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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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MEMPHIS, TN – DECEMBER 3: Precious Achiuwa #55 of the Memphis Tigers celebrates against the Bradley Braves during a game on December 5, 2019 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis defeated Bradley 71-56. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, TN – DECEMBER 3: Precious Achiuwa #55 of the Memphis Tigers celebrates against the Bradley Braves during a game on December 5, 2019 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis defeated Bradley 71-56. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images) /

10. Memphis

Memphis breaks into the Top 10 with victories over Bradley and UAB this past week, as they gear up for a top 25 showdown against Tennessee this coming Friday. James Wiseman’s suspension clouded this team early on in the season, but the Tigers have been playing well in his absence with freshman forward Precious Achiuwa leading the charge. Achiuwa has led the Tigers in both points with 13.9 per game and rebounds with 9.6 per game since Wiseman’s absence.

9. Baylor

Baylor also breaks into the Top 10 after a big win over Arizona, their second over a ranked opponent this season after beating Villanova earlier. The Bears moved to 7-1 with the win and were led by junior guard MaCio Teague who had 19 points in the game and has scored in double-digits in each of his last five games. Teague is the second-leading scorer on the team behind Jared Butler who is averaging 18.6 points per game so far. The Bears square off with another Top 25 opponent when they meet Butler on Tuesday.

8. Kentucky

Much like the Michigan State’s and Duke’s of the world, Kentucky has been hard to get a good read on this season. The Wildcats had the all-time shocker against Evansville earlier in the season, but have won every other test thrown their way this season. Their latest victory came over Farleigh Dickinson in an 83-52 drubbing where the Wildcats were led by sophomore E.J. Montgomery who had 20 points on 12-of-16 shooting. Stud freshman Tyrese Maxey has been in a bit of a slump as of late as he only has a combined nine points in their last two outings. He’ll be the pulse of the team come season’s end but right now, it’s nice to see some of the older guys stepping up for the Wildcats.

7. Duke

It was an important week for Duke following a loss to Stephen A. Austin in the week prior. The Blue Devils passed on all fronts despite trailing for big parts of the game. against Virginia Tech on Friday. Tre Jones led the Blue Devils with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists on the day. To make matters even better, Duke routed Michigan State earlier in the week 87-75 to go 2-0 on the week and move to 9-1 on the season. Duke will get the week off next week and will be back in action against Wofford on Dec. 19.

6. Gonzaga 

Gonzaga’s lone loss came to one of the hottest teams (Michigan) at the time, and besides that, the Bulldogs have cruised through their non-conference schedule this season. Their latest victory came over fellow Top 25 team Washington as Filip Petrusev led the Bulldogs with 17 points in the game. Petrusev, who didn’t get many minutes on last year’s team, has made the most of his time this year, leading the Zags in both points per game and rebounds per game this season. Gonzaga will get another Top 25 test vs. Arizona on Friday.