College basketball conference rankings: Baylor buoys Big 12
For the first time in a long time, the college basketball world didn’t undergo any seismic change this week and the Baylor Bears continue to give the Big 12 the top conference.
1. Big 12
The Big 12 has finally ascended to the top of the conference power rankings hierarchy. With the Baylor Bears and Kansas Jayhawks holding claim to two of the top three spots in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll, it is hard to continue to keep them out of their earned place. They had a moment to really put their foot on the proverbial necks of the rest of the college basketball landscape with the Big 12/SEC challenge going down last week but ultimately couldn’ pull off the wins needed to make a statement. However, as the season goes on Baylor and Kansas both look like legit championship teams and in this year without a superteam, all it takes is for one team to get hot at the right time.
2. Big East
With the Big 12 moving up that ends the Big East’s run of back-to-back weeks sitting atop this list. Yet, the demotion is not through any fault of their own. Villanova has moved back inside the top 10, Seton Hall is proving that they are for real this year, and Butler has recovered from their winless stretch from two weeks ago and comes in at number 16. As March approaches, keep an eye on names like St. Johns, DePaul, Creighton as they all have shown flashes of being teams that could pull off tournament-changing upsets when March Madness rolls around.
3. SEC
Winning the Big 12/SEC challenge would’ve been a big deal but a tie ends up being just as good for the conference. Auburn got a needed win over Iowa State and the Kentucky Wildcats were able to outlast the Texas Tech Red Raiders in overtime. For Big Blue Nation, the game was the perfect encapsulation of the breakout campaign that junior center Nick Richards is having this year. If he can continue to play that way and their three-guard backcourt of Ashton Hagans, Tyrese Maxey and Immanuel Quickley can fill in the blanks around him then John Calipari could get back to the Final Four for the first time since 2015.
4. Big Ten
After the Michigan Wolverines got off to the hottest start in the country and the Michigan State Spartans struggled out of the gates, things have completely flipped for both squads. Michigan sits at a lowly 2-6 in conference play, meanwhile, Izzo’s team has risen to the top at 7-2. Cassius Winston is now the Spartans all-time assist leader but the nation’s leader in assists and assists per game, Zavier Simpson, finds himself suspended for a violation of team rules. Elsewhere, Penn State and Rutgers round out the AP Poll in what might be the most unsuspected occurrences in this upside-down college basketball season.
5. Pac-12
The battle for Arizona was worth watching over the weekend as Arizona State completed a double-digit comeback to upset the Wildcats and consequently knock them out of the AP Poll altogether. Washington continues to falter under a brighter spotlight — much like their highly-touted freshman, Jaden McDaniels. This weekend they were handled easily by Colorado on the road. It’s becoming more and more clear that this year for the Pac-12 is morphing into an “Oregon or bust” campaign for what feels like the umpteenth season in a row. The conference needs the Ducks to keep this going otherwise they could lose their status as the West Coast’s best crop of talent—see the likes of San Diego State and Gonzaga.
6. ACC
Cole Anthony came out and said that he plans on playing for the North Carolina Tar Heels again this season. That should be enough to get folks in Chapel Hill through this stretch of rough play since the star freshman was lost to injury. However, with UNC in a down year and the Virginia Cavaliers not having the same firepower as they did last season, the Florida State Seminoles have stepped in to fill the void beside Duke as one of the top teams in the ACC. The Seminoles are ranked fifth in the country, the best of any team in the conference. Leonard Hamilton is finally getting the respect that he deserves this year.
7. American
The Memphis Tigers have lost that swagger that they entered the season with. It’s uncertain how much has to do with James Wiseman leaving school early to prepare for the 2020 NBA Draft or if the other teams have caught on to Penny Hardaway’s coaching style. Either way, a once-promising season has seemingly become a lost cause. The goal now is to get through the rest of the year without losing a possible at-large selection in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Wichita State and Houston are now the teams of note in this league as each is in the AP Poll Top 25 this week.
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