Fansided

FanSided power rankings: Top five crumble, Kansas stays steady

By Shayne Nissen

Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images /
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Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images /

20. Villanova 

If there is one thing that you can say about this Villanova team it’s that they are winning the games they’re supposed to win. With their only two losses coming to a pair of top-15 teams, the Wildcats have kept themselves afloat in the top 25. They will get a shot to get that first signature win this season as they will take on the likely No. 1 team in the country this coming Saturday when they face Kansas.

19. Washington

A lot of people have quit on Washington after they dropped their second game of the season against Gonzaga late. But this team still clearly has talent, and they have one of the better wins so far this season when they handed likely top-10 team Baylor their first loss. The Huskies were the best team in the Pac-12 last year, but with teams like Oregon and Arizona raising their game this year, it won’t be so easy this time around.

18. Tennessee

In the battle for the title of best team in Tennessee, the Volunteers fell to the talented Memphis Tigers by the score of 51-47. It was a low-scoring battle, as neither team could really get it going on offense. Tennessee was bad in particular and weren’t able to cash in on Memphis’s 17 turnovers, only shooting 25 percent from the field. Rick Barnes has revived this program back to what it was under Bruce Pearl, and despite the disappointing loss, the Volunteers are on the right track this season once again.

17. Butler 

Butler was just one of the many teams that suffered their first loss of the season. Coming in a one-point defeat against Baylor in a Tuesday night showdown, the Bulldogs showed they can play with anyone in the country. Kamar Baldwin is a star and the type of player that can help Butler get back to making a deep run in the NCAA tournament. He leads the team with 15.7 points per game, and just seems to make everyone’s life easier on the court. Don’t sleep on this Butler team; they are the real deal.

16. Arizona

Arizona dropped the second game in its last three contests last week in an 84-80 defeat coming at the hands of Gonzaga. The Wildcats were still impressive despite the loss, especially on offense. Four players scored in double figures, including one of their stud freshman, Josh Green, who led the team with 17 points. When you watch this Arizona team, there is no doubt that there’s talent, it’s just a matter of whether Sean Miller can piece it all together to get some big wins come time for Pac-12 play.