This college basketball season continues to deliver. The 13th week held an illustrious slate of games, and the top dogs are starting to reveal themselves. Teams took care of business, while others faltered, ruining their chances at a top spot in March Madness. Now, we look towards the next week with a plethora of top-25 matchups.
|
RANK
|
TEAM
|
RECORD
|
POINTS
|
PREVIOUS
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auburn (48) | 22-1 | 1,506 | 1 |
| 2 | Gonzaga (13) | 19-2 | 1,477 | 2 |
| 3 | Purdue | 20-3 | 1,329 | 4 |
| 4 | Arizona | 19-2 | 1,300 | 7 |
| 5 | Kentucky | 19-4 | 1,288 | 5 |
| 6 | Houston | 20-2 | 1,205 | 6 |
| 7 | Duke | 19-3 | 1,179 | 9 |
| 8 | Kansas | 19-3 | 1,173 | 10 |
| 9 | Texas Tech | 18-5 | 947 | 14 |
| 10 | Baylor | 19-4 | 921 | 8 |
| 11 | Providence | 20-2 | 899 | 15 |
| 12 | UCLA | 16-4 | 881 | 3 |
| 13 | Illinois | 17-5 | 818 | 18 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | 18-4 | 706 | 11 |
| 15 | Villanova | 17-6 | 634 | 12 |
| 16 | Ohio State | 14-5 | 628 | 16 |
| 17 | Michigan State | 17-5 | 536 | 13 |
| 18 | Marquette | 16-7 | 522 | 24 |
| 19 | Tennessee | 16-6 | 377 | 22 |
| 20 | Texas | 17-6 | 294 | 23 |
| 21 | Southern California | 19-4 | 278 | 19 |
| 22 | Saint Mary’s | 19-4 | 185 | NR |
| 23 | Murray State | 22-2 | 178 | NR |
| 24 | UConn | 15-6 | 118 | 17 |
| 25 | Xavier | 16-6 | 91 | 21 |
Mid-Majors Swarming the Back Half
We gave a reaction like this involving the Big East a few weeks back, but now we can remove the sixth conference of the so-called “Power 6.” The mid-major schools are out in full force. Houston, obviously, has been the king in this area throughout the whole season, but Saint Mary’s and Murray State are making things interesting. Even schools like Wyoming, Colorado State, and Davidson are on the outside looking in. There will be nothing less than serious top mid-major talent come tournament time.
Illinois is on Fire, Deserving of No. 13 Ranking
No player is on more of a roll than Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn as of late. The star big man dropped 37 points and 12 rebounds last Wednesday against Wisconsin, leading his squad to a four-game win streak. This is a top program in the country and a real threat come March when at their best.
Purdue should not be at No. 3
Both Kentucky and Arizona are playing like one seeds, while Purdue has struggled with teams as of late. Arizona easily defeated UCLA and it’s looking like Auburn is the only team in Kentucky’s way of an SEC Championship. Purdue does play Illinois Tuesday, so this matchup can prove if the Boilermakers deserve to be here or not.
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