Male’s Power Rankings: What every group needs going forward

• Jeff Borzello, ESPN

  • Personnel WriterDec 28, 2023, 08:30 AM ET Close Basketball recruiting insider.
  • Joined ESPN in 2014.
  • Graduate of University of Delaware.After UConn beat

Gonzaga in Seattle and Purdue and Arizona fought to the last minutes in Indianapolis, it felt like the leading five teams nationally had separated themselves a bit.Then the Huskies got dropped at Seton Hall by 15 points, and Arizona lost to Florida Atlantic in Las Vegas. How far do both squads drop?Well, not that far.Arizona’s defeat by one point in double overtime

did more to help FAU than it did to harm the Wildcats. UConn is a more interesting case, as the loss of Donovan Clingan for approximately a month due to a foot injury totally changes the dynamic of that team. However the Huskies ‘résumé and metrics still stack up positively to anyone behind them in the rankings.The next couple of tiers of groups have actually been primarily inconsistent through the very first two months of the season, however Tennessee has quietly duped 5 wins in a row(consisting of one over Illinois that is growing in stature); Kentucky’s loss to UNCW is truly its only unfavorable; the Illini continue to impress; and FAU has relatively fully rebounded from its home loss to Bryant. These groups are knocking on the door of the top five.You’ve probably seen we’ve adjusted the Power Rankings schedule over the holidays, with both Christmas Day and New Year’s Day falling on Mondays.

However we couldn’t go 2 weeks without the rankings, so upgrading them the day that games actually return underway after the Christmas break seemed like an excellent compromise. The routine Power Rankings format and schedule will resume on Jan. 8– starting a 70-day sprint to Choice Sunday.So, on to today’s rankings, in addition to one thing each group requires in the 2nd half of the 2023-24 season.

play 0:31 No. 3 Purdue drains pipes back-to-back 3s as they knock off No. 1 Arizona Lance Jones and Braden Smith tear down 2 long balls toassist

extend Purdue’s lead vs. Arizona. 1. Purdue Boilermakers (11-1)Previous ranking: 1 Next 10 days: vs. Eastern Kentucky(Friday), at Maryland(Tuesday), vs. Illinois(Friday)It feels unreasonable to point this out provided how well Purdue’s guards bet
Arizona– and how well Braden Smith has played all season– but the Boilermakers essentially just have to

continue having fun with poise late in games. Flashes of last season sneaked back in after the turnover-prone surface in the loss to Northwestern, however Purdue has actually provided it away 9 or fewer times in three of the 4 games since that defeat. The exception was the Arizona win, although Purdue shook off some struggles midway through the second half to complete strong. 2. Kansas Jayhawks(11-1) Previous ranking: 2 Next 10 days: vs. Wichita State in Kansas City( Saturday), vs. TCU(Saturday)In a perfect world, KU would get consistent shooting and production from one of its numerous rotation guards, however the Jayhawks just
need someone to make open shots. None of Elmarko Jackson, Nicolas Timberlake or Jamari McDowell has actually strung together a stretch of excellent games, but they’ve all done it at one time or another. The latest was Timberlake, who came out of nowhere to play a season-high 29 minutes and score 13 points against Yale last weekend. 3. Houston Cougars(12-0)Previous ranking: 5 Next 10 days: vs. Penn(Saturday ), vs. West Virginia( Saturday) Editor’s Picks 2 Related Houston already lost Terrance Arceneaux for the season with an Achilles injury, so the Cougars require to remain healthy moving on. Beginning forward J’Wan Roberts has been handling knee issues for most of the season and then played just 8 minutes in the Cougars’last game versus Texas State. Kelvin Sampson would likewise enjoy Damian Dunn to go back to his Temple type; after scoring 15-plus points in 2 of his very first 3 games, he hasn’t scored more than 10 in a game. 4. Arizona Wildcats( 9-2) Previous ranking: 4 Next 10 days: at California (Friday), at Stanford( Sunday), vs. Colorado(Thursday), vs. Utah(Saturday)Tommy Lloyd updated his perimeter defense in the offseason, including more toughness and adaptability. And it played out that method through the first 8 games of the season. But the Wildcats have had trouble consisting of opposing

guards over the past couple weeks. Purdue’s Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer torched them, and Florida Atlantic’s Johnell Davis dropped 35 last weekend. They included

