6. Villanova (3-2)
Just five games into the season, it may seem a bit of a disappointment that the Wildcats have already picked up a pair of losses, but these have come against some very strong competition. Two weeks ago, they picked up a loss in an intense overtime game to UCLA, while their only game from the past seven days was a neutral-site loss to Purdue at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off, a six-point defeat.
Villanova has been pretty solid on offense, and one of the best teams in the nation at avoiding turnovers, but the defense has been hot and cold early on. The defense was phenomenal in a recent win against Tennessee, but they couldn’t slow down Purdue, and they gave up a lot of points to Howard in their most recent home game. Looking ahead, the Wildcats play three of their Philadelphia rivals, with two of those games on the road this next week. Can Villanova get back on track and take care of La Salle and Penn on the road in very winnable affairs?
5. UCLA (6-1)
After an opening week overtime victory over Villanova, UCLA looked to be in a great place, sitting pretty as the #2 team in the nation. Unfortunately, this past week was not as kind to the Bruins. In a game where several players were dealing with flu-like symptoms, UCLA was never in the game against #1 Gonzaga, eventually dropping an 83-63 game. They resurrected the week with a big win at UNLV, dropping the Runnin’ Rebels by 22 points, with Jules Bernard’s 18 points leading the way.
Many people are going to do it, but you can’t harshly judge the Bruins off a poor performance against Gonzaga, even if those Bulldogs looked far less unbeatable later in the week. UCLA’s offense is efficient, with that Gonzaga game being their only bad shooting night through seven games. Pac-12 play doesn’t begin in earnest for a few more weeks, but it does actually start next week, with UCLA hosting Colorado before traveling to Washington, two very winnable conference games right out of the gate.
4. Baylor (7-0)
Defending a national championship is never easy, especially when you have as much roster turnover as Baylor has had, but the culture of this program is strong, as evident by their results from this last week. The Bears went to the Bahamas and left with the Battle 4 Atlantis championship, defeating Arizona State, VCU, and Michigan State on consecutive days to win the trophy. Only the game against VCU was a single-digit affair as the Bears shined on both sides of the ball, with James Akinjo named Tournament MVP.
Baylor looks like the real deal and has now won four straight games over power conference foes en route to their 7-0 start. The offense rated highly in their most recent outing against the Spartans, and this truly looks like a team that could challenge for another deep run in March. Things get quieter for the Bears, who merely get a home date with Arkansas Pine Bluff this upcoming week, giving them time to prepare for a few more intriguing games in the coming weeks against Villanova and Oregon.