Sorry the weekly rankings are a day late, but I’m sure you were all enjoying the holidays as much as we were….
The Spartans’ only two losses this season have been at the hands of Duke and North Carolina.
And while they’re not the best team in the Big 10 this season, they will remain a tough out for the Ohio States, Indianas and Illinois of the world.
Last week’s ranking: Did not appear
The Jayhawks had a humbling week, losing to Davidson by six points in their first game since beating Ohio State earlier in the month.
It appears as though the Jayhawks’ biggest weakness going forward will be their depth. The team had only six players score in their loss to Davidson and only three reached double digits.
Last week’s rankings: 10
Making their first appearance in the power rankings this season are the Wisconsin Badgers.
Since losing to Marquette in early December, the Badgers have won five games in a row.
Last week’s rankings: Did not appear
The Golden Eagles suffered their first loss of the season this week, losing at LSU on Monday night by eight points. Marquette has two up-coming games against Vanderbilt and Villanova.
Wins against the Commodores and Wildcats would certainly make-up for the hiccup against LSU.
Last week’s ranking: 14
So far, the only blemish on the Huskies’ record is an upset loss to the Central Florida Knights over Thanksgiving weekend.
The team avoided another embarrassing upset this past week, barely squeaking past Fairfield, 79-71.
UConn starts their Big East schedule this week against the South Florida Bulls.
Last week’s ranking: 11
Indiana’s stellar start to the season continued this week as the team improved to 12-0. But the Hoosiers have two “big tests” on the horizon to start Big 10 play, traveling to Michigan State on Wednesday and hosting Ohio State on Saturday.
Last week’s ranking: 12
Baylor improved to 12-0 on the season with two hard fought wins against St. Mary’s and West Virginia.
The Bears host the top 25 ranked Mississippi St. Bulldogs on Wednesday night.
Last week’s ranking: 9
The Gators ended their week with a blow-out win over rival Florida State on Thursday night.
Also, Florida recently signed coach Billy Donovan to a three-year extension, keeping him in Gainesville through the 2015-16 season.
Last week’s ranking: 7
Every time I watch Missouri, I walk away a little more impressed each time. The Tigers held off a second half run from Illinois on Thursday night to clinch the victory in the annual Braggin’ Rights game against the Illini.
Missouri is now 12-0 for the first time since the 1981-82 season.
Last week’s ranking: 8
The Blue Devils won their only game this week, pummeling N.C. Greensboro by 27 points.
Duke has three more non-conference games before starting ACC play on January 7th against Georgia Tech.
Last week’s ranking: 6
The Cardinals remained undefeated after a scare from Western Kentucky on Thursday night when they trailed by eight points with 12 minutes remaining.
Russ Smith led the Cardinals with 23 points.
Louisville’s next two games are against ranked opponents (Georgetown and Kentucky).
Last week’s ranking: 5
North Carolina reminded everyone this week why they are still very much one of the favorites to win the national championship come this spring.
The Tar Heels trounced Texas on Wednesday night by 19 points, led by 26 points and 10 rebounds from Harrison Barnes.
Barnes and Co. begin ACC play on January 7th against Boston College.
Last week’s ranking: 4
The Wildcats have been enjoying beating up on “cupcake” opponents since their upset loss to Indiana earlier in the month.
Since then, the Wildcats have defeated Chattanooga, Samford and Loyola (MD) by an average of 27 points.
Last week’s ranking: 3
Coming off their first road win of the season against North Carolina State last Saturday, Syracuse kept their undefeated streak in-tact this week with wins over Bucknell and Tulane.
Last week’s ranking: 2
After losing Jared Sullinger in the first half of last week’s game against South Carolina with a bone bruise in his foot, the sophomore returned this week to lead the Buckeyes to wins over Miami (OH) and Lamar.
Ohio State begins Big 10 play on December 28th against Northwestern, before playing the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers on New Year’s Eve.
Last week’s ranking: 1
Out of this week’s top 15:
Pittsburgh: After an upset loss to Long Beach State earlier in the season, the Panthers suffered their second upset loss to Wagner on Friday night.
For the first time this season, the Panthers are out of the power rankings.
Last week’s ranking: 15
Xavier: Since Tu Holloway, Mark Lyons and Dezmine Wells were suspended following their roles in the brawl with the Cincinnati Bearcats on December 9th, the Musketeers are 0-3, with losses to the likes of Oral Roberts, Hawaii and Long Beach State.
Last week’s ranking: 13
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.