Alabama’s guards from a scoring perspective, however the Tide likewise missed 32 3-pointers. 5. UConn Huskies(11-2) Previous ranking: 3 Next 10 days: vs. DePaul(Tuesday), at Butler(Friday )UConn will desire a healthy Donovan Clingan back as soon as possible. The Huskies’very first game without him came against St. John’s over the weekend, and Samson Johnson did an exceptional job filling his shoes, ending up with 16 points and four boards. Dan Hurley will need to go small sometimes with Alex Karaban at the five, however he’ll also have to throw 6-foot-10 freshman Youssouf

Singare on the flooring for a few minutes here and there. play 1:48 Tennessee holds back NC State to seal win in Hall of Fame Series finale Josiah-Jordan James ratings 23, and Zakai Zeigler chips in 20 as No. 12 Tennessee beats NC State in San Antonio. 6. Tennessee Volunteers (9-3 )Previous ranking: 8 Next 10 days: vs. Norfolk State(Tuesday), vs. Ole Miss(Saturday) After the Volunteers went 1-2 and had a hard time strongly on offense at the Maui Invitational, Rick Barnes put Zakai Zeigler, who spent the offseason recuperating

from ACL surgery, into the starting lineup. The offense has actually taken off when again.

The Volunteers looked enhanced at that end of the flooring early on, but the problems in Hawaii made the advances appear like a mirage. Zeigler, however, has jump-started the attack, with his speed and capability to enter into the teeth of the defense. Tennessee has actually scored a minimum of 1.03 points per possession
in each of the past 6 games, all Zeigler begins. That’s most likely the method forward. 7. Kentucky Wildcats( 9-2 )Previous ranking: 7 Next 10 days: vs. Illinois State (Friday), at Florida( Saturday )If the freshman wall does not exist in Lexington, Kentucky’s guards, and offense, should be amongst the best in college basketball. John Calipari provided the keys to D.J. Wagner, Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard, and they have co-existed as playmakers and complemented each other well on the offensive end. Dillingham and Sheppard have actually been 2 of the four or five finest freshmen in the nation, and Wagner is averaging 11.7 points and 3.6 assists. There are few groups more vibrant than the Wildcats. play 1:59 Terrence Shannon Jr., Marcus Domask each rating

33 vs. FAU Terrence Shannon Jr. and Marcus Domask combine for 66 points in Illinois ’98-89 win over FAU. 8. Illinois Combating Illini(9-2)Previous ranking: 12 Next 10 days: vs. Fairleigh Dickinson(Friday), vs. Northwestern(Tuesday ), at Purdue(Friday) Illinois has its best offense given that it was 1-seed in the 2021 NCAA tournament, and Terrence Shannon Jr. playing like a first-team All-American

is at

the heart

of it. However it’s been the supporting cast revealing some consistency lately that has actually taken the Illini to a various level. Oregon transfer Quincy Guerrier balanced 7.3 points in his very first 8 games; he was at 21.7 points over the previous three. Coleman Hawkins hadn’t scored in double digits all season up until putting up a minimum of 12 points in each of his previous 3 trips. 9. Florida Atlantic Owls (10-2)Previous ranking: 15 Next 10 days: at Florida Gulf Coast(Saturday), vs. East Carolina( Tuesday ), at Charlotte(Saturday)Even though the Owls beat Arizona with Vladislav Goldin playing simply 23 of 50 minutes last weekend, they’ll require him on the floor to reach the heights of last season. Goldin has actually committed at least four fouls in 5 separate games, consisting of both of FAU’s losses, and he was dominant against Illinois(23 points)before fouling out after simply 19 minutes. The Owls ranked 12th nationally last season in 2-point shooting portion; they’re

down more detailed to 80th this project. 10. Marquette Golden Eagles(

10-3 )Previous ranking: 6 Next 10 days: vs. Creighton (Saturday), at Seton Hall (Saturday)Shaka Smart could use a healthy Stevie Mitchell, however the Golden Eagles likewise need to be more constant from 3-point range. Their offense isn’t rather as crisp and reliable as it was last season, when it ranked in the top 10 nationally, and their boundary shooting during beats has been a major perpetrator. In the losses to Purdue, Wisconsin and Providence, the Golden Eagles shot 16-for-66(24.2%) from behind the arc.

