The post-Feast Week Power Rankings: Purdue is No

Jeff Borzello, ESPN

• Staff WriterNov 27, 2023, 08:00 AM ET Close Basketball recruiting expert.
• Signed up with ESPN in 2014.
• Graduate of University of Delaware.It was precisely one year ago that

Purdue went from unranked to No. 1 in the ESPN Power Rankings(No. 24 to No. 5 in the Associated Press poll)following its Phil Knight Tradition champion, which featured wins over West Virginia, Gonzaga and Duke. The Boilermakers would ultimately spend 7 weeks at No. 1 in the AP poll and the rest of the 2022-23 season inside the top 5, before suffering the infamous NCAA tournament loss to 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson.Once again, Purdue is rising to No. 1 in the Power

Rankings– and nearly surely the AP survey– on the Monday after Feast Week. This time around, it had an even more hard run to a title, requiring to beat Gonzaga, Tennessee and Marquette to win the Maui Invitational.How long will Purdue stick at No. 1 this season?In 2022-23, the Boilermakers won their very first 13 games– and 22 of their very first 23– but the early-season schedule features a few more prospective speedbumps this time around. The Boilermakers open Big 10 play at Northwestern on Friday, with nonconference games versus Alabama and Arizona still on the docket.The Arizona match on Dec. 16 may be the game of the year: The No. 1 vs. No. 2 groups In Indianapolis. Circle your calendars.On to this week’s awards and rankings … play 1:38 Zach Edey sets up 28 points, 15 rebounds in crucial win vs. No.

4 Marquette Zach Edey installs an amazing 28-point,15-rebound double-double in No. 2 Purdue’s win vs. No. 4 Marquette.

Purdue ran through an outright onslaught to win the Maui Invitational and take control of the No. 1 area in the rankings this week. The Boilermakers beat Gonzaga in the quarterfinals, Tennessee in the semifinals and Marquette in the title game. Different foes, various designs, various games. They tracked the Zags by 9 in the very first half before controling the last 15 minutes and pulling away for a comfy success. They were awful in the very first half versus the Vols, making just 2 of their final 22 attempts from the flooring– and still tracked by just one. However Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn supplied support for Zach Edey and Fletcher Loyer down the stretch and they won by four.And then in the title game, the Golden Eagles merely had no answer for Edey, especially when Oso Ighodaro went to the bench with foul problem. Edey scored 11 straight Purdue points late in the first half and helped keep Marquette at bay, before getting two late offensive rebounds and a layup with 16 seconds delegated preserve the three-point win. Edey isn’t going to win Gamer of the Week since we try to avoid numerous awards going to the very same group, however he averaged 25.3 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in Hawai’i. He was absolutely dominant.

Editor’s Picks 2 Associated While the Rams took a massive step back last season, going from 25-6 and a 6-seed in the NCAA tournament to 15-18 and eighth in the Mountain West, Isaiah Stevens remained a bright spot, finishing 2022-23 with career highs throughout the board. Among the elite point guards in the country, he has actually gotten where he ended for this campaign. He chose 18 points and 8 helps in the Hall of Popularity Classic semifinal versus Boston College, then put on a program versus a top-10 Creighton team, completing with 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists in the Rams’ stunning 69-48 victory.Considering this was a

week with a big amount of high-level basketball, there were surprisingly couple of legitimate Player of the Week candidates. Hofstra’s Tyler Thomas, however, should have a reference. He led the Pride to a Gulf Coast Display champion with a 40-point, 8-rebound, 5-assist performance in the title game against Peak. Which followed 30 points in the semifinal versus Wright State and 21 in the quarterfinal against Buffalo. play 0:19 Sean Jones muscles his way into the and-1 bucket Marquette’s Sean Jones drives into the paint and finishes strong with a hard and-1 layup vs. Kansas. If you beat the No. 1 team in the land, chances are you’re getting this award. I do not make the guidelines.(Well, I do, however that’s not the point.) Marquette’s success over Kansas was perhaps the best single-game efficiency we’ve seen up until now this season. The Golden Eagles simply overwhelmed the Jayhawks with their aggressiveness at both ends of the flooring, making them uncomfortable and forcing 18 turnovers at one end, then continuously attacking the rim and pushing the ball in shift offensively.Marquette went on an 11-0 run midway through the very first half to break open a tie game, and KU never got closer than five the remainder of the method. Oso Ighodaro was significant on the interior, ending up with 21 points and nine rebounds and outplaying Hunter Dickinson. And Sean Jones was the X element off the Golden Eagles’ bench, scoring nine points and dispensing three assists, altering the game with his speed. play 0:16 Tyler Burton claps it offthe backboard for

