19 of the AP Top 25 teams lost this week. 19!!! A lot of that has to do with the fact that the SEC has nine teams within that group who faced off with each other numerous times, but it’s still an outrageous number that encapsulates the anarchy in college basketball right now.
Duke and Auburn stand well above the rest at the moment and trying to sort out the mess beneath them proved to be difficult. Expect plenty more changes as the season goes on, so for now, this is what we’ve got.
1. Duke (16-2)
The Blue Devils remain atop the rankings this week as they continue to outclass the ACC’s weak teams. They’ve won all but one game in the conference by double figures and all but two by 23 or more. That dominance should only continue as a date with North Carolina awaits on the first day of February.
2. Auburn (17-1)
No Johni Broome, no problem. At least so far. The Tigers were without their NPOY candidate for two ranked matchups this week and handled No. 15 Mississippi State before thwarting a late comeback and upset attempt from No. 23 Georgia. Next up is Tennessee who will be looking to bounce back from its second loss of the season to Vanderbilt on Saturday. Tahaad Pettiford (pictured) had a career high 24 points in their win against the Bulldogs Saturday.
3. Iowa State (15-2)
Saturday’s loss to West Virginia can be overlooked for the sake of a 17-point win over Kansas earlier in the week. That was the big one and the Cyclones sent a message with an impressive performance at Hilton Coliseum.
4. Alabama (15-3)
Instead of enjoying a big win before an upset, the Crimson Tide flipped what Iowa State did and ended the week on a high note with a win in Rupp Arena over No. 8 Kentucky. Remarkably, Alabama is now a perfect 3-0 on the road in SEC play with two top 10 wins where they averaged 98 points.
5. Houston (14-3)
Maybe hitting the panic button on Houston was a bit premature a few weeks ago. The Cougars are the last remaining unbeaten in Big 12 play after the heroic performance from J’Wan Roberts to avoid an upset at UCF on Saturday afternoon. Their defense remains among the best in the nation and while shotmaking from guards continues to be an issue, Roberts is emerging as a legit offensive threat in the post.
6. Kentucky (14-4)
It’s a fairly large jump for the Wildcats but one that feels well deserved with their 5-1 record against ranked opponents this season. There are some puzzling losses, but what matters is that Mark Pope’s team is built for big-time games and despite dropping one to Alabama, this is still a team that can beat anyone on any given night.
7. Florida (16-2)
A sluggish start ended up costing the Gators in a home loss to Missouri, who deserve far more credit than they’re getting, but we’ll get into that later. Florida had to bounce back quickly and did with a blowout win over Texas to get back on track.
8. Marquette (15-3)
It was an abysmal offensive performance against Xavier on Saturday and it resulted in Marquette’s first loss in Big East play. The Golden Eagles are still the favorites in the league, rightfully so, and should bounce back in a big week coming up.
9. Tennessee (16-2)
The Volunteers were the last undefeated team in the country, but a 30-point loss to Florida and now a second loss to Vanderbilt is raising concerns over their legitimacy as a national contender. There’s no time for Rick Barnes’ group to dwell on it though with three Top 10 opponents in the next four games and No. 15 Mississippi State beginning a tumultuous journey.
10. Michigan State (16-2)
The red-hot Spartans extended their winning streak to 11 games on Sunday with a hard-fought win over No. 19 Illinois. What a turnaround it’s been for Tom Izzo, which has his team unbeaten in Big Ten play with no signs of slowing down.
11. Texas A&M (14-4)
The return of Wade Taylor is a welcome sight for the Aggies who missed him in a pair of tight losses to SEC powerhouses in Alabama and Kentucky. They got back to winning ways against LSU with him back in the lineup and should have confidence that those losses can be flipped to wins with him fully healthy.
12. Purdue (13-3)
The Boilermakers are responding admirably to a 1-3 stretch in the heart of the season with a seven-game winning streak to soar toward the top of the Big Ten standings. A win on the road against No. 13 Oregon was the latest victory and an impressive one to cap a west coast road trip.
13. Kansas (13-4)
Jayhawks fans still have to be getting used to not being the favorites in the Big 12 and that fact was reinforced with a second loss in conference play to Iowa State. They’ll get a crack at the defending conference champions, Houston, on their home floor Saturday night to get back in the race for a regular season title.
14. Illinois (13-5)
A couple of questionable foul calls forced star freshman Kasparas Jakucionis to play just eight minutes and the Fightin Illini still nearly knocked off Michigan State on the road. That’s the sign of an elite team that looks poised to flip some of these narrow losses in their favor in the near future.
15. Wisconsin (15-3)
In a week with upsets galore, Wisconsin quietly handled its business, which only five other ranked teams could say. Outside of a three-game losing streak to start December, the Badgers are a perfect 15-0 this season and are among the true contenders in the Big Ten.
16. Missouri (15-3)
Let’s get back to Missouri. After a humiliating 0-18 record in conference play last season, the Tigers are already 4-1 and sneaking up the league standings and into the national spotlight. A win over No. 1 Kansas was a stunner at the time, but the longer the season goes on, the more that result makes sense in hindsight.
Next 5: Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Louisville, Memphis
Players of the Week:
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Steve Forbes has a knack for getting the most out of transfers and he’s done so again with Sallis the last two seasons. The former five-star recruit who struggled at Gonzaga is now one of the best scorers in the country with seven straight 20-point games, including a 30-point effort against Stanford on Wednesday.
In a class with many exciting freshman prospects, Sallis could attract the attention of a contender looking for a polished role player right away.
Grant Nelson, No. 5 Alabama Crimson Tide
You truly never know what you’re going to get from Grant Nelson. On Saturday against No. 8 Kentucky, it was 12 points in just over five minutes to help the Crimson Tide build a big early lead and 25 points in total to capture a thrilling victory in one of the meccas of college basketball. The lanky forward has been on draft boards before and performances like this will put him on them again ahead of this summer’s draft.
Curtis Jones, No. 2 Iowa State Cyclones
Jones picked up just his second start of the season when No. 9 Kansas came to town on Wednesday and the 6-4 senior made the most of his opportunity with 20 first-half points, and 25 in total, to lift the Cyclones to a win in a heavyweight matchup with the Jayhawks. He started again on Saturday, scoring 18 more points against West Virginia, so. It’s probably safe to assume he’ll be there for the foreseeable future.
Javon Small, West Virginia Mountaineers
The only reason Curtis Jones’ 18 points weren’t enough on Saturday was Mountaineers senior Javon Small. The Oklahoma State transfer who’s been no stranger to the big moments all season came through again with 27 points, seven rebounds and five assists to lead his team to an upset and a court-storming over the weekend.
David Joplin, No. 7 Marquette Golden Eagles
It was a bad week for Marquette, but it could’ve been a lot worse if Joplin didn’t shoot the lights out in an overtime win at DePaul. The senior made seven triples and scored 30 points to lead all scorers and at least salvage one win in a brutal week for the Golden Eagles.
Play of the Week
There might not be anything rarer in basketball than an alley-oop buzzer-beater. After surrendering a game-tying layup at one end, Dayton pulled off the rare feat as Amael L’Etang converted a reverse layup in midair to give the Flyers a win they desperately needed after a three-game losing streak in A-10 play. Check out the incredible game-winning bucket, and potential at-large bid saving play, below!
https://x.com/DaytonMBB/status/1880761152436908422
Video Credit: DaytonMBB Twitter
