Compiled by RYAN MCDONOUGH with liner notes by JOSH KAY.
1. Oklahoma (12-0/1-0)
Points: 342. (8 first-place votes)
Previous ranking: 2.
Upcoming: Monday at No. 2 Kansas, Saturday vs. Kansas State.
All eyes will be on Phog Allen Fieldhouse Monday night when the Sooners do battle with Kansas.
2. Kansas (12-1/1-0)
Points: 333. (6 first-place votes)
Previous ranking: 3.
Upcoming: Monday vs. No. 1 Oklahoma, Saturday at Texas Tech.
It’s January fourth and the Kansas Jayhawks still haven’t scored under 70 points in a game (13) this season.
3. Maryland (13-1/2-0)
Points: 318. Previous ranking: 6.
Upcoming: Wednesday vs. Rutgers, Saturday at Wisconsin.
Mark Turgeon picked up is 100th career win as the head coach of the Terps with a 71-59 victory over Northwestern on Saturday.
4. Michigan State (14-1/1-1)
Points: 301. Previous ranking: 1.
Upcoming: Thursday vs. Illinois, Sunday at Penn State.
What we learned from Sparty’s 1-1 start in the Big 10: Michigan State is a great team, BUT they are not a Final 4 team without Denzel Valentine.
5. Virginia (12-1/1-0)
Points: 300. Previous ranking: 4.
Upcoming: Monday at Virginia Tech, Saturday at Georgia Tech.
Malcolm Brogdon’s 24-point performance against Notre Dame marks the sixth time this season the ACC POY Candidate has crossed the 20-point threshold.
6. Arizona (13-1/1-0)
Points: 263. Previous ranking: 11.
Upcoming: Thursday at UCLA, Saturday at USC.
Sean Miller’s boys rang in the New Year by hanging 94 on Arizona State in their PAC-12 opener.
7. North Carolina (13-2/2-0)
Points: 250. Previous ranking: 8.
Upcoming: Monday at Florida State, Saturday at Syracuse.
The Tar Heels will face their first tough road test Saturday when they head to the Carrier Dome to tussle with Syracuse. The Orange welcome back Jim Boeheim to the bench.
8. Kentucky (11-2/1-0)
Points: 246. Previous ranking: 9.
Upcoming: Tuesday at LSU, Saturday at Alabama.
While Kentucky has their elite freshmen (Isaiah Briscoe, Jamal Murray, etc.), the Wildcats will have a tall task defending LSU’s freshman stud, Ben Simmons in Baton Rouge.
9. Providence (14-1/2-0)
Points: 223. Previous ranking: 12.
Upcoming: Tuesday vs. Marquette.
The Philadelphia 76ers need a point guard. Kris Dunn is on line one.
10. Xavier (13-1/1-1)
Points: 217. Previous ranking: 5.
Upcoming: Wednesday at St. John’s.
The Musketeers surely get over things quickly. After a 31-point loss to Villanova, Xavier rebounded for a 19-point win against Butler. Different teams, same Big East basketball.
11. Miami (12-1/1-0)
Points: 200. Previous ranking: 14.
Upcoming: Saturday vs. Florida State.
Picture this: a fluky buzzer beating layup is the only thing standing in the way of Miami and a perfect season so far.
12. Iowa State (11-2/0-1)
Points: 192. Previous ranking: 7.
Upcoming: Wednesday vs. Texas Tech, Saturday vs. Baylor.
The Cyclones looked awesome against Oklahoma. So what happened? Buddy Hield.
13. Duke (12-2/1-0)
Points: 186. Previous ranking: 13.
Upcoming: Wednesday at Wake Forest, Saturday vs. Virginia Tech.
Grayson Allen looks like he could be the son of Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz. Look it up, you won’t be disappointed. He is also leading the Duke Blue Devils on the side.
14. SMU (13-0/2-0)
Points: 182. Previous ranking: 16.
Upcoming: Thursday vs. Cincinnati, Sunday vs. UCF.
Two words: Still Undefeated….Things get tougher for the Mustangs, however, as they welcome ever tricky Cincinnati on Thursday.
15. Villanova (12-2/2-0)
Points: 170. Previous ranking: 17.
Upcoming: Wednesday vs. Seton Hall, Sunday at No. 20 Butler.
It’s not even Valentine’s Day, but Josh Hart (15.5ppg) is already stealing the hearts of Big East teams’ fans.
16. Purdue (13-2/1-1)
Points: 120. Previous ranking: 15.
Upcoming: Thursday vs. Michigan, Sunday at Illinois.
Purdue’s two losses have come when A.J. Hammons is held under is season average of 13.9ppg.
17. Louisville (12-2/1-0)
Points: 111. Previous ranking: 19.
Upcoming: Thursday at NC State, Sunday at Clemson.
Louisville’s ability to rebound the basketball and score efficiently will give opponents fits trying to draw up a game plan to stop the Cardinals.
18. West Virginia (12-1/1-0)
Points: 105. Previous ranking: 18.
Upcoming: Monday at TCU, Saturday vs. Oklahoma State.
A crucial road victory in their conference opener left the Mountaineers singing Country Roads all the way back to Morgantown.
19. Texas A&M (11-2/1-0)
Points: 82. Previous ranking: 20.
Upcoming: Wednesday at Mississippi State, Saturday at Tennessee.
If Jalen Jones can score like he did against Arkansas (28 points), the Aggies could be lethal in the SEC.
20. Butler (11-3/0-2)
Points: 80. Previous ranking: 10.
Upcoming: Tuesday at DePaul, Sunday vs. No. 15 Villanova.
We are not giving out excuses here, but Butler’s opening Big East schedule included Xavier and Providence. And Villanova is just around the corner.
21. South Carolina (13-0/0-0)
Points: 74. Previous ranking: 23.
Upcoming: Tuesday at Auburn, Saturday vs. Vanderbilt.
South Carolina leads the SEC and is ninth in the nation hitting 47.5 percent from behind the arc.
22. Iowa (11-3/2-0)
Points: 61. Previous ranking: unranked.
Upcoming: Tuesday vs. Nebraska.
Hawkeyes have been outrebounded in all but two games this season.
23. Pittsburgh (12-1/1-0)
Points: 50. Previous ranking: 22.
Upcoming: Wednesday vs. Georgia Tech, Saturday at Notre Dame.
Panthers lead the nation with free throw percentage of 78.6.
24. UConn (10-3/1-0)
Points: 23. Previous ranking: unranked.
Upcoming: Tuesday vs. Temple, Saturday vs. Memphis.
Don’t look now, but the Huskies have won five straight.
25. George Washington (12-2/1-0)
Points: 17. Previous ranking: unranked
Upcoming: Wednesday at Saint Louis, Saturday vs. Duquesne.
Tyler Cavanaugh has scored in double figures in all 14 of GW’s games this year.
Also receiving votes:
Baylor (14), Utah (11), Gonzaga (10), California (10), Dayton (10), Saint Mary’s CA (9), Cincinnati (9), Marquette (6), Texas Tech (6), UCLA (5), Oregon (4), Saint Joseph’s (3), Florida (2), Evansville, Monmouth
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