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College Basketball Power Rankings – Week 5 – Heading into December

By Matt Kobold

CINCINNATI, OH - NOVEMBER 28: Tyrique Jones
CINCINNATI, OH - NOVEMBER 28: Tyrique Jones /
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College Basketball Power Rankings
CINCINNATI, OH – NOVEMBER 28: Tyrique Jones College Basketball Power Rankings /

College Basketball Power Rankings – Week 5

Not much changed this week in the College Basketball Power Rankings. Villanova took Notre Dame’s spot amongst the top 5 after the Irish were punished in East Lansing. New to the bottom of the rankings are undefeated Arizona State and 1-loss Seton Hall. Xavier had the biggest jump of any of the teams after handling ranked Baylor and Cincinnati convincingly at home.

This week, the Jimmy V Classic sees Villanova take on Gonzaga (12/5 ESPN). Texas A&M also visits Arizona that night (ESPN2). A big game on Saturday in the Never Forget Tribute Classic will be Florida taking on Cincinnati (ESPN2). The Bearcats would jump right back into the rankings with a win here. Also, Bobby Hurley will take his Sun Devil squad to Lawrence on Sunday in what would be a huge program win over the Jayhawks of Kansas.

Honorable Mentions:

Cincinnati

Minnesota

West Virginia

Virginia

College Basketball Power Rankings
LOUISVILLE, KY – DECEMBER 03: Desi Rodriguez /

College Basketball Power Rankings – Week 5

  1. Seton Hall Pirates (PR: Not Ranked)
  • The Pirates slide into the last spot over the honorable mentions basically because they have played a couple of quality opponents. Just this past week they handled Texas Tech and then won at Louisville. This is a veteran team with 4 upperclassmen starters. Not sure what the Big East will look like, but Seton Hall should challenge Villanova and Xavier at the top.
  1. Arizona State Sun Devils (PR: Not Ranked)
  • The Sun Devils make their debut in the rankings this week following a win over San Francisco on Saturday. Bobby Hurley has this team humming on offense averaging 92.7 ppg (5th nation). They are also 26th in the nation in assist to turnover ratio while being led by the senior backcourt of Tra Holder and Shannon Evans. Both are averaging over 18 points and 5 assists.
  1. Arizona Wildcats (PR: 16)
  • Arizona went 2-0 and capped off the week with an overtime win at UNLV. DeAndre Ayton should be getting more love for Freshman of the Year. He’s cleaning the glass (11.4 rpg, T-9th nation) and scoring the rock (20.4 ppg, top 50 nation). He’s most likely one and done while Alonzo Trier and his 23.9 ppg will probably join him in the draft.
  1. Xavier Musketeers (PR: Honorable Mention)
  • Chris Mack’s Musketeers had arguably the most impressive week of any team in the nation. They beat ranked Baylor and Cincinnati at home by 13 a pop. This team is led by senior Trevon Bluiett and his 21 ppg. They may have snuck up on some people advancing to the elite eight last year. I don’t think that’s possible this year. Don’t sleep on the Musketeers.
College Basketball Power Rankings
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – NOVEMBER 29: Reggie Lynch /

College Basketball Power Rankings – Week 5

  1. Kentucky Wildcats (PR: 10)
  • The Cats dropped two spots this week after beating Harvard at home by 9. John Calipari didn’t exactly stack his non-conference schedule this year. They haven’t played anyone other than Kansas in the Champions Classic back in early November. The 49th ranked strength of schedule won’t be improving any time soon as they don’t play a ranked team until January.
  1. Miami Hurricanes (PR: 13)
  • Jim Larranaga is having his boys play some defense. They’re allowing 57.6 ppg (4th nation), 35.7 fg% (4th nation), and 25.4 3pt fg% (10th nation). Sophomore stud Bruce Brown is looking like a lottery pick. Averaging over 11 points and 5 assists are solid numbers but the stat that jumps out to me is his 8.6 rpg. This is impressive given he’s only 6-5 190lbs. The defense this team is playing will make them a tough out come conference and tourney play.
  1. Gonzaga Bulldogs (PR: 11)
  • The Zags sneak into the top 10 after an impressive 17-point win over Creighton. Seven players average double figures for a squad who is 4th nationally in scoring (92.9 ppg). This team reminds me of most Mark Few teams; a good blend of upperclassmen with underclassmen. As mentioned before, Villanova will be the opponent in the Jimmy V Classic this week. This will be the first real test since losing to Florida in double OT.
  1. North Carolina Tar Heels (PR: 9)
  • The only team in these rankings to go 3-0 last week, the Heels are playing good ball. Playing three games in five days, they beat Michigan, Davidson, and Tulane by a combined 49 points. The 6th ranked rebounding team heads to Knoxville on Sunday to take on a ranked Tennessee team.
College Basketball Power Rankings
PHILADELPHIA, PA – NOVEMBER 14: Mikal Bridges /

