Another week of college hoops is in the books, which means we are that much closer to seeing the nation’s top teams begin conference play.
And while last week’s games weren’t quite as exciting as the previous week’s slate, which saw Indiana upset then No. 1 ranked Kentucky, they were certainly nothing to sneeze at.
Let’s take a look at the college basketball power rankings for the week of December 19th, 2011.
With Jared Sullinger sidelined with a bone bruise in his left foot, the Ohio State Buckeyes rallied to beat South Carolina on Saturday 74-66.
Fueled by 30 points from Deshaun Thomas and 17 from William Buford, the Buckeyes used a 20-8 run in the second half to pull away from the pesky Gamecocks.
Sullinger’s X-ray revealed no fracture in his foot and it’s still uncertain when he will be able to play again.
The star sophomore missed last Saturday’s game against Kansas due to back spasms, before returning Tuesday night to score 12 points and grab 10 rebounds against South Carolina Upstate.
Last week’s ranking: 1
After letting a 17 point lead slip away, Syracuse used an 11-2 second half spurt to pull away from North Carolina State on Saturday night, winning 88-72.
Dion Waiters scored a career-high 22 points, and Scoop Jardine added 16 for ‘Cuse, who improved to 11-0 on the season.
Last week’s ranking: 2
The Wildcats bounced back after their upset loss to the Indiana Hoosiers last week with an easy win over Chattanooga on Saturday.
And by the looks of their schedule, Kentucky shouldn’t be seriously challenged until they face in-state rival Louisville on December 31st.
Last week’s ranking: 3
Roy Williams’ bunch remains idle in the No. 4 spot for the third straight week.
North Carolina won their only game this week, defeating Appalachian State, thanks to 31 points from Tyler Zeller.
Last week’s ranking: 4
Russ Smith scored a career high 24 points and added seven steals in the Cardinals’ 95-87 win against Memphis on Saturday. And thanks to Duke not having a game last week, the Cardinals leapfrog the Blue Devils in this week’s rankings.
Last week’s ranking: 6
After big wins against Colorado State and Washington two weeks ago, the Blue Devils didn’t play a game this past week.
Duke continues their non-conference schedule on Monday, when they host N.C. Greensboro.
Last week’s ranking: 5
Led by six three-pointers from Kenny Boynton, the Gators smashed the Texas A & M Aggies by 20 points on Saturday.
Freshman guard Bradley Beal added 16 points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks in the blow-out victory.
Last week’s ranking: 8
The big wins keep on piling up for the Tigers. After beating Kennesaw State by 37 points, the team defeated William and Mary by 38 on Sunday afternoon.
The Tigers face off-against Illinois on Thursday in a Big 10-Big 12 showdown.
Missouri is now 11-0 for the first time since the 1991-92 season.
Last week’s ranking: 9
Playing for only the second time in 13 days, Baylor fended off the BYU Cougars Saturday afternoon. The Bears prevented what would have been one of the major upsets of the early season.
Baylor was led by 28 points from Perry Jones.
Last week’s ranking: 11
The Jayhawks didn’t play this past week after their win over Ohio State on December 10th.
In the team’w in over Ohio State on December 10th, senior point guard Tyshawn Taylor suffered a torn meniscus, which required surgery the next day.
The Jayhawks will play their first game without their turnover prone floor leader Monday night against Davidson.
Last week’s ranking: 10
The defending champs defeated Holy Cross on Sunday by 37 points. After a very soft, non-conference December schedule, the Huskies open up Big East play against the lowly South Florida Bulls.
Playing so many soft opponents could be detrimental to a young team still trying to find their groove, especially when they start playing the Syracuses and Louisvilles of the Big East.
Last week’s ranking: 12
Anyone looking for a letdown from the Hoosiers after their emotional win over Kentucky last week shouldn’t hold their breath.
Indiana improved to 10-0 this week after a double digit win over Notre Dame.
Thanks to the impressive follow-up to last week’s upset win over UK, the Hoosiers move up in this week’s rankings.
Last week’s ranking: 15
The Musketeers entered Sunday’s game against Oral Roberts without Tu Holloway, Mark Lyons and Dezmine Wells, who were suspended for their roles in the altercation at the end of the game against Cincinnati on December 10th.
The team certainly felt the impact of playing without three of their four top scorers, as Xavier lost to Oral Roberts by 22 points, giving the Musketeers their first loss of the season.
Last week’s ranking: 7
After losing big man Chris Otule to an ACL injury in a victory against Washington earlier in the month, coach Buzz Williams and the Golden Eagles have defeated Green Bay and Northern Colorado.
The team travels to LSU on Monday to face the Tigers.
Last week’s ranking: 13
Talib Zanna scored 12 points and notched 14 rebounds in the Panthers’ victory over South Carolina State this weekend.
While Pitt has been a mainstay in most top 25 polls to start the season, it will be interesting to see how such a young team fairs in arguably the toughest conference in America.
Last week’s ranking: 14
Joshua Sexton is a lifelong basketball fanatic, who watches as many games as possible. In addition, He has played and coached the game at the high school level. He has recently started writing about the game of basketball.