11. North Carolina Tar Heels

(8-3) Previous ranking: 13 Next 10 days: vs. Charleston Southern(Friday), at Pittsburgh( Tuesday), at Clemson(Saturday )More defense like North Carolina bet Oklahoma– with the Tar Heels requiring 18 turnovers and holding the Sooners to 0.92 points per possession– could make UNC the preferred in the ACC. And Hubert Davis would like for Armando Bacot to restore his dominant kind on the interior. Bacot averaged 22.7 points and 13.3 rebounds in the first 3 games. Ever since, he is posting 12.3 points and 10.1 rebounds. Great numbers for 99.9%of the country, but we have actually seen Bacot be absolutely unguardable inside. 12. Oklahoma Sooners(10-1) Previous ranking: 9 Next 10 days: vs. Central Arkansas(Thursday ), vs. Monmouth (Sunday ), vs. Iowa State (Saturday)Leading stories of the week from Get unique access to countless premium articles a year from leading writers. – What’s next relocation for Morey, 76ers?”- NFL: Strong playoff race predictions”- 19 games that defined CFP playoff period “More ESPN +material” Oklahoma lost its very first game of the season recently versus North Carolina, and the Sooners’turnover issues were at the forefront when again. As formerly pointed out, they turned it over 18 times; it was the 4th straight game they had actually provided
it away on a minimum of 21 %of possessions. For the season, the Sooners rank No. 248 at KenPom in turnover

percentage, and they have actually been

bad taking care of the ball versus high-major competition. < img alt="" src ="https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/235.png&w=110&h=110" width ="
50″/ > 13. Memphis Tigers( 10-2 )Previous ranking: 16 Next 10 days: vs. Austin Peay

(Saturday ), at Tulsa(Thursday ), vs. SMU(Sunday) If Nae’Qwan Tomlin can play the way he did for Kansas State in the NCAA competition last season, Memphis will have a rotation as balanced, experienced and productive as any in college basketball. Tomlin scored in double figures in all 4 games in the Huge Dance last season, balancing 12.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. He’ll add rim defense, defense and offensive rebounding.(As an aside, David Jones is averaging

25.0 points in his past 6 games. All-American.) 14. Colorado State Rams( 11-1 )Previous ranking: 14 Next 10 days: vs. Adams State (Friday ), vs. New Mexico(Tuesday), at Utah State(Saturday)Niko Medved will simply desire his team to get healthy as soon as possible, as the Rams are still without Josiah Strong(wrist) and Jalen Lake (finger). Strong started all eight games before his injury, balancing 8.5 points, while Lake was playing 24 minutes a game off the bench and averaging 7.7 points. The Rams have a hard start to Mountain West play, with trip to Utah State

, Boise State and Nevada in
the very first 6 games of
the league season, in addition to opening with a game against visiting New Mexico. play 0:16 Duke is amped up after Jared McCain’s big 3-pointer Duke’s Jared McCain hits a substantial 3-pointer in the corner late in the second half. 15. Duke Blue Devils (8-3 )Previous ranking: Unranked Next 10 days: vs. Queens (Saturday ), vs. Syracuse (Tuesday), at Notre Dame(Saturday )Considering that Tyrese Proctor headed out injured, Jared McCain has been excellent. In the campaign’s first 8 games, McCain averaged 7.6 points and made 13 overall 3-pointers. In the three contests with Proctor sidelined, McCain balanced 18.3 points with 9 3-pointers. The former first-class hire

is playing with self-confidence and providing Jon Scheyer a constant perimeter hazard.

How McCain carries out once Proctor returns will be essential. 16. Baylor Bears( 10-2)Previous ranking: 10 Next 10 days: vs. Cornell( Tuesday), at Oklahoma State(Saturday)Baylor just needs to get some self-confidence back after successive losses to Michigan State and Duke, although recently’s 59-point win over Mississippi Valley State was an excellent start. The Bears begin two freshmen and 2 mid-major transfers; needing to get up for top-50 opponents every three or 4 days is an adjustment.

That likewise has been an element
defensively. Baylor ranked last in the Big 12 last season in adjusted defensive performance, and the Bears are

resisting high-major competition when again, allowing at least 1.07 points per possession versus Auburn, Duke, Florida and Michigan State.Dropped out: Creighton Bluejays(No. 11)In the waiting room Clemson Tigers: Presuming Clemson functions versus Radford on Friday, the Tigers have a chance to establish themselves as the clearest competitors to Duke in the ACC, with games at Miami and versus North Carolina to start January. Wins there and the Tigers will be a legitimate champion danger.

Providence Friars: Kim English unexpectedly has the Friars in the national discussion after beating Marquette by 15 then holding off Butler in overtime four days later on. Providence now owns wins over the Golden Eagles and Wisconsin. And Devin Carter is playing the very best basketball of his profession. BYU Cougars: BYU has actually increased all the way into the top five in KenPom and to No. 7 in the BPI. It is the Cougars’ edge from the border that has been the real difference-maker. They lead the nation in 3s made at 12.8 per game, while challengers make simply 5.0 per game(6th nationally )at a 24.9 %clip(second nationally).