I’m going to be going through my personal top 25 every week, and I’ll break down how I got to my rankings for each team. I submit them to the Reddit CBB Top 25 as well, and you can find those at http://cbbpoll.com.
- Gonzaga
Record: 8-0
Why They’re Here: The Bulldogs have made it through a gauntlet unscathlted thus far. They’ve knocked off Texas A&M by 23, then went to Maui where they beat Illinois by 6, Arizona by 17, and took down Duke in the championship game. They then went into Creighton and beat them by 11, despite the Blue Jays leading by 7 at the half and making 14 threes. They’ve been having all this success without star center Killian Tillie, but they’ve covered his loss pretty well. Rui Hachimura has stepped into a much larger role, and he’s thriving, scoring 21.9 points to go along with 6.1 rebounds. He’s been joined in the frontcourt by San Jose State transfer Brandon Clarke, who’s been equally as impressive, scoring 17.3 a night to go along with 7.8 boards and 3.9 blocks. Zach Norvell continues to be one of the best scorers in the nation, putting up 18.6 a night. With solid contributions from Josh Perkins, Corey Kispert, Filip Petrusev, and the now injured Geno Crandell, Gonzaga has been firing on all cylinders, but the Zags are by no means out of the woods yet, with a game against Washington before traveling to Phoenix to play Tennessee and Chapel Hill to play UNC. They can certainly win all of those games, but none of them will come easily. No matter what happens, this is clearly an elite team.
- Michigan
Record: 8-0, 1-0
Why They’re Here: I recently discussed Michigan in my Big Ten Power Rankings, but to summarize, Michigan isn’t just beating teams, they’re embarrassing them. With dominant wins of 27 at Villanova, 17 vs North Carolina, and 19 vs Purdue, Michigan looks nearly unbeatable. They’ve been getting it done defensively, as evidenced by Carsen Edwards being held to 19 points on 7-21 shooting. The past two performances have really stood out for the Wolverine’s offensive execution, shooting 52.3% from the field against the Tar Heels and Boilermakers. With game against Northwestern and South Carolina approaching next week, I expect to see more of the same from John Beilein’s team.
- Kansas
Record: 6-0
Why They’re Here: I feel bad for the Jayhawks. They were #1 in the preseason, beat Michigan State and Tennessee, and yet they find themselves dropped 2 spots in my rankings. The play of the two teams ahead of them has been vastly superior, and Kansas hasn’t looked too hot since the Champions Classic victory over the Spartans. They beat Marquette by 9 thanks to a cold stretch from the Golden Eagles to start the second half, beat Tennessee by 6, and needed overtime to get by Stanford at home. Still, a win is a win, and they’ve been led by some standout performers. Lagerald Vick has been incredible this season scoring 20.8 points a game while shooting 60% from three. The frontcourt pairing of Dedric Lawson and Udoka Azubuike is combining for 33.8 points and 17.7 rebounds a game, and Lawson in particular has been stellar, averaging a double double. They’ll face Fletcher Magee and Wofford on Tuesday and New Mexico State later in the week, and they should be able to get by those two before a big game against Villanova.
- Duke
Record: 7-1
Why They’re Here: Well, they’ve been alright to start the year. They have a few good freshmen, including this one guy named Zion Williamson. He’s a decent athlete and has a few impressive dunks this year. In all seriousness, the freshman class has been everything it was said to be and more. RJ Barrett, Zion, Cam Reddish, and Tre Jones are scoring 69.2 combined points, which is more than entire teams. The real debate around the roster is who is the best pro prospect. I think it’s Barrett, who leads the team 23.1 points a game, and he chips in 6.3 rebounds and 4 assists. They only fell to Gonzaga in Maui, as mentioned earlier, and they’ve beaten Auburn and blew out Kentucky and Indiana. Their games against mid-majors are also must-watch just to see how many points they can score. For instance, Saturday night they covered by 21 despite being favored by 43. Their games against Hartford and Yale shouldn’t provide too much of a challenge for this talented squad.
