College Basketball Power Rankings: Gonzaga's Dominance Hits New Levels (Week of January 17th)
By Reed Wallach
The college basketball world is about to hit its busy season with conference play starting across the country on a nightly basis. While we are still sifting through the contenders at the top of the rankings, sports bettors always have an eye on the NCAA Tournament and some valuable bets to make in the Futures market.
Every week here at BetSided, we will be power ranking the top 25 teams relative to their futures odds.
Here's how things stand as conference play enters full swing. All odds listed are via WynnBET.
Tier 1: Cut Above the Rest
1. Gonzaga (+550)
The Zags have been dusting teams of late, scoring 90+ in five straight games and 110 or more in three straight. The last two against a pair of KenPom top 100 teams in BYU and Santa Clara.
Gonzaga is playing at a blazing speed, third in KenPom adjusted tempo and the No. 1 offense. If they are operating at this kind of speed and efficiency, good luck keeping up.
2. Auburn (+2000)
13 straight wins for Auburn, who is top 15 on both sides of the ball, per KenPom, and is fresh off a road win at Alabama and a come from behind victory over Ole Miss, erasing a double digit deficit to cover the 8-point spread.
Kentucky looms for War Eagle on Saturday at home.
3. Arizona (+1200)
4. Duke (+800)
5. Kentucky (+1500)
The Wildcats grabbed one of the most dominant wins of the season, destroying Tennessee at Rupp Arena, 107-79. TyTy Washington was fantastic in the win hitting 10 of 13 field goals for 26 points.
Kentucky is quietly up to fourth in offensive efficiency as the shooting has come around for them.
Auburn-Kentucky on Saturday is going to be the game of the week.
6. Villanova (+2000)
Villanova has erased a two game skid in December to rip off six straight Big East win and return to the top of KenPom's ranking, third in the nation.
The WIldcats are top 15 on both sides of the floor, but are very perimeter oriented, taking 46% of their shots from the perimeter. I'm still waiting to see them get tougher on the glass and play inside. Nova is middle of hte pack nationally on two-point percentage and defensive rebound percentage.
7. Purdue (+800)
8. Baylor (+1200)
Baylor took a tumble this week after spending a few in a row at the top of these power rankings. The team was stunned by Texas Tech as double digit favorites and then against by Oklahoma State, both at home.
Both of those teams can match the Bears physicality on the glass and make the games into a rock fight. Baylor thrives at shooting from the perimeter, but hit on a combined 16-of-52 from three.
This is nothing more than negative three-point regression over the course of a season as Baylor should be just fine. However, the team plays back-to-back road games this week against West Virginia and Oklahoma, never easy trips.
9. Kansas (+1000)
Tier 2: Next Teams Up
10. Houston (+3000)
11. Wisconsin (+5000)
12. Texas Tech (+2500)
Texas Tech had one of the best two-game samples possible in college basketball, beating Kansas at home and following it up with wins at Baylor and home for Oklahoma State.
The Red Raiders defense is second best in the country with elite two-point defense, allowing opponents to hit on just 43% of two-point tries and turning them over on more than 24% of their possessions.
However, the team came up short as road favorites at Kansas State in a predictable rock fight.
13. UCLA (+2000)
UCLA has been quiet this season with one of the longest COVID-19 pauses in the country. However, they get knocked outside the top tier with an overtime home loss to Oregon on Thursday night.
14. LSU (+4000)
15. Illinois (+2000)
16. Iowa State (+10000)
One of the stories of the season has been the emergence of Iowa State after a 2-22 year last season. After a one-point loss at the always difficult Allen Fieldhouse the team bonuced back to handle Texas at home.
The Cyclones are 14-3 on the year with a top five defense that is forcing turn overs on 26.2% of their opponents possessions.
17. Ohio State (+4000)
18. Xavier (+5000)
19. Connecticut (+5000)
20. Iowa (+10000)
Iowa has won six of seven games including a second half surge past Indiana and a road win at Minnesota this week. The Hawkeyes are high powered offense that is second in turnover percentage and third in overall offensive efficiency.
Tier 3: Can't Figure You Out
21. Michigan State (+3000)
Michigan State looked primed to enter the top 10 of these rankings, but squeaked past Minnesota at the buzzer and lost to Northwestern at home as double digit favorites on Saturday, who was down their best player.
22. USC (+5000)
USC was ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll last week, but lost to Stanford and Oregon to knock them outside the top 20.
The Trojans are still a dark horse amongst the Final Four conversation, but this was a setback after a 13-0 start.
23. Tennessee (+5000)
24. Texas (+3000)
25. Alabama (+5000)
Alabama has been one of the most volatile teams in the country, now hitting rock bottom after dropping three straight conference games.
There is no denying the talent of this roster that is top 10 in offensive efficiency and they will go up against an elite defense at home in LSU on Wednesday at home.
Honorable Mentions: BYU, Indiana, Loyola-Chicago, Oregon