NCAA Basketball: Alabama, Ohio State rise, Gonzaga, BYU fall in top-25 power rankings
By Joey Loose
15. Seton Hall (7-1)
It’s been a busy week for the Pirates, albeit against some pretty weak competition. Still, Seton Hall now has seven wins and counting a road win at Michigan among that group certainly makes the start to their season feel even better. This past week saw three home dates, all Seton Hall victories, starting with an 84-70 win against Bethune-Cookman back on Sunday. Three days later, the Pirates handed Wagner their first loss of the season, defeating them by 22 points. They then finished the week by taking care of business against Nyack, a non-D1 school.
Seton Hall took care of business this week, and that’s about all you can really saw. It’s great to have seven wins at this point in the season, though the Pirates may not have a single easy game left on their schedule. Big East play begins in two weeks, and a home date with Texas looms later this upcoming week. This Pirates team can show they belong by taking care of business at home against a very good Longhorns squad.
14. Iowa State (6-0)
A doormat as recently as last season, Iowa State has won their first eight games and look legitimate after scoring some solid wins these last few weeks. Their week began on Wednesday, taking care of business against Arkansas Pine Bluff and winning by 19 points. On Saturday, the Cyclones traveled to Creighton as underdogs and left with a 64-58 victory, getting 16 points from Caleb Grill in a solid team win.
We still do not know what we’re going to get from Iowa State when Big 12 play begins, but for now, this team looks like the real deal. Wins against Xavier, Memphis, and Creighton aren’t currently as impressive as they could have been, but they’re wins nonetheless. On Thursday next week, they get another chance to prove themselves when they welcome rival Iowa to town, hoping to push their start to 9-0. If they enter Big 12 play undefeated a few weeks from now, then we’ll start having some interesting conversations about the Cyclones.
13. Houston (7-1)
The season has seen a fair bit of up and down from the Cougars, but their recent performances have certainly been more in the positive direction. Still coming off impressive wins over Butler and Oregon last week, Houston took care of business against two weaker mid-major foes at home. On Tuesday, they dispatched of Northwestern State by 41 points before unleashing a whopping three days later against Bryant, knocking off the Bulldogs 111-44. Marcus Sasser led the way with 26 points in that win over the Demons earlier in the week.
Two vulnerable games out of eight aren’t the end of the world, and Houston is undoubtedly the best team in the AAC this season. Their recent performances may have come against some pretty weak competition, but Houston again looks the part of a top contender this season. Time will tell if they can follow up last year’s success; that run to the Final Four, but they’ll get a big opportunity this upcoming weekend when they travel to Alabama for a huge game.