- Virginia
Record: 7-0
Why They’re Here: The Cavs have picked up where they left off in the regular season last year, which is to say suffocating teams on defense. They’ve defeated Wisconsin and Maryland thus far, and they look to continue that dominance in the rest of their non-conference slate. Their games against Morgan State and VCU shouldn’t be too difficult, so UVA is in good position to keep winning games. They’ve been improved on the offensive end, scoring 74 points a game thus far. De’Andre Hunter has gotten better with more minutes, and Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome are providing scoring from deep. I think they have the offense to win games they might have lost last year, and I think they’ll keep getting better as Braxton Key and Kihei Clark continue to get adjusted to the system.
- Nevada
Record: 8-0
Why They’re Here: The Wolf Pack have been very good this year, with wins over BYU, Loyola-Chicago, and USC. They have some more challenging games approaching with Arizona State on a neutral floor, top mid-major programs in South Dakota State and Grand Canyon, and then at Utah to round out their non-conference slate. The game against the Sun Devils will be a huge test, and if they can win that one, they might have a shot at going undefeated. Despite the numerous newcomers, they’ve been led by returning stars Caleb Martin, Cody Martin, and Jordan Caroline. Caleb is one of the best scorers in the nation, contributing 19.9 points a night, and he can seemingly score whenever he wants, and is especially talented in isolation situations. Caroline has been putting in work on the glass, getting 10 rebounds a game, and he’s also scoring 18.5 points a game. Cody has taken over as the de facto point guard, and he’s thriving in that role. He’s a pest on the defensive end, and opposing guards really struggle with his size as he stands at 6’7”. He’s scoring 9.9 points a night, getting 4.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals and blocks, and collecting 6.3 assists, all while shooting 50% from the field. This is an absurdly talented team, with McDonald’s All-American Jordan Brown struggling to find minutes, and 20 PPG scorers settling into complementary roles. They have the horses to compete with anyone in the country.
- Tennessee
Record: 6-1
Why They’re Here: The Vols have turned into a basketball school under Rick Barnes, getting a 3 seed last season, and coming out of the gate strong this year. They feature wins over Georgia Tech and Louisville, while only falling to Kansas on a neutral court. They are stout defensively, and feature one of the most imposing frontcourts in the country. Admiral Schofield will play small forward despite being 6’6” and 241 lbs, and he’s turned into a talented scorer, 16.1 points a game while showing off a nice stroke from deep. Grant Williams is even better, scoring 20.4 points and getting 8.9 rebounds along with 1.6 blocks. Finally, Kyle Alexander is a defensive menace, hauling in 7 rebounds and blocking 2 shots a night despite not playing as much as the aforementioned bigs. With improved guard play this season, Tennessee once again looks elite and will challenge for the SEC title. However, they face Gonzaga this week in one of the biggest tests they will face all year, and a win will prove they are a team to be feared.
- Auburn
Record: 6-1
Why They’re Here: Auburn, like Tennessee, is building on a successful year last season. They’ve had impressive results, with a 22 point victory over Washington, neutral court wins over Xavier and Arizona, and have only lost to Duke by 6. Unlike their SEC rivals, they get it done with a talented backcourt. Bryce Brown and Jared Harper lead the team, averaging 17.3 and 14.6 points respectively. Harper also gets 7 assists a night, and they both shoot over 38% from three. Austin Wiley has come back from suspension and looked the part of the talented frontcourt player, scoring 12 points a game, while Chuma Okeke has broken out, scoring 11.9 points, grabbing 7.3 rebounds, and getting 1.1 blocks. The Tigers are also super deep, with 9 players playing double digit minutes. Matchups against UNC Asheville and Dayton shouldn’t be much of a challenge this week.
- Kentucky
Record: 7-1
Why They’re Here: After an embarrassing result in the Champions Classic against Duke when they got run off the court, losing by 24, Kentucky has bounced back. However, they haven’t looked great at any point this year. In their two greatest tests thus far, Southern Illinois and UNC Greensboro, they played with the mid-majors for a little too long before pulling away late. They have a tough upcoming schedule, starting with Seton Hall this weekend, so they could either jump up with impressive results, or fall off if they can’t get it done. Thus far they’ve been led by freshman wing Keldon Johnson, who was looked excellent on both ends. He leads the team scoring 16 points a game. The bruising frontcourt of Reid Travis and PJ Washington has also been great, combining for 26.7 points and 15.3 rebounds. The team has looked better recently, and John Calipari seems to finally have his team rounding into form, but Seton Hall will be a good litmus test for the Cats.
