09. Mississippi State Bulldogs
The Bulldogs’ six-game winning streak to start the season came to an end with the 87-77 loss to Butler. Josh Hubbard (19.1 ppg) has looked like the best player in the SEC and KeShawn Murphy (11.1 ppg, 9.0 rpg) is on the verge of a double-double every time he touches the court. Mississippi State has struggled a little defensively against power conference opponents, but the Bulldogs have picked up a couple of big wins over Utah and SMU.
I’m always impressed with Chris Jans's ability to have strong defenses each year, but his offense this year wasn’t expected. I knew Hubbard was special, but Murphy and Riley Kugel have stepped up their scoring to help propel Mississippi State to wins. I dropped the Bulldogs a couple of spots after the loss to Butler, but I still think MSU has been good this season.
08. Oklahoma Sooners
Last week I dropped Oklahoma because the Sooners hadn’t played a quality opponent. Well, this week I’ve jumped the Sooners up in the rankings because OU knocked off three straight power conference opponents, including the upset of No. 24 Arizona 82-77 on its way to winning the Battle 4 Atlantis.
I was down on Oklahoma to start the season with all of its offseason moves. I wasn’t sure if this team could score, but Jalon Moore (18.4 ppg) and Jeremiah Fears (16.9 ppg) have been great on the offensive end of the court. The Sooners are making 37.5 percent as a team from three, trailing only Kentucky and Tennessee in the conference.
I might be overreacting, but taking down Providence, Arizona, and Louisville over three days is incredibly impressive. Porter Moser has done a great job this year, and it’s time to start giving Oklahoma the recognition it deserves.
07. Texas A&M Aggies
The Aggies have been solid defensively and wildly inefficient offensively. Texas A&M is only making 42 percent from the floor, but thanks to 17.6 offensive rebounds per game the Aggies continue to find ways to win games, improving to 6-2 on the year.
After dropping the first game of the Players Era Festival to Oregon 80-70, Texas A&M bounced back knocking off Creighton and Rutgers in back-to-back games, taking fifth in the MTE.
I still don’t trust Texas A&M offensively, but if the Aggies keep picking up good wins I won’t have a choice but to elevate them in the rankings. A&M is in the middle of one of the tougher non-con stretches in the country, so I’m hoping to learn something about the offense. If the Aggies can start scoring efficiently then they might be one of the best teams in the country.