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College basketball power rankings: Ohio State on fire, North Carolina has issues

By Shayne Nissen

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 04: Alonzo Gaffney #0 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates as he leaves the floor after a win against the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Dean Smith Center on December 04, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Ohio State won 74-49. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 04: Alonzo Gaffney #0 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates as he leaves the floor after a win against the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Dean Smith Center on December 04, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Ohio State won 74-49. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – DECEMBER 04: Francisco Caffaro #22 of the Virginia Cavaliers and Aaron Wheeler #1 of the Purdue Boilermakers look for the rebound at Mackey Arena on December 4, 2019 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

After an impressive showing in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, Ohio State is one of the biggest risers in this week’s college basketball power rankings.

The Big Ten/ACC Challenge delivered some great games last week with Ohio State, Purdue, Indiana, Duke and Louisville all looking impressive in wins. The same can’t be said for North Carolina who despite the presence of freshmen phenom Cole Anthony had a rough week on the hardcourt and drop significantly in this week’s power rankings.

25. Purdue

The losses of both Carsen Edwards and Ryan Kline were definitely felt around Boilermaker country to start the season. But with a huge victory over Virginia this past week, Purdue finds itself back in the top 25. Sasha Stefanovic rained in six 3-pointers as the Boilermakers shot 52 percent from beyond the arc as a team and used some stifling defense, holding the Cavaliers to just 40 points. Purdue also obtained their first Big Ten win of the season over Northwestern and will look to get their second against Nebraska on Saturday.

24. Stanford

The Stanford Cardinals have been relatively quiet this season in terms of media coverage, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t playing well. They’ve jumped out to a quick 8-1 start this season with their only loss coming to the undefeated Butler Bulldogs by one point. Sure, the schedule isn’t impressive, but the Cardinals aren’t just getting by those teams, they are blowing them out en route to a +17.9 scoring margin, good for No. 8 in the nation. So far they have been led by their junior forward Oscar da Silva who leads the team in scoring with 16.6 points per game.

23. Villanova

Villanova has yet to find it’s identity, but if they do, they have the chance to become a very dangerous team come March. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl has been inconsistent down low at times this season as he is third on the team in scoring, but he still leads the team in rebounds with 9.9. Sophomore Saddiq Bey leads the team in scoring with 16.7 points per game and Collin Gillespsie is the facilitator on offense as he is averaging 5.1 assists per game. If the Wildcats can get some more consistent scoring from guys like Earl, look for them to stay in the top 25 the rest of the year.

22. North Carolina

This has been one of the least impressive North Carolina teams we have seen in a while, as they took two beatings from both Ohio State and Virginia this past week. Those two opponents are quality enough to keep them from falling out of the rankings completely, but the Tar Heels have some work to do to prove they are a legit title contender. Cole Anthony is really the only thing going as he has been the only source of life for the Tar Heels thus far. He’s averaging 20 points per game while the second-leading scorer is averaging just 12.3 points per game.

21. Seton Hall

In their second straight matchup with Iowa State, the Pirates were not able to get the better of the Cyclones this time as they fell 76-66 on Sunday night. It was a poor shooting night for both squads as both shot under 40 percent from the field as a team. Seton Hall now falls to 6-3 on the season with their losses coming to Michigan State, Oregon and now Iowa State. All are pretty quality losses, but Seton Hall will need to start proving they can beat quality opponents to be considered a national contender.