hall rise, Michigan falls in latest top-25 power rankings
By Joey Loose
12. Houston (3-0)
On opening night, Houston struggled at home against Hofstra, needing overtime to hold on against the Pride. Initially, it didn’t seem like the Cougars were going to be the same kind of team that made the Final Four last season, with everything seemingly coming together for the AAC’s best program. Their one game this past week helped change that fortune, as the Cougars welcomed Virginia and promptly smacked them, winning a 67-47 game in which both offense and defense starred.
Marcus Sasser has been excellent for the Cougars, averaging nearly 24 points a game in the early-going, but it’s not just him. The team has been very solid from long-range, hitting 50% of those shots against the Cavaliers. They’ve only allowed 93 total points in their last two games, now ranking 5th in the nation in defensive efficiency. They head to the Maui Invitational next week, hoping to get another premier victory or two to continue building their profile back into a national contender. It’ll certainly be interesting to see how they fare against Memphis this year in the AAC race.
11. Kentucky (3-1)
They may not have been able to pull out the opening season victory against Duke, but Kentucky has looked the part of an elite program ever since that early blemish. While the wins have come against subpar opponents, the Wildcats have won these games handily, something they certainly didn’t do two years ago when Evansville came to town. This past week has included a 25-point win over Mount St. Mary’s and a solid 18-point victory against Ohio.
Oscar Tshiebwe is making himself an early favorite for national player of the year awards, though he didn’t score in a rusty game against the Bobcats on Friday evening. The Wildcats have played very solidly on offense, albeit not from the charity stripe, and the interior defense has been solid in their first few games. The next few weeks feature more games against weak competition, leading up to a date at Notre Dame nearly three weeks from now.
10. Michigan (3-1)
It’s been up and down for Michigan, with the beginning of this past week bringing a bit more down for the Wolverines. They welcomed Seton Hall to Ann Arbor and were promptly handed their first loss of the season in a game in which they struggled shooting from outside. The Wolverines haven’t had a bad performance yet this season and did score a decent road win at UNLV late Friday night. However, that loss at home clearly has affected their ranking.
As a result, Michigan is still sitting in the top 5 of the KenPom rankings, with their defense sitting third in defensive efficiency. Seton Hall’s offense didn’t run rampant last Tuesday, but the Wolverines couldn’t get enough going to avoid the upset. Looking ahead, the upcoming week brings a neutral-site battle with Arizona, a tough game that should be very winnable, before a few more challenges in the nonconference slate. Despite the loss this week, Michigan should be just fine and will be competing near the top of the Big Ten standings again.