NCAA Basketball: Tennessee rises up, Texas Tech falls in latest top 25 power rankings
12. Arkansas Razorbacks
It was a very stressful past week for Razorback fans, playing two games that both went down to the wire. The first ended in a 77-76 win over LSU, led by 23 points from Stanley Umude and 19 points and 10 rebounds from Jaylin Williams. But they couldn’t get another close win in the weekend, falling 78-74 at Tennessee. They were down 21 points at halftime and almost came all the way back but the early hole was too much to dig out of.
But before the loss to the Vols, Arkansas had won 14 of 15 games and put itself in a position to get a potential top-4 protected seed. They’ll likely have to make it to the SEC Tournament semifinals to secure that spot and avoid an early loss. But based on how they’re playing, the Razorbacks are capable of knocking off top seeds, Kentucky or Auburn.
11. UCLA Bruins
After losing on the road at Oregon, the Bruins still had a few tricky games left in league play. They were able to win all three, beating Oregon State, Washington, and USC. Against the Trojans this past weekend, Jaime Jaquez had 27 points, and Jules Bernard chipped in with 19.
The win over USC solidified the Bruins as the 2 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament and a good shot at getting a protected seed. If they can make it to the finals against Arizona, UCLA can get some national attention heading into the Big Dance.
10. Purdue Boilermakers
Purdue continues to be in close games, including both from this past week. With the Big Ten regular season on the line, the Boilermakers took on Wisconsin on the road. Jaden Ivey had 22 points, while big man Zach Edey had 17 points and nine rebounds. Unfortunately, they lost that game, 70-67. Purdue nearly lost at home to Indiana as well but prevailed, 69-67 on the back of Eric Hunter with 17 points, while Edey had another double-double.
As the 2 or 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, the Boilermakers look to get a conference title in one way or another this year. They have the talent to make a Final Four run but this team hasn’t been able to look convincing in any way. A postseason run in the Big Ten could change some minds.