a big-time block Tyler Burton rises and smashes it

off the backboard for a substantial Villanova block. It may not be an understatement to state recently was a tenure-shaping week for Neptune at Nova. After last season, when the Wildcats completed 17-17 general and missed out on the NCAA tournament for the first time considering that 2012, Neptune entered his 2nd season under a certain level of pressure. A 76-72 loss to Penn at The Palestra in the third game of the season even more raised eyebrows.Two weeks later, however, Villanova appears like a second-weekend NCAA tournament team and a top-four team in the Big East. The Wildcats went through the Fight 4 Atlantis with wins over Texas Tech, North Carolina and Memphis. At one point in the title game, they led the Tigers by 35. In the offseason, Neptune put together among the most talented and experienced teams in college basketball. And now, he has the Wildcats playing like it.Three groups with questions

DePaul Blue Demons: After dropping to 1-5 on Saturday night with a 10-point home loss to Northern Illinois, the Blue Demons now have three home losses to teams ranked sub-100 in the majority of metrics. It doesn’t get any simpler for them, either. Iowa State and Texas A&M are the next 2 games, with Villanova and UConn the first two Big East challengers up in a couple of weeks.

Stanford Cardinal: In an important year for coach Jerod Haase’s future in Palo Alto, the Cardinal left the Battle 4 Atlantis with an 0-3 record. Close losses to Arkansas and Michigan sting, but the 22-point defeat to Northern Iowa does not assist. These losses also begin the heels of a 12-point home defeat to Santa Clara in mid-November.

Michigan Wolverines: After being hyped as perhaps the second-best team in the Big Ten following its win over St. John’s, Michigan is now 4-3 after losing in your home to Long Beach State then going 1-2 in the Bahamas. Are the Wolverines closer to an NCAA competition group or the group that was picked 11th in the Big Ten in the preseason?Power Rankings play 0:18 Braden Smith crosses his protector and drains an impressive pail Braden Smith crosses his defender and drains pipes a smooth basket to pull the Boilermakers closer. 1. Purdue Boilermakers(6-0)Previous ranking: 2 Today: vs. Texas Southern (Tuesday), at Northwestern (Friday )Braden Smith showed in Hawai’i just how much he has actually advanced because last season

. The sophomore point player had 13 points, six helps and five steals in the Maui Invitational quarterfinal game versus Gonzaga and went for 18 points, five helps and 4 3-pointers in the title game against Marquette. His six points and 2-for-9 shooting performance versus Tennessee didn’t impress in a vacuum, however he was being safeguarded by Zakai Zeigler, among the best on-ball defenders in the nation, and still managed to make big shots late. If he can deal with ball pressure in big games, that’s another area Purdue has actually surpassed considering that last season. 2. Arizona Wildcats(6-0)Previous ranking: 3 This week: vs. Colgate(Saturday)When Arizona signed San Diego State transfer Keshad Johnson, it was mainly an attempt to get harder and more flexible defensively; Johnson was considered one of the very best protective players in the nation, using one of the best defensive teams in the nation. But the 6-foot-7 forward has actually scored in double figures in all six games for Arizona this season, something he did just twice in the last 10 games last season for the Aztecs. He has also made four 3s in his previous two games, and his rebounding and defense have been as advertised, too. 3. UConn Huskies(6-0) Previous ranking:

4 Today: vs. New Hampshire (Monday), at Kansas(Friday )While UConn’s face-off in Lawrence on Friday is the biggest game of the

week, the Huskies’game versus New Hampshire on Monday night in Storrs holds a various level of value. With a 10-point win over the Wildcats, UConn will set the record for many consecutive nonconference wins that come by a double-digit margin. The Huskies won their 23rd straight Friday against Manhattan, connecting the record set by North Carolina in 2008-09. play 0:17 Oso Ighodaro

‘s steal leads to two points at the other end Marquette’s Oso Ighodaro takes the ball and carries it the length of the flooring for the layup. 4. Marquette Golden Eagles(5-1)Previous ranking: 7 Today: vs. Southern(
Tuesday), at Wisconsin( Saturday)We mentioned Oso Ighodaro earlier, but he has actually been one of the

greatest breakout stars of the first month of the season. He simply went up against Coleman Hawkins, Adem Bona, Hunter Dickinson and Zach Edey in four straight games– and played well in all 4, getting outplayed by only Edey in the Maui Invitational title game. In those four games, Ighodaro balanced 16.0 points and 6.5 rebounds, shooting almost 66%from the field. play

