NCAA Basketball: Purdue, Duke, fall in latest top 25 power ranking

11. Florida Atlantic (7-1)

Many people were ready to jump far off the Florida Atlantic bandwagon after their performance against Bryant back on November 18th. The Owls had surprised the nation with a fantastic season and Final Four run last year, but that abysmal loss is looking more and more like a fluke. This team bounced back in a major way with their performance in the ESPN Events Invitational.

In fact, they secured that tournament title back on Sunday with an 84-50 blowout win over Virginia Tech, getting 17 points and 8 rebounds from Alijah Martin. They then hosted a trio of games as part of the Field of 68 Tip-Off and performed well against fellow mid-majors. They coasted to an 83-58 win over Liberty on Thursday, getting 20 points from Martin. Two days later they erased a halftime deficit for a 90-74 victory against Charleston, with Johnell Davis (24 points, 10 rebounds) the hero this time.

This Florida Atlantic program has looked truly impressive at every point except during that Bryant game. We can’t disregard or ignore that performance, but it’s easy to see it as more of a blip than an indication about this Owls team. They have faced some challenges already in the nonconference and aced many of those tests. Next week they’ll be off to New York for the Jimmy V Classic against a talented Illinois squad.