- Florida State
Record: 6-1
Why They’re Here: The Noles have been great this year, and feature a few impressive results. They knocked off Florida on opening night by 21 points, beat LSU on a neutral floor, and also took down Carsen Edwards and Purdue. Their only loss came to Villanova on a neutral, and they’ve been dominant in every other contest. They shine defensively, where their length and athleticism can overwhelm teams, especially since they go 10 deep. They are very balanced offensively, with leading scorer Terrence Mann only getting 12.3 points a game, but 6 players score over 7 points a contest. Mann has become a star, as in addition to leading the team in scoring, he also leads it in rebounding with 7.1 a game, and has the second highest assists per game with 2. They are deep and talented, and their upcoming game with Troy shouldn’t be a problem, but UConn should give them a fun game this weekend.
- Michigan State
Record: 6-2, 1-0
Why They’re Here: The Spartans have bounced back nicely from an opening night loss to Kansas, and are in great position for a strong Big Ten season.They beat UCLA and Texas in Las Vegas, lost a close game to Louisville without Matt McQuaid, and then opening Big Ten play with a win over Rutgers. The backcourt pairing of Cassius Winston and Joshua Langford has been excellent, both averaging over 17 points a game. Winston is more widely known, thanks to his excellent efficiency last season and averaging 7.1 assists a game this season. Langford has been just as good, knocking down 45% of his threes this year. Factor in McQuaid’s defense and Nick Ward being a dominant paint presence, and Sparty is looking good. With games against Iowa and Florida this week, they have an excellent opportunity to continue to prove that they are legit this year.
- Texas Tech
Record: 7-0
Why They’re Here: Chris Beard continues to be an excellent coach. After exceeding expectations with the Red Raiders last season and making the Elite Eight, he’s back with an undefeated start to the year. The feature impressive victories over USC by 15, Nebraska by 18, and Memphis by 11, all at neutral sites. Personal favorite of mine Jarrett Culver has led the way as a sophomore, scoring 19 points a game, getting 5.3 rebounds, and dishing out 4.6 assists, and making 45.8% of his threes. The Red Raiders get it done on the defensive end, ranking second in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency. Arkansas Pine Bluff shouldn’t be a problem, and they are surely looking forward to their matchup with Duke in Madison Square Garden later this month.
- Wisconsin
Record: 7-1, 1-0
Why They’re Here: I was admittedly pretty low on the Bagers heading into the year, but they’ve proven me wrong in the early season. With victories over Stanford, Oklahoma, North Carolina State, and Iowa, they’ve proven they are legit, with their lone loss coming to Virginia in the Bahamas. They have been stellar defensively and led on the other end of the court by stud forward Ethan Happ. His numbers are crazy (17.4 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 5.3 apg, 1.9 bpg, 55.3% FG) ands he is the leader on and off the court for Wiscy. However, a huge reason behind their breakout offensively has been D’Mitrik Trice. He’s scoring just as much as Happ, and is shooting 58.3% from deep. With Brad Davison still yet to get going, there is room to grow for the Badgers as they look to compete at the top of the Big Ten. They play Rutgers and Marquette this week, which are two tough tests for different reasons, but I think they can win both and rise a little in the rankings.
- Buffalo
Record: 7-0
Why They’re Here: The Bulls have been great so far, and are still without a loss. They started getting publicity when they beat West Virginia in Morgantown, but lesser victories over St. Francis, Southern Illinois, and San Francisco are equally as impressive. They have 6 players scoring over 7.5 points a game, and 9 playing over 12 minutes, which is unmatched depth at the mid-major level. They are led by CJ Massinburg, who is scoring 18.8 points a game and grabbing 6.2 rebounds while shooting 51.1% from deep. He’s joined by Nick Perkins, who comes off the bench and still averages 14 points and 8.6 rebounds, and Jeremy Harris, who still hasn’t found his shot and is scoring 12.6 points a game. It feels like Buffalo hasn’t hit their ceiling, which should terrify their upcoming opponents Le Moyne and Saint Bonaventure.
