Male’s Power Rankings: UConn is still bending, and we have

• Jeff Borzello, ESPN

  • Personnel WriterFeb 5, 2024, 07:30 AM ET Close Basketball recruiting expert.
  • Joined ESPN in 2014.
  • Graduate of University of Delaware.The dust has actually settled

from the most loaded weekend schedule of the entire routine season, a stretch that included 4 matches involving 2 top-10 teams. There were 9 losses this past week by teams ranked in the leading 10 of recently’s Power Rankings, consisting of Wisconsin and Kentucky suffering two each. While the prominent matchups led to plenty of movement, possibly the biggest storyline coming out of the weekend was at the top of the rankings, where UConn and Purdue have actually put themselves in a tier of their own getting in the final month of the routine season.Editor’s Picks 2 Related UConn and Purdue are two of only 3 teams ranked in the leading 5 in

all five NCAA tournament metrics, with Houston as the other. UConn and Purdue are also the only two teams in the nation with more than six Quadrant 1 wins– both have 8. Purdue leads the nation in Quadrant 1 and 2 wins, with 15. UConn is second, with 11. Neither group has a loss beyond Quadrant 1. The Huskies get the edge for me at No. 1 because of injury issues in both losses and their constant supremacy over opponents, particularly at full strength. But Purdue is the just other group with a case to be ranked No. 1, and there’s a sizable drop-off after the Huskies and Boilermakers.This past weekend kept North Carolina and Tennessee in the leading 5 and brought Kansas back into the title competitor discussion while sending Wisconsin and Kentucky down the rankings. However it was UConn and Purdue that perhaps became the biggest winners throughout the landscape.On to this week’s awards and rankings … Two weeks in a row?! South Carolina won Team of the Week honors last week, but the Gamecocks then went on the road and beat Tennessee and Georgia. No other group can match those wins, especially far from home. There were a litany of top-10 upsets, but none of Georgia Tech, Florida or Nebraska might back it up over the weekend and the Gamecocks winning both games on the road gives them the edge over Kansas.South Carolina’s 63-59 win at Tennessee on Tuesday was the program’s very first road win over a top-five opponent because March 2, 1997, and was its 2nd top-10 win in a week after

knocking off Kentucky 2 weeks earlier. The Volunteers’loss was the very first home defeat for a top-five group in practically three months. The Gamecocks then followed that up by erasing a double-digit deficit against Georgia and coming back to beat the Bulldogs in Athens. Showing how well balanced South Carolina is, 6 various players scored in double-figures this past week– and only Ta’Lon Cooper did it in both games. South Carolina is now 19-3 total and 7-2 in the SEC. In an all-Big East battle, Olivari edges out Marquette’s Tyler Kolek for this week’s award.

Olivari has been one of the most efficient transfers in the country this season, balancing 19.1 points and 5.1 rebounds, shooting 45.4% from 3-point variety. The transfer from Rice continued his excellent play against St. John’s on Wednesday, finishing with 23 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals, going 4-for-8 from 3-point variety in a crucial 88-77 win.Against DePaul on Saturday, Olivari had among the elite offending performances of anyone in college hoops this season. He completed with 43 points on

12-for-20 shooting, going 7-for-12 from 3-point range– and adding 10 rebounds and 3 helps for excellent step. He didn’t miss out on a free throw all week, going 19-for-19 from the stripe. Florida’s overtime win at Kentucky is worthy of a mention, but the Wildcats turning around and quiting 103 points three days later on in a loss to Tennessee takes off some of the luster.

So Georgia Tech beating North Carolina gets approval. The Yellow Jackets erased an 11-point halftime lead and took every punch the Tar Heels had down the stretch to win it on a Naithan George pail with 7 seconds remaining. The outcome snapped a 10-game winning streak for Carolina, handing the Tar Heels their first ACC loss of the season. It was their worst protective efficiency considering that a loss to Kentucky in mid-December– and Tech’s finest defensive effort because Dec. 21. This has been a challenging first season for coach Damon Stoudamire at Georgia Tech, however regardless of the 3-8 ACC record, the Yellow Jackets have wins over North Carolina, Duke, Clemson and Mississippi State. Stoudamire is simply the 3rd

first-year ACC coach in the past 30 seasons to beat both Duke and North Carolina in his launching campaign, according to ESPN Statistics & Details. Coach of the Week: Thad Matta, Butler Bulldogs Does Matta still have it? That was the concern being asked after last season, when Butler ended up 14-18 general

and 6-14 in Big East play in Matta’s very first year at the helm, his very first season anywhere as a head coach given that 2017. The Bulldogs were chosen 10th in the preseason Big East poll, just one vote ahead of DePaul.That concern isn’t being asked any longer. Butler had among the very best road wins of the week, entering into Omaha and beating Creighton 99-98. The Bluejays, who got in the game with the Big East’s best defense in league play

