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College basketball power rankings: Duke or Purdue at No. 1, how far does Gonzaga fall?

By Mike Phillips

LAS VEGAS, NV - NOVEMBER 26: Drew Timme #2 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs moves the ball against Paolo Banchero #5 and Wendell Moore Jr. #0 of the Duke Blue Devils during the Continental Tire Challenge at T-Mobile Arena on November 26, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Duke won 84-81. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - NOVEMBER 26: Drew Timme #2 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs moves the ball against Paolo Banchero #5 and Wendell Moore Jr. #0 of the Duke Blue Devils during the Continental Tire Challenge at T-Mobile Arena on November 26, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Duke won 84-81. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
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LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY – NOVEMBER 26: Oscar Tshiebwe #34 of the Kentucky Wildcats shoots the ball against the North Florida Ospreys at Rupp Arena on November 26, 2021, in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY – NOVEMBER 26: Oscar Tshiebwe #34 of the Kentucky Wildcats shoots the ball against the North Florida Ospreys at Rupp Arena on November 26, 2021, in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

10. College basketball rankings: Arkansas Razorbacks (HM)

  • Record: 6-0
  • Last Week: Won 72-64 vs. Kansas State, Won 73-67 vs. Cincinnati, Won 76-60 vs. Pennsylvania
  • This Week: Vs. Central Arkansas 12/1, Vs. Little Rock 12/4

The Razorbacks are in the Top 10 after toppling Kansas State and Cincinnati to win the Hall of Fame Classic. A win over Penn on Sunday brought Arkansas’ record to 6-0 but two buy games this week won’t give them an opportunity to demonstrate how good they really are.

9. College basketball rankings: Kentucky Wildcats (HM)

  • Record: 5-1
  • Last Week: Won 86-61 vs. Albany, Won 86-52 vs. North Florida
  • This Week: Vs. Central Michigan 11/29

Two more buy games helped the Wildcats improve to 5-1 as they have bounced back nicely from their loss to Duke in the Champions Classic at the start of the season. Kentucky only has one game on tap this week, another home date with Central Michigan that should be an easy victory for John Calipari’s team.

8. College basketball rankings: Texas Longhorns (8)

  • Record: 4-1
  • Last Week: Won 68-44 vs. California Baptist
  • This Week: Vs. Sam Houston 11/29, Vs. UT Rio Grande Valley 12/3

The Longhorns played just once last week and took care of business at home against Cal Baptist, a result that is not surprising in the least. Picking up those wins is nice but it doesn’t do much to help Texas move up these rankings, something that won’t happen this week either with two more cupcakes on tap.

7. College basketball rankings: Villanova Wildcats (6)

  • Record: 4-2
  • Last Week: Won 72-46 vs. La Salle
  • This Week: At Pennsylvania 12/1, Vs. St. Joseph’s 12/4

Jay Wright’s team has played a brutal non-conference schedule to date so the Wildcats got to take it easy over the Thanksgiving break before beating La Salle handily in a Big 5 game. Two more of those are on Villanova’s schedule this week with Penn and St. Joe’s looking to try and knock off their inter-city rivals.

6. College basketball rankings: Kansas Jayhawks (3)

  • Record: 5-1
  • Last Week: Won 71-59 vs. North Texas, Lost 74-73 vs. Dayton, Won 96-83 vs. Iona
  • This Week: At St. John’s 12/3

The ESPN Events Invitational produced some strange results, including Kansas’ loss to Dayton on a buzzer-beater from the Flyers, who rode the momentum of that win to the title. The Jayhawks did pick up two wins in Orlando, including an emphatic win over Iona on Sunday, but they will get dinged a bit for losing to the Flyers even though it was on the second day of a back-to-back.