0:16

Jamal Shead steals and ratings for Houston

Jamal Shead steals and scores for Houston

5. Houston Cougars(7-0)Previous ranking: 6 This week: at Xavier(Friday)Jamal Shead is starting to strike his stride on the offensive end. He didn’t show much as a scorer through the very first 3 games of this season (mostly since the Cougars didn’t need him), balancing simply 4.0 points. He has actually scored in double figures in the past 3 games, however, making two 3s against both Utah and Dayton. His defense hasn’t suffered, either– he created at least 2 steals in each of his previous 5 games and has actually balanced 3.0 takes through seven games.

6. Kansas Jayhawks( 5-1)Previous ranking: 1 Today: vs. Eastern Illinois (Tuesday

), vs. UConn( Friday)Jamari McDowell might be the name to look for Kansas in its two games today. Since the preseason, the typical idea has actually been that the Jayhawks have four stalwarts– Dajuan Harris Jr., Kevin McCullar Jr., K.J. Adams Jr. and Hunter Dickinson– however required something from among their newbies on the wings. Elmarko Jackson, Johnny Furphy and Nick Timberlake were the main candidates for that role, but it may actually be McDowell. The 6-4 freshman played 27 minutes versus Tennessee and struck a set of threes.

play 0:23 Tyrese Proctor elevates for jam vs. Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles

Tyrese Proctor elevates for jam vs. Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles 7. Duke Blue Devils (5-1)

Previous ranking: 9 Today: at Arkansas (Wednesday ), at Georgia Tech(Saturday )Tyrese Proctor has played much better since heaven Devils’loss to Arizona in the second game of the season. In the three games following that defeat, he averaged 16.0 points and 4.7 helps, while shooting 42.8 %from 3-point variety and not turning the ball over a single time. He wasn’t as effective against Southern Indiana but did dispense 7 assists.

play 0:38 Baylor drains back-to-back triples in the 2nd half Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and Jalen Bridges tear down back-to-back 3-pointers to pad the Bears’ lead in the second half.

8. Baylor Bears 6-0) Previous ranking: 11 Today: vs. Nicholls State(Tuesday), vs. Northwestern State (Saturday)

Baylor’s wide variety of perimeter shot-makers and shot-creators has few peers in college basketball this season. That depth was on display screen versus Florida in the NIT season tip-off Friday night, when Ja’Kobe Walter was limited to 2 second-half minutes by nasty difficulty and Jayden Nunn shot 1-for-8 from the field. Up stepped RayJ Dennis, who scored 22 of his 24 overall points in the 2nd half; Jalen Bridges, who made five threes; and Langston Love, who came off the bench to score 16 points.

9. Miami Hurricanes (5-0)
Previous ranking: 13 Today: at Kentucky (Tuesday)

, vs. Notre Dame (Saturday) The Hurricanes had the week off and will have a full nine days of rest to prepare for the Wildcats in Lexington on Tuesday. The type in that game could come at the 3-point line. Miami ranks No. 1 nationally in 3-point percentage, making almost 46% of its efforts; Kentucky ranks 6th nationally, at 42.5%. Miami has done a better job of defending border shots as much as this point, though, and Kentucky did allow Saint Joseph’s to make 15 3s last week.

10. Tennessee Volunteers(4-2)Previous ranking: 5 Today: at North Carolina(Wednesday)We were quite high up on the Volunteers after their offending efficiency the first 3 games of the season, and we’re still believers in the Volunteers at that end of the floor. But their efficiency in Hawaii was similar to last season’s having a hard time system. They scored less than 0.96 points per belongings in all three Maui Invitational games and shot a combined 17-for-63 from 3 against Purdue and Kansas. How will they respond in Chapel Hill this week?

play 1:36 Marshall Thundering Herd vs. Kentucky Wildcats: Full Emphasizes

Marshall Thundering Herd vs. Kentucky Wildcats
: Complete Highlights 11. Kentucky Wildcats (5-1 )Previous ranking: 15 This week: vs. Miami(Tuesday), vs. UNC Wilmington(Saturday)Kentucky’s offense has plainly enhanced this season, both schematically and from a skill point of view, and dealing with Marshall and its busy style on Friday was the perfect storm for a record-breaking efficiency. Via ESPN Statistics & Details, the Wildcats’ 118 points were the most scored under John Calipari and the most scored by Kentucky versus a Division I challenger since December 1995.