, were forced into their worst defensive performance given that November 2021. Butler shot 55 %from the field– 62.5 %in the second half– and made 13 3-pointers on 59.1 %shooting from behind the arc. Matta struck the lottery game in the transfer portal last spring, adding Jahmyl Telfort, Pierre Brooks and DJ Davis– who integrated for 62 points Friday night.Butler has now won 4 in a row to transfer to 6-5 in the Big East and has 4 Quadrant 1 success, putting the Bulldogs in position to possibly get their first NCAA tournament quote since 2018. Three teams with concerns Kansas State Wildcats: The Wildcats suffered two more losses this previous week, consisting of Saturday’s defeat to an Oklahoma State team that had one Big 12 win getting in the weekend. They’re now on a four-game losing streak with a crucial upcoming stretch: vs. Kansas, at BYU, vs. TCU, at Texas, vs. BYU. With a web ranking in the 80s, it’s make-or-break time for their NCAA hopes. Missouri Tigers: One of the greatest surprises in college basketball last season, the Tigers dropped to 0-9 in SEC have fun with Saturday’s loss at Vanderbilt– which likewise didn’t have a league win before the weekend.

The Tigers have won just one of their past 13 games after starting 7-2. They’re likely to be underdogs in every game the remainder of the method, too. Michigan Wolverines: A nightmare season for the Wolverines might have struck rock bottom Saturday. They led Rutgers– which was 2-7 in Big 10 play getting in the day– by 15 with 17 minutes left in the game. Michigan would be outscored by 25 the remainder of the game, getting just two points in the final 7:15 and losing at home by 10. The Wolverines have now lost 10 of their past 11 games. play 1:08 Scott Drew ejected after leaving training box for 2nd time Baylor coach Scott Drew leaves the coaching box for the 2nd time of the game and is ejected.Power Rankings 1. UConn Huskies(20-2)

Previous ranking: 1 This week: vs. Butler Bulldogs(Tuesday), at Georgetown Hoyas (Saturday)Simply when it looked like UConn couldn’t get any stronger, star freshman Stephon Castle is beginning to really break

out. He set a profession high with 20 points in Wednesday’s win over Providence, then another with 21 on Saturday against St. John’s. He has now scored in double figures in seven of his past nine games. Perhaps most significantly, he is 4-for-6 from 3 in his previous 2 games and 8-for-18 in his past six after opening his career going 2-for-13 in his first 10. 2. Purdue Boilermakers (21-2 )Previous ranking: 2 Today: vs. Indiana Hoosiers(Saturday)We blogged about Lance Jones in this area last week, and he was the catalyst for the Boilermakers when again as they got crucial wins over Northwestern and at Wisconsin. He had 26 points and 5 3-pointers in the overtime win over the Wildcats

, then had 20 points, 6 boards and 3 helps in the roadway victory over the Badgers. Coach Matt Painter’s core

quartet of Jones, Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Zach Edey took 49 of the team’s 57 shots and scored 69 of its 75 points. 3. North Carolina Tar Heels(18-4 )Previous ranking: 3 This week: vs. Clemson Tigers( Tuesday), at Miami Hurricanes( Saturday )Welcome back, Armando Bacot. The All-American big male has ended up being the 2nd choice in Carolina’s offense to RJ Davis

this season, but against Duke on Saturday, he controlled like he has almost his whole career. Bacot completed with 25 points, 10 boards and 5 assists– his very first 20-point game since November. He had scored in single digits in three straight, however Hubert Davis pushed him to be more aggressive Saturday versus Kyle Filipowski.” The ACC runs through me,”Bacot stated later. 4. Tennessee Volunteers (16-5)Previous ranking: 4 This week: vs. LSU Tigers( Wednesday), vs. Texas A&M Aggies( Sunday) Top stories of the week from Get unique access to thousands of premium

posts a year from top writers. – Windhorst: May see bigger trades ahead “- Miller’s mock: Landing spots for 6 QBs”- CFB: Rankings on return of 134 groups”More ESPN+material”Mentioning bounce-backs, Zakai Zeigler had among the best private performances from a point guard we’ve seen this season. Against Kentucky on Saturday, he ended up with 26 points and 13 assists– the very first Tennessee player with 25 points and 10 helps
in at least 25 years and the 2nd player in the
past 25 seasons to install those numbers at Rupp Arena, according to ESPN Statistics & Info. He scored or assisted on 60 of Tennessee’s 103 points. It was a positive for Rick Barnes’team that it might produce such explosive offense without Dalton Knecht requiring to go for 30-plus. 5. Marquette Golden Eagles (17-5)Previous ranking: 7 This week: vs. St. John’s Red Storm(Saturday )Tyler Kolek had a remarkable week for the Golden Eagles, going for 32 points, 6 rebounds and 9 helps in a road win at Villanova on Tuesday, then following that up with 17 points and 8 assists in a blowout triumph at Georgetown. He turned it over only three times in those games. Coach Shaka Smart will also be pleased by Kam Jones’return from an ankle injury
Saturday. Jones played just five minutes last weekend and missed the Villanova game,

