Week of 12/11/23
Teams are starting to make their case for why they should be ranked, and it seems like no one can defeat Arizona.
Arizona is the number one team again this week after blowing out Wisconsin 98-73. They’re tough December continue, as they take on Purdue on Saturday, and have Alabama and FAU still on the schedule this month as well. Following Arizona are Kansas, Houston, Purdue, and Baylor. Kansas has been rock solid all year, with their only loss coming to Marquette. They beat Missouri in a big game this week, 73-64. Hunter Dickinson grabbed 16 rebounds, and is now averaging 19.4 points and 12.6 rebounds. Houston is 10-0, and have the sole vote to be the number 1 team in the AP Poll. They’ve blown out every opponent they’ve played, and they should have an incredible matchup with Kansas once they cross paths. Purdue had a close game with Alabama this week, along with a win over Iowa. Their upset loss to Northwestern is still the reason they’re ranked under Houston. Against Bama, Zach Edey scored 35, and also had 7 rebounds, the second least this year. He’s averaging 25 points per game and 11 rebounds, leading the country in points per game. Braden Smith also had a big game against Alabama, with 27 points. Baylor is also undefeated, and beat Seton Hall 78-60 in their lone game this week.
Rounding out the top 10 are UConn, Marquette, Creighton, UNC, and Oklahoma. UConn’s one loss came to Kansas this year, and it was just by 4. They also beat North Carolina this week, and also have wins over Indiana and Texas this year. As for Marquette, they beat Kansas, but they lost to Purdue. Their other loss came to Wisconsin, but have since beat Texas and Notre Dame this past week. They have some easy games coming up, but then take on Creighton on the 30th. Whoever wins that game will come out as the favorite in the Big East. Speaking of Creighton, they went undefeated this week, and so did Oklahoma, who had big wins over Providence and Arkansas this week. They have UNC coming up this month, but they have a good shot at coming into Big 12 play undefeated. UNC only played one game this week, and it was against UConn, which they lost. They have Kentucky and Oklahoma this week, but if they can win both, they can become major players in the ACC.
After those 10 come Gonzaga, Clemson, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois. Zaga falls only one spot in my rankings after an upset loss to Washington. They have a tough game coming up this week against UConn, but Gonzaga should still win the West Coast. Clemson is undefeated, and beat South Carolina and TCU this week. Tennessee had an up and down season so far, but went undefeated with a win over Illinois this week. Kentucky had an easy game against Penn this week, and they won it easily. Although that UNC Wilmington loss still hangs over this team, they can make a solid run in the SEC. Even with their loss to Tennessee, Illinois moves up this week with a win over FAU.
Then come FAU, James Madison, Colorado State, BYU, and Texas. FAU did lose to Illinois this week, and that was their only game. James Madison is still undefeated, and in their only game this week, they beat Old Dominion 84-69. Even so, they fell down in the AP Poll. As it stands right now, James Madison doesn’t play another ranked team. I’m not saying that they’re going undefeated, but they haven’t a great chance to. Colorado State and BYU were both undefeated entering Saturday, but Colorado State lost a close one to Saint Mary’s while BYU fell to Utah. As for Texas, they lost to Marquette, but also beat Houston Christian by 27. They take on LSU this Saturday, and then have some easy games to finish the month.
Finishing the top 25 are Virginia, Duke, Wisconsin, Northwestern, and Colorado. Virginia went undefeated this week, as they only played one game. Their only loss this year came to Wisconsin. Duke also had an easy week, also with just one game. They beat Charlotte 80-56. As for one of two Big Ten teams, their week wasn’t as easy. Wisconsin beat Michigan State, but the got pummeled by Arizona. However, because they lost to Arizona, they move up in my rankings due to other teams weeks. Northwestern kept on winning following their upset over Purdue, and are going to give both Purdue and Wisconsin a challenge when they cross paths again. Colorado comes in at 25th, as they destroyed Miami, who’s still in the AP Poll. Colorado won 90-53, and have an easy schedule the rest of the month.