NCAA Basketball top-25 rankings: Arizona, Ohio State rise, Kentucky, Texas fall
By Joey Loose
8. Kansas (8-1)
The way this college basketball season is going it’s almost fitting that Kansas has looked fantastic this season, but has that stunning loss to Dayton from two weeks ago. The Jayhawks continue to soldier on, looking fantastic in all of their other games, including picking up two more wins this week. They got an easy 78-52 home win over UTEP on Tuesday and then won the Border War in style, demolishing Missouri 102-65, with a 21-point effort from Ochai Agbaji leading the way.
Kansas looked pretty fantastic in destroying those Tigers this weekend, and that offense looks dynamic and deadly, sitting 3rd in the nation in offensive efficiency. Agbaji looks like the real deal and the Jayhawks haven’t struggled much, aside from that surprising loss to Dayton. That being said, Kansas’s schedule hasn’t exactly been the strongest outside of that opening night win against Michigan State. Next week, the only game is at home against Stephen F. Austin; it’s a game the Jayhawks should win easily, though that’s also what Duke thought back in 2019.
7. Alabama (8-1)
It’s almost incredible to consider that Iona beat this team because Alabama has proven in the last few weeks that this team can hang with the best in the nation. Last week, they traveled to Seattle and took down Gonzaga. This week, they outlasted #14 Houston 83-82 in an exciting game on Saturday night, getting heroics late from JD Davison on both offense and defense to secure the win.
Alabama’s offense is awesome and their defense plays very solid basketball. They’ve played one of the toughest schedules in the nation, especially for a power conference team, and have come away with a handful of impressive moments. That Iona loss remains an eyesore, but these last two wins certainly outweigh any damage that the Gaels caused back in late November. Ahead, Alabama gets another intriguing challenge on the road at Memphis before finishing the weekend with a much more winnable home date with Jacksonville State.