however returned and scored 31 on seven 3-pointers versus the Hoyas. 6. Kansas Jayhawks( 18-4)Previous ranking: 12 This week: at Kansas State Wildcats( Monday), vs. Baylor Bears (Sunday) The doom and gloom after road losses to West Virginia and Iowa State look like a distant memory after the Jayhawks presented arguably the best offensive efficiency a Kelvin Sampson-coached Houston team has enabled. Kansas shot 68.9 %from the field– the

greatest for any team against the Cougars because Sampson took
over in 2014– hitting 46%from 3 and scoring 42 points in the paint, which is one of the most Houston has actually allowed given that 2017. 7. Houston Cougars(19-3)Previous ranking: 5 This week: vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys (Tuesday ), at Cincinnati Bearcats (Saturday )To be clear, the sky is not falling on Houston’s defense in spite of Texas and Kansas both scoring more than 70 points on the Cougars this previous week– the very first challengers all season to reach that limit.

The only 2 times in the past three seasons a team scored greater than Kansas’1.22 points per ownership were the NCAA competition losses to Baylor in 2021 and

Miami in 2023, which makes me believe this is more an abnormality than the brand-new standard. It’s likewise worth noting that Houston is allowing just 94.8 points per 100 belongings in Huge 12 play– the exact number it allowed last season in the AAC. 8. Arizona Wildcats(17-5 )Previous ranking: 11 Today: at Utah Utes(Thursday ), at Colorado Buffaloes( Saturday )Down 11 at home to Stanford on Sunday, Arizona badly needed a trigger. Enter KJ Lewis. The freshman sixth male came back into the game with 15 minutes remaining and was never subbed out again

. He was terrific, with his size and physicality causing problems for the Cardinal defensively. Lewis had 2 takes, a block and 3 rebounds, while

also being extremely efficient at the other end, scoring 12 points and dispensing three helps– and icing the game with a finish through traffic with 1:19 left. That performance began the heels of a 14-point game versus California on Thursday. play 1:10 Moods flare between Kentucky and Tennessee Several Kentucky and Tennessee players need to be separated as tempers flare. 9. Alabama Crimson Tide(16-6) Previous ranking: In the waiting room This week: at Auburn Tigers(Wednesday), at LSU Tigers(Saturday)It

‘s a huge delve into the leading 10 for Alabama, but the Crimson Tide’s wins-based résumé is beginning to reach their metrics-based résumé, which has actually been fantastic all season. The Tide won at Georgia on Wednesday, then damaged Mississippi State by 32 on Saturday,

offering Nate Oats’group 10 wins in its previous 11 games. Alabama has 3 Quadrant 1 wins
and four more against Quadrant 2, in addition to a top-seven ranking from the NET, BPI and KenPom. Wednesday’s trip to Auburn is substantial for both groups. 10. Iowa State Cyclones(16-5)Previous ranking: 10 This week: at Texas Longhorns( Tuesday ), vs. TCU Horned Frogs(Saturday) We’re not dropping Iowa State in spite of its two-point loss at Baylor on Saturday night in among the wildest games of the season. The Cyclones went on a 20-0 perform at one point, Baylor coach Scott Drew was ejected, the Bears regained the lead on a late 7-0 run and then Iowa State’s Milan Momcilovic struck a game-winning 3 at the buzzer– except it followed the buzzer and was waived off. On the plus side, Keshon Gilbert continued his wonderful recent play, completing with 24 points. That brought his averages over his past five games to 18.2 points and 6.2 rebounds on 43.5%3-point shooting. 11. Wisconsin Badgers(16-6)Previous ranking: 6 Today: at Michigan Wolverines(Wednesday), at Rutgers Scarlet Knights(Saturday )Wisconsin dropped 2 games this previous week, but didn’t fall out of the rankings thanks to its rock-solid overall résumé. The Badgers are 3rd in the nation with 10 Quadrant 1 and 2 wins, and just UConn and Purdue have more than their 6 Quadrant 1 victories. That keeps them on the fringes of the top 10. However the D requires to turn it around today, as the Badgers have actually now enabled a minimum of 1.05 points per ownership in five of their past 6 games and rank just seventh in the Big Ten in defensive performance. 12. Auburn Tigers (18-4)Previous ranking: 14 Today: vs. Alabama Crimson Tide(Wednesday ), at Florida Gators (Sunday )The Tigers rolled to 2 wins this past week, capped by a dominant 56-point second half on the roadway at Ole Miss on Saturday. That assisted turn a 13-point first-half deficit into a 14-point win. Six players were in double figures, however it was Jaylin Williams who led the team in scoring in both games this previous week. A dependable factor his whole career, Williams

