4. Washington State (7-3, 1-1)
Last week: Defeated Weber State 94-60, Lost to South Dakota State 74-77
This week: New Mexico State, Northern Colorado
Saturday’s loss is the second time the Cougars have looked past and lost to a low-ranked mid-major. The Cougs’ defense hasn’t been nearly as stifling as many had hoped and they still haven’t fully clicked on offense. Their post-play has been as good as advertised for the most part, with Mouhamed Gueye and Efe Abogidi imposing their will on defense in the paint and nabbing plenty of rebounds on offense.
But shooting hasn’t come as easy for scoring options like Noah Williams and Tyrell Roberts. Until they can figure out how to score efficiently, Washington State is a team with untapped potential.
3. USC (10-0, 2-0)
-1 spot
Last week: Defeated Eastern Kentucky 80-68, Defeated Long Beach State 73-62
This week: UC Irvine, Georgia Tech
The Trojans fell a spot despite maintaining a perfect record. What can we say but that it’s ruthless at the top, folks! Andy Enfield’s team continues to be impressive well into the season with a legitimate group of players who play within themselves. The Trojans handled two easy matchups despite a cold streak from their main backcourt weapon Boogie Ellis.
The transfer guard is 2 for his last 18 field goal attempts and spent most of the Long Beach State game hunting his shot. USC has the core to be a top 10 team and more if Ellis can consistently score. Without that the Trojans may need to squeak out some very winnable games.
Even without the superhuman abilities of Evan Mobley, the frontcourt has continued their suffocating interior defense, having the third-best opponent effective field goal percentage in the country and the fourth-lowest two-point shooting to boot.