NCAA Basketball: BYU, Iowa State rise, Alabama, Memphis fall in top-25 power rankings
By Joey Loose
This NCAA Basketball season has given us thrills already and we’re only three weeks into it. We’ve seen buzzer beaters, we’ve seen unexpected victories, and we’ve seen standout performances from players all over the country. The calendar still reads November, though we’ve already seen some fantastic play in these early-season holiday tournaments, especially this past week. Still, the upcoming days and weeks should bring even more intrigue.
Through nearly three weeks, there has certainly been a ton of movement among the best teams in the nation, equating to plenty of movement on the top 25 rankings. We’re still putting a lot of stock into just a few games for some of these teams, but we nevertheless continue our weekly group power rankings on Busting Brackets, posted early Sunday after the previous week of games. 31 teams received a vote this week, with St. Bonaventure, Indiana, and Colorado State just on the outside.
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25. Texas Tech (6-0)
New head coach Mark Adams has quite the act to follow in replacing Chris Beard with the Red Raiders. To this point, he’s done solid work, leading Texas Tech to wins in their first six games, with two more victories this week. On Tuesday, Texas Tech picked up a 96-40 win over Omaha, while they added a 32-point victory over Lamar on Saturday.
Texas Tech has looked good this season and has won all of their games, but they have played one of the weakest schedules in the nation. Their SOS actually ranks 357th (second to last), though their defense has at least looked great against subpar competition. This week finally provides opportunity, as the Red Raiders will travel to Providence for a date with the Friars; a chance to prove that they belong.