Here’s how the top 25 college basketball teams in the nation stack up heading into the final week of the regular season.
With another eventful week of college basketball around the nation, a new team has emerged atop the power rankings.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs, who have had the No. 1 spot on lockdown for several weeks, suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday night to BYU. While the Bulldogs’ resume is still top-five worthy, the defeat opened the door for the Kansas Jayhawks to climb into the No. 1 spot for the first time this year.
Gonzaga’s loss could also work to the advantage of the trio of top Pac-12 teams, particularly the UCLA Bruins, who earned a marquee road win over the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday evening. The top-five chaos wasn’t limited to the West Coast, as Butler completed to season sweep over Villanova on Wednesday evening.
All of that has left a scramble for top seeds in the final week of the regular season for major conferences. Here’s how the top 25 teams in the nation stack up heading into Week 17, with plenty of changes over the last few days.
With a stretch of six wins in seven games that include a pair of victories over top 10 teams, Iowa State joins the power rankings for the first time this season and is peaking at the right time heading into March.
After getting a few days off, the Cyclones took down Baylor, 72-69, on Saturday afternoon in front of a frenzied crowd at Hilton Coliseum. The victory provides another boost to an Iowa State resume that includes the best win of any team this season at Kansas, and the Cyclones now have a shot at the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament at 11-5.
While stars like Monte Morris and Naz Mitrou-Long have been terrific all season, its the emergence of some depth pieces that has helped Iowa State over the past few weeks. Freshman Solomon Young has provided a needed presence on the interior with a strong run over his past five games and chipped in 11 points with two blocks against a strong Baylor frontcourt.
The Cyclones’ offense is looking lethal, as Iowa State is shooting 41.8 percent from behind the 3-point line in conference play, almost never turns the ball over, and ranks 18th in Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted efficiency. More impressively, Iowa State ranks 44th in adjusted defensive efficiency, its best mark since the first year of the Fred Hoiberg era in 2011, giving the Cyclones a chance for one of their deepest runs in March.
Iowa State will face a difficult week to close out the regular season with a home game against surging Oklahoma State on Tuesday before a trip to Morgantown for a rare Friday night contest.