- Villanova
Record: 6-2
Why They’re Here: Despite a rough two game stretch where the Wildcats lost to Michigan and Furman, Villanova is back on track. They won the Advocare Invitational with victories over Oklahoma State and Florida State along the way. Those victories are enough for me to justify moving them up to where I currently have them. Phil Booth and Eric Paschall have picked up their play, providing the requisite scoring and experience to carry them to victories in close games. Villanova clearly has a lot of room for improvement though, with players like Cole Swider and Jahvon Quinnerly not contributing at all and Saddiq Bey and Joe Cremo still finding their footing. I’m betting on Jay Wright to have Villanova ready to go by the start of Big East play, and I think they’ll continue to dominate the Power 5 games as they take on Temple and Saint Joe’s.
- North Carolina
Record: 6-2
Why They’re Here: The Tar Heels are in a similar position to Villanova. Despite wins against Stanford and UCLA, they lost two of their last three to Texas and Michigan, and they have looked lost on the defensive end. Despite the stellar play of Cameron Johnson, who is scoring 15 points a game, Luke Maye, 14 with 9.4 rebounds, and freshman Coby White, leading the team with 15.3 points a game, UNC has struggled of late. Offensively, they are still elite, ranking fourth in adjusted offensive efficiency even after playing Michigan, but they seem to not know how to play defense. Hopefully improvements from Kenny Williams and Nassir Little receiving more minutes will change things, and they need help fast. After a matchup against UNC Wilmington this week, the Tar Heels will face Gonzaga and Kentucky. If they don’t improve, those will be some long games for Roy Williams and co.
- Arizona State
Record: 7-0
Why They’re Here: The Sun Devils are off to a hot start once again. Last season, they went undefeated in non-conference play before falling off a cliff in the Pac-12. For now, things are looking great in Tempe. They have beaten Mississippi State and a sneaky good Utah State team, and a lot of that can be chalked up to one man: Luguentz Dort. The Canadian freshman has been a standout, scoring 21.7 points, getting 6.6 rebounds, 2.1 steals, and 2.6 assists a game. San Diego State transfer Zylan Cheatham has also been very good, recording 12.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.9 blocks a game. Remy Martin, who I expected to put up those sort of numbers, is injured, but even when healthy, has been ineffective and he’ll need to step up for the Sun Devils to continue to play at this level. They’ll need him for their next contest, as they take on Nevada this Friday.
- Virginia Tech
Record: 6-1
Why They’re Here: The Hokies loss to Penn State was enough for me to move them from a borderline top 10 team to the lower half of the top 25. Other than that, they’ve been stellar to start the season. Wins over Northeastern and Purdue are nothing to scoff at, despite the fact I’m super low on the Boilermakers. They really get it done on the offensive end, where they are sixth in adjusted offensive efficiency, according to KenPom. It’s easy to see why, as they shoot 44.9% from three as a team, which is fourth in the country. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is in the midst of a breakout season, leading the team with 17.9 points a game, and he also contributes 5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 2.3 steals. Justin Robinson has been somewhat disappointing, as despite his guady 14.4 points a game combined with 6.4 assists and 3 boards, he is turning the ball over 3.3 times and was benched after a dreadful performace against Penn State. They should have no problems with VMI and South Carolina State this week.
- St. John's
Record: 7-0
Why They’re Here: The Red Storm are undefeated, but have been less than convincing. Their 19 point win over Rutgers is impressive, but they struggled with Cal, VCU, and Georgia Tech, winning those games by a combined 7 points. Shamorie Ponds has been amazing, scoring 22.4 points a game, including 30+ 3 times so far this year, while also dropping 4.6 dimes, grabbing 3.6 boards, and collecting 2.7 steals. Mustapha Heron has also been good, as has LJ Figueroa. Still, they will need to win games in the Big East to get much higher than this, especially since the rest of their non-conference schedule is weak, starting with matchups against Mount Saint Mary’s and Princeton.
