NCAA Basketball top 25 power rankings: Tennessee and Villanova rise, Alabama falls
By Joey Loose
3. Purdue (11-1)
Ignoring a rough stretch at the beginning of the month, Purdue has looked pretty unbeatable for the most part this season. With impressive talent on this roster, including center Zach Edey, super guard Jaden Ivey, and the resilient Trevion Williams, Purdue looks like the best team in the Big Ten and an early favorite to cut down the nets in April.
The Boilermakers have handled their business, getting two nice wins over North Carolina and Villanova early in the season. They’ve propelled their way up the rankings with big home wins against Florida State and Iowa, both coming before that surprise loss at Rutgers. If anything, that trip to Piscataway proved that the Big Ten is going to be quite the bloodbath this season. Purdue has won their last three games since that trip, including a blowout of Butler in Indianapolis.
They have the best offense in the nation according to the efficiency rankings, and this team has the ability to fill the lane and also light it up from the 3-point line. If the Boilermakers can keep getting solid efforts from their defense, they are going to be a tough team to stop. As Big Ten play begins in a week, it’ll obviously be a chance for some of the other Big Ten teams to start chasing down the Boilermakers, but no other team in this conference has the depth and talent of this Purdue team, which has really come alive in the first month of this season.