12. Gonzaga Bulldogs
(4-1)Previous ranking: 10 Today: vs. Cal State Bakersfield(Tuesday), vs. USC in Las Vegas (Saturday)

While Anton Watson’s unbelievable performance against UCLA (32 points, 14-for-15 from the field) helped Gonzaga get away Hawai’i with just one loss and an area in the Power Rankings, the issues for the Zags on the offending end were amplified versus stiffer competition. The biggest difference between this season and the previous iterations of the Zags is their efficiency from the 3-point line. Steele Venters’ injury obviously hurts, but Gonzaga is shooting just 29.9% from 3. For context, it hasn’t shot below 35% given that before Dan Monson took control of in Spokane in 1997.

play 0:18 Eric Dixon sinks the and-1 trey for Villanova Eric Dixon develops area off the dribble, then he knocks down the

triple vs. the Tar Heels. 13. Villanova Wildcats(6-1)

Previous ranking: Unranked Today: vs. Saint Joseph’s( Wednesday)Despite the addition of 3 transfers and the go back to complete health of Justin Moore, Eric Dixon has actually maintained his production from last season, and he had the best game of his profession in Villanova’s overtime win over North Carolina: 34 points and 10 rebounds, 11-for-19 shooting from the field and 3-for-5 from 3. Dixon is among 5 Wildcats to make a minimum of 9 3s currently this season, as the team is taking nearly 50% of its field goal attempts from behind the arc.

14. Colorado State Rams(6-0)Previous ranking: Unranked This week: vs. Colorado(Wednesday)

, vs. Washington in Las Vegas (Saturday)The buzz coming out of Fort Collins in the preseason was that 2022-23 was an abnormality for the Rams, a sluggish start because of Isaiah Stevens’ early injury that just snowballed into a bad and irregular campaign. So far, that seems correct. Colorado State is 6-0 coming out of Banquet Week, with two huge tests coming this week. The Rams host in-state rival Colorado on Wednesday before heading to Las Vegas to face a talented Huskies team.Top stories of

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15. Creighton Bluejays (5-1)Previous ranking: 8 Today: at Oklahoma State (Thursday)

, at Nebraska(Sunday) There may not have actually been a more sensational result last week than Creighton getting its doors blown off by Colorado State on Thanksgiving. The Bluejays had actually been perhaps the very best offending team in the country the first 2 weeks of the season, scoring a minimum of 82 points and 1.2 points per ownership in every game, and making double-digit 3-pointers in every one, too. However versus the Rams, Creighton scored simply 48 points and 0.72 points per ownership and shot 6-for-29 from 3. Star guard Trey Alexander was 1-for-16 from the floor.

16. BYU Cougars (6-0)Previous ranking: Unranked This week: vs. Fresno State (Friday)

Picked next to last in the preseason Big 12 poll, BYU is off to a 6-0 start with wins over San Diego State and NC State. And looking at the Cougars’ schedule, they’re likely to be favored in every game till their trip to Baylor on Jan. 9. A 14-0 start isn’t out of the concern for Mark Pope’s team. What has been the story so far? The efficiencies of a set of former two-time transfers in Noah Waterman and Jaxson Robinson. Waterman had 24 against Arizona State and is averaging 12.5 points and 6.8 boards, while Robinson went for 23 off the bench versus NC State and is averaging 15.3 points.Dropped out: North Carolina Tar Heels( No. 12 ), Texas A&M Aggies (No. 14), Alabama Crimson Tide(No. 16)In the waiting space play 1:35 RJ Davis ratings 30 points to power UNC to win over Arkansas RJ Davis scores 30 indicate assist North Carolina

defeat Arkansas 87-72. North Carolina Tar Heels: Maybe the most excellent part about Carolina taking Villanova to overtime and then beating Arkansas by 15 was that both efficiencies came without Armando Bacot being much of a factor offensively. He averaged just 9.0 points in the Fight 4 Atlantis. RJ Davis stepped up, however, with 30 points versus the Razorbacks. Florida Atlantic Owls: Actually impressive action by Dusty May’s team following the stunning home loss to Bryant last weekend. The Owls won the ESPN Occasions Invitational, beating Butler, Texas A&M and Virginia Tech– scoring a minimum of 84 points in all 3 games. Alijah Martin finally appeared like last season’s Alijah Martin, balancing 18.3 points and 5.7 boards. Mississippi State Bulldogs: With their win over Nicholls State, the Bulldogs relocated to 6-0 this past week, and Josh Hubbard continues to grow his track record as one of the very best sixth guys in the country. He scored 15 points, his fifth straight game with at least 12 points.