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College Basketball Power Rankings: Week 12

By Nathaniel Reeves

Mar 26, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self reacts to a play against the Villanova Wildcats during the first half of the south regional final of the NCAA Tournament at KFC YUM!. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 26, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self reacts to a play against the Villanova Wildcats during the first half of the south regional final of the NCAA Tournament at KFC YUM!. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 21, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats forward Gary Clark (11) grabs a rebound against Tulane Green Wave guard Ray Ona Embo (3) during the second half of the game between Cincinnati Bearcats and Tulane Green Wave at Devlin Fieldhouse. Cincinnati Bearcats won 78-61. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats forward Gary Clark (11) grabs a rebound against Tulane Green Wave guard Ray Ona Embo (3) during the second half of the game between Cincinnati Bearcats and Tulane Green Wave at Devlin Fieldhouse. Cincinnati Bearcats won 78-61. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports /

20. Cincinnati Bearcats

The Bearcats aren’t going to get a lot of national attention playing in the AAC, but have the stingy defense and tough physicality worthy of a top five seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Cincinnati kept its perfect conference play record intact with two more victories to move to 17-2 overall. Wednesday’s home win over an inconsistent Temple team was a bit of a struggle, but the Bearcats breezed by Tulane on the road over the weekend for their 10th straight win.

While the Bearcats have had problems on the offensive end in some seasons under Mick Cronin, the 2016-17 team is doing well enough to make noise in March. Four different Bearcats scored at least 15 points against the Owls, and guard Troy Caupain had one of his best performances of the year with 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting.

KenPom has Cincinnati rated as the No. 5 adjusted defense, as the Bearcats have proven to be particularly tough on the interior. Cincinnati’s best win of the season arguably came back on Dec. 1 in Ames, when it held Iowa State’s fast-paced offense to just 54 points in an overtime victory.

Just like in previous years since conference realignment, it’s worth wondering if the Bearcats will be battle tested enough by March. Cincinnati will get a rare opportunity for a ranked win on Thursday night against Xavier in the Crosstown Shootout before hosting South Florida on Sunday.