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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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CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – DECEMBER 08: North Carolina forward Armando Bacot (5) attempts to take the ball away from Virginia Cavaliers forward Mamadi Diakite (25) during a game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Virginia Cavaliers on December 08, 2019, at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA (Photo by Lee Coleman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – DECEMBER 08: North Carolina forward Armando Bacot (5) attempts to take the ball away from Virginia Cavaliers forward Mamadi Diakite (25) during a game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Virginia Cavaliers on December 08, 2019, at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA (Photo by Lee Coleman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

20. Xavier

The Muskateers got a big victory over their city rivals Cincinnati on Saturday, and it put them inside the top 20 in the rankings this week. Like so many of the teams at the bottom of these rankings, Xaiver has been inconsistent but also has some quality wins to go with that. Junior Naji Marshall has been the heart of this team so far, as he leads the team in both points per game and assists per game. Xavier travels to Wake Forest for a big test on Friday.

19. Washington

Tennessee and Gonzaga are the only two teams to beat the Huskies this season. Those are two solid opponents and when you throw in an opening season win over Baylor, you have yourself the No. 19 team in college basketball. The Huskies have been led by freshman forward Isaiah Stewart who leads the team in points per game and rebounds per game. They will get the upcoming week off and then get back into action against Ball State the following Monday.

18. Dayton

The Flyers have been somewhat of a surprise team so far this season and following a close overtime loss to Kansas last week, they continued to take care of business. First, they blew out Houston Baptist 99-68 then followed that up with a quality 78-68 win over Saint Mary’s. Jalen Crutcher was huge against the Gaels as he had five first-half threes and ended the game with 21 points. Crutcher and the Flyers will take on Drake this coming Friday as they hope to continue their hot play.

17. Tennessee

The Volunteers were only in action once this week but they made the most of it with a 72-43 win over Florida A&M on Wednesday. Junior John Fulkerson led the Volunteers with 15 points in the game, fellow junior Yves Pons also had a nice game for Tennessee scoring 14 on the night. The win marked the 31st straight home victory for the Volunteers. Head coach Rick Barnes definitely has the program rolling in his fifth season.

16. Virginia 

Virginia falls to No. 16 after laying an egg against Purdue in the Big Ten/ACC challenge earlier in the week but rebounding with a win over North Carolina. The Cavaliers are going to play great defense, but it’s the offensive production that is going to hamper this team all season. They haven’t found a reliable scorer yet as Mamadi Diakite leads the team with just 13.4 points per game and only two other Cavaliers are averaging double-digit points. This was always going to be a questionable year for Virginia with the players they lost, but the loss to Purdue was still a bit of a shocker.