- Iowa
Record: 6-1, 0-1
Why They’re Here: The Hawkeyes have slowed down recently with a one point victory over Pitt followed by a loss to Wisconsin. Their victory over Oregon is looking worse by the day, taking a lot of the significance out of their 2k Classic victory. Still, they’ve been great, especially on the offensive end, where they have 4 players scoring over 10 points a game. Tyler Cook has been a star, scoring 15.4 points a game to go along with 8.1 rebounds. I’d like to see more out of Jordan Bohannon, who is only scoring 10.1 points a game and shooting 30.6% from three. They will face two more significant tests in Michigan State and Iowa State this week, and a win would be huge for building more confidence in them this season.
- Mississippi State
Record: 6-1
Why They’re Here: Mississippi State has been somewhat disappointing on the year. The loss to Arizona State isn’t bad, but with their best wins being over Saint Mary’s and Dayton, they haven’t really proven themselves yet. They’ve been very good defensively, as they’ve only allowed Arizona State to surpass 70 points, and they only got to 72. However, despite having 5 players scoring in double digits, the offense has been disappointing. The Weatherspoon brothers have been standouts, with Quinndary leading the team in scoring with 17.6 a night to go along with 4.7 boards and 2.3 steals, and Nick providing floor spacing by shooting 55.6% from deep. They’ll need to improve offensively to get into the upper echelon of the SEC, and perhaps utilizing Reggie Perry more can get them there, as he’s been quiet thus far, only scoring 6.3 points a game. They should beat McNeese State before a neutral site test against Clemson.
- North Carolina State
Record: 7-1
Why They’re Here: The Wolf Pack hit their first road bump recently with a loss to Wisconsin, but bounced back nicely with a win over Vanderbilt. Their offense has been great, ranking 14th in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency, but they have one of the easiest schedules in the country to date, as Wiscy and Vandy have been their only real tests thus far. Still, the combo of Torin Dorn and CJ Bryce has been great on the wing, combining for 29.6 points and 13.7 rebounds. With solid play from Markell Johnson and Devon Daniels as well, things are looking good if DJ Funderburk can become more consistent in the frontcourt. They’ll play Western Carolina this week, which shouldn’t be a problem.
- Kansas State
Record: 6-1
Why They’re Here: I’ve been thoroughly unimpressed with the Wildcats this year. The defense has been good, ranking fourth in adjusted defensive efficiency, but I was expecting a lot more on the offensive end. If a win over Missouri is taken for what it is, which isn’t very much, then K-State failed it’s first real test against Marquette, allowing Markus Howard to go off. Dean Wade and Barry Brown have continued their excellence, but Xavier Sneed, Kamau Stokes, and especially Cartier Diarra need to assert themselves more on the offensive end. If they do, I think they can get back to their previous heights, although a matchup against Tulsa won’t move the needle too much.
- Syracuse
Record: 5-2
Why They’re Here: The Orange have been up and down, with a poor showing at MSG negated in my mind with a victory in Columbus over Ohio State. Getting point guard Frank Howard back has really helped this team, as Tyus Battle has shone once he returned from injury. Battle is scoring 19.1 points a game, and Oshae Brissett has chipped in 15.3 points and 7.6 rebounds, but he’s been inconsistent. The zone defense has been very good, ranking ninth in adjusted defensive efficiency, and the offense has looked much better with their point guard back. I think this is just the beginning for Syracuse, and with games against Northeastern and Georgetown approaching, they have opportunities to further cement themselves in the top 25.
- Marquette
Record: 6-2
Why They’re Here: I think Marquette still has so much potential. When they are firing on all cylinders, they can be so good. The Hauser brothers, Joseph Chartouny, and Sacir Anim never seem to be on at the same time, and often only one or two offer help to Markus Howard. That’s why they were blown out by Indiana and lost to Kansas, but they feature wins over Louisville and Kansas State. Despite Howard scoring 22.6 points a game and collecting rebounds and assists, only Sam Hauser is also scoring double digits. They’ll need another consistent scoring option along with their defense keeping up it’s play to beat both UTEP and Wisconsin this week.
Next 5
- Ohio State
Record: 7-1, 1-0
- LSU
Record: 6-2
- Houston
Record: 6-0
- Iowa State
Record: 6-1
- Utah State
Record: 7-1
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