has actually taken his offensive game to a new level over the previous two months, hitting the 20-point mark six times in his past 15 games and balancing 15.0 points over that span. 13. Illinois Battling Illini (17-5)Previous ranking: 15 This week: at Michigan State Spartans (Saturday )Going into mid-January, Coleman Hawkins had two 20-point games in his first 3 1/2 seasons of college basketball. In his previous six games, he has 3 20-point performances. Hawkins has always had the talent to get take a look at the next level, but consistency has actually been a question. And while he’s still efficient in subpar games, the 6-foot-10 senior has hit double figures in 12 of his past 14 games, balancing 14.2 points and 6.6 rebounds over that stretch and shooting 43.2%from 3. In Sunday’s

overtime win, he opted for 20 points, 7 boards, 5 helps and 4 made 3s. 14. Baylor Bears (16-5)Previous ranking: In the waiting space Today: vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders (Tuesday), at Kansas Jayhawks(Saturday)Baylor snapped its three-game losing streak with a set of wins this previous week, and it seems like it’s time to highlight Langston Love although he scored just 3 points against Iowa State on Saturday. Love missed out on all of his freshman season with an injury, was a strong role player last season and has actually emerged as one of the best sixth guys in the country this season. Prior to Saturday, the 6-5 guard had balanced 15.1 points over his previous seven games, shooting 55.6%from 3– topped by a career-high 24 points in the win at UCF. 15. South Carolina Gamecocks (19-3)

Previous ranking: Unranked This week: vs. Ole Miss Rebels (Tuesday ), vs. Vanderbilt Commodores (Saturday )You win Group of the Week 2 weeks in a row, opportunities are you’re going to find yourselves in the Power Rankings proper coming out of that stretch. Lamont Paris’ team now owns wins over Tennessee and Kentucky and is 7-2 versus Quadrants 1 and 2. That offers it the third-best gaining percentage against Quads 1 and 2 amongst groups with five or more total wins in those classifications. The Gamecocks ‘efficiency-based metrics haven’t quite caught up to their record, however they’re 4th in adjusted efficiency margin in league games, behind Auburn, Tennessee and Alabama, which seems spot-on. 16. Duke Blue Devils(16-5 )Previous ranking: 9 Today: vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish(Wednesday ), vs. Boston College Eagles (Saturday)Though Duke’s 3-point shooting in its loss at North Carolina was listed below par for the season, it is the Blue Devils’defense that has truly come under analysis over the previous couple of weeks. They’ve enabled at least 1.03 points per ownership in each of their past six games– including their worst protective efficiency of the season against the Tar Heels, allowing 1.22. They rank No. 149 nationally and No. 12 in the ACC in adjusted defensive performance in their previous 6 games, according to BartTorvik.com.Dropped out: Kentucky Wildcats(No. 8 ), Creighton Bluejays(No. 13), Utah State Aggies(

No. 16)In the waiting room Kentucky Wildcats: The Wildcats plunge out of the leading 16 following an 0-2 week, with both losses– to Florida and Tennessee– coming at home. The defensive issues are clearly legit, as the Wildcats allowed a combined 197 points in the 2 games and dropped to 13th in the SEC in defensive effectiveness. They’re likewise ranked No. 24 or lower in all five NCAA tournament metrics. Creighton Bluejays: The Bluejays dropped from first to 4th in the Big East in defensive performance in league play following their 99-98 home loss to Butler. It will be intriguing to see how they respond, as the next two games are road trips to Providence and Xavier, groups severely in requirement of a win. Can Creighton get anything from players outside of its huge four? The rest of the lineup has actually integrated for 21 points in the past three games. BYU Cougars: The Cougars have actually kept their excellent metrics profile given that Huge 12 play began, still ranking inside the leading 10 of the NET and KenPom and in the leading 15 of the BPI.

They likewise have a workable upcoming schedule to help improve their résumé: at Oklahoma, vs. Kansas State, vs. UCF, at Oklahoma State. They’ll likely be preferred by double digits in three of those games.