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College Basketball Power Rankings: Week 14

By Nathaniel Reeves

Feb 4, 2017; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks forward Dillon Brooks (24) moves the ball down the court in the second half against the Arizona Wildcats at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2017; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks forward Dillon Brooks (24) moves the ball down the court in the second half against the Arizona Wildcats at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports /
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Week 13 brought even more upsets and another shakeup to the college basketball power rankings.

College basketball rivalry week couldn’t come at a more opportune time, as conference races around the nation are heating up following yet another chaotic week.

Six teams ranked in the top nine of the AP Poll went down on Saturday alone. The Gonzaga Bulldogs retained their No. 1 spot in the power rankings as the lone undefeated team in the nation, but the other three top seeds are still up for grabs.

Saturday’s most noteworthy result came out of Eugene, where Oregon waxed Arizona to move into first place in the Big 12. Elsewhere, Baylor and West Virginia could not take advantage of a rare Kansas home loss, while South Carolina is suddenly alone atop the SEC after Kentucky went down yet again.

While there doesn’t appear to be a truly dominant team at this point of the season, a number of capable programs like Villanova, Louisville and Wisconsin are in the mix. Here’s how the top 25 teams in college basketball stack up heading into Week 14.

25

Xavier Musketeers

Last week: 15-6, 5-3 Big East
Last rank: NR

It’s been a rough season for the Musketeers, who lost star guard Edmond Sumner for the rest of the season to a torn ACL a week ago. Still, Xavier owns a top 25 overall resume after scraping out a pair of wins without Sumner, and will be a threat to win a tournament game.

The Musketeers battled hard for a 72-70 win against a desperate Seton Hall team on Wednesday night at the Cintas Center. An 82-80 win on the road against a Creighton squad that looked to be getting more comfortable without Mo Watson on Saturday was more impressive, as Xavier is just one game back of Villanova in the Big East at 7-2 and 17-6 overall.

Chris Mack fortunately has some time to figure out how to play without Sumner and Myles Davis before March Madness. Forward Tyrique Jones stepped up with 16 points on 8-for-8 shooting from the field against the Bluejays, his best game of the year by far.

There’s still some depth on the roster, so Xavier has the ability to hang around the top 25 and grab a six or seven seed in the tournament. Guard Trevon Bluiett is averaging 18.6 points per game and has the ability to take over any contest offensively, so Xavier can still be dangerous even with a limited ceiling.

The Musketeers will host DePaul on Wednesday before a weekend showdown against Villanova at the Cintas Center.