College Basketball Power Rankings – Week 5

  1. Wichita State Shockers (PR: 8)
  • The Shockers earned an impressive road win on Saturday in Waco when they beat Baylor by 7. Gregg Marshall’s team lands here though because of their head-to-head loss to Notre Dame. They are still waiting the return of last season’s leading scorer and rebounder Markis McDuffie. His services will be needed when the Shockers take on a couple of Big 12 foes in Oklahoma State and Oklahoma the next two Saturdays.
  1. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (PR: 5)
  • The Irish got waxed in East Lansing last week by a very good Spartans team. But they still warrant this spot because I can’t dock Mike Brey for traveling on the road and playing this Big Ten/ACC showdown. This veteran team is 8th in the nation in assist to turnover margin. It’s a homecoming for Mike Brey when he returns to Delaware on Saturday, where he was the head coach from ’95-2000, to take on the Fightin’ Blue Hens.
  1. Texas A&M Aggies (PR: 7)
  • I may be higher than most on the Aggies, but they slide up to #6 for me after beating their lone opponent of the week, UT Rio Grande Valley. This team is big and can bang down low. Four of their top 6 guys are 6-9 or taller with three of them over 230lbs. This has led the Aggies to be the 8th ranked rebounding team in the nation (43.7 rpg) with three guys averaging over 7.7 rpg. Arizona on Tuesday is the only serious opponent on the schedule until SEC play starts.
  1. Villanova Wildcats (PR: 6)
  • Jay Wright continued his dominance of the state of Pennsylvania this week when he pounded Pennsylvania and Saint Joseph’s by a combined 69 points. The Wildcats are one of the few teams getting it done on both sides of the ball (30th offense, 20th defense). This feat gives them the 3rd ranked scoring margin in the nation. Big East play will say a lot about this team but so will the test against Gonzaga in the Jimmy V Classic this week.
College Basketball Power Rankings
EAST LANSING, MI – DECEMBER 3: Cassius Winston /

College Basketball Power Rankings -Week 5

  1. Florida Gators (PR: 4)

The Gators had the week off after their impressive PK80 performance in Oregon. Led by the offense of junior Jalen Hudson, Mike White’s squad is first in the nation in scoring (99.5 ppg). Hudson is shooting an efficient line of .538 FG% .711 FT% .467 3PT% while averaging over 20 a game. The transfer from Virginia Tech could lead this high-powered offense late into March. Remember, they are still awaiting the return of 6-11 senior John Egbunu, the Gators’ most significant post presence on both sides of the ball. Florida will travel to New Jersey to take on Cincinnati in a neutral site statement game on Saturday.

More from FanSided

  1. Kansas Jayhawks (PR: 3)
  • Kansas remains #3 after pounding Toledo at home and then beating Syracuse by double digits in the Miami Invitational in South Beach. This 6th ranked offense (91.9 ppg) sees all 5 starters average double figures paced by senior Devonte’ Graham. Graham is 5th in the nation in assists (8.0 apg) while also averaging over 18 PPG. A tough week looms ahead for Bill Self as they play Washington in the Jayhawk Shootout and host Arizona State in an afternoon game on Sunday.
  1. Michigan State Spartans (PR: 2)
  • Tom Izzo’s squad cements themselves as the #2 team after their beat down of Notre Dame on Thursday. They controlled the entire game from the beginning and ended up winning by 18. This now gives the Spartans two top 10 wins this year after also beating North Carolina by 18. Sophomore Cassius Winston is pacing the Spartans with over 7 assists a game (T-10th nation). He will lead the Spartans on their first true road game of the year when they travel to take on Rutgers on Tuesday.
  1. Duke Blue Devils (Previous Rank: 1)
  • The Blue Devils remain in the top spot after a 2-0 week. They traveled to Bloomington for their first true road game of the season and pulled away from the Hoosiers in the 2nd Freshmen Marvin Bagley and Wendall Carter combine for over 20 boards a game which leads to a top 10 (7th nation) rebounding margin. Three more cupcakes remain before ACC play starts.

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