College basketball power rankings: Say hi to Illinois, Wisconsin … and Princeton – The Athletic

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Ranked teams dropped like flies against unranked teams — some of them twice. Duke lost at Arkansas and Georgia Tech. Villanova lost to Saint Joe’s and Drexel. Purdue climbed to No. 1 in the polls just in time to lose at Northwestern (again). Kentucky looked like the Warriors against Miami on a Tuesday, then lost at home to UNC Wilmington four days later. As you might imagine, Power Rankings 2.0 are a bit different than our first stab at it.
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Out this week: Duke and Kentucky are in timeout after those WTF losses. North Carolina’s gone, too, after a second loss (albeit to maybe the best team in the country). Either UK or UNC will likely be right back in these rankings after they meet at the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta next weekend. Like the Tar Heels falling to the Huskies, there’s really no shame in Florida Atlantic losing a really fun game to a really good Illinois team at Madison Square Garden, but the Owls are joining the three blue bloods on wait-and-see watch. Considering a previous loss to Bryant (?!?!), we want to see what FAU does against Arizona on Dec. 23 before we declare this another Final Four-contending team.
We’re also saying goodbye to James Madison (for now) after its moment at No. 16, the spot where we’ll highlight a mid-major or overachiever each week. Yes, the Dukes are all the way up to No. 18 in the AP poll, but they’re 74th in KenPom — and beating Division III Keystone by 71 (!!!) before playing five consecutive sub-200 teams doesn’t excite us right now. If the Dukes are still undefeated when Appalachian State (which just clipped Auburn) comes to town on Jan. 13, they’ll have our full attention again.
Enough about the teams that did not make the cut this week. These teams did:
Last week: No. 2
The Huskies lost a terrific game at Kansas on Friday night — at the time, still playing without five-star freshman Stephon Castle and while Cam Spencer was clearly hobbled by turf toe in both big toes — but nearly pulled it off thanks to 31 points from breakout star Tristen Newton. After that thriller between the last two national champions, Dan Hurley said his group had “showed a champion’s heart,” adding that “this year’s team has a chance to be as good as last year’s team when we’re fully healthy.” Then the Huskies turned around and soundly beat North Carolina at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. Castle returned after a six-game absence to recover from a knee injury, and Spencer looked much healthier as he lit up the Tar Heels for 23 points (16 in a blistering first half), seven rebounds and six assists — jawing at and agitating UNC all the way. UConn has a top-three offense nationally, is a top-five rebounding team and has a top-20 defense. Right now, we’d take the Huskies on a neutral court against anybody in America.
GO DEEPER
The reigning champs are still bringing the thunder
Last week: 5
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If we like UConn so much, why not rank the Jayhawks No. 1 after that win at Allen Fieldhouse? Well, because it was at Allen Fieldhouse, the Huskies weren’t quite whole and the visitors still had a shot in the air for the win with five seconds to go. Not to mention, we continue to worry about whether Kansas has enough, in the long run, outside its Big Four of Hunter Dickinson, Kevin McCullar Jr., KJ Adams and Dajaun Harris Jr. The fifth starter, Elmarko Jackson, had four turnovers against UConn, and Johnny Furphy had the only six bench points of the game for Kansas. This is just not a deep team, and at some point that has to catch up to them, right? Maybe not, if McCullar and Dickinson continue playing like All-Americans and the Jayhawks keep defending the way they have. UConn came to town with the No. 1 offense and had scored 80-plus in its first seven games, then managed just 65 points and had the team’s second-worst shooting game of the season.
Last week: 3
Not much new information on the Wildcats — they smashed Colgate by 27 on Saturday and have the week off until a hot Wisconsin team comes to town this weekend — but we’re about to get a ton of new information. Not impressed by Arizona’s two best wins, against Duke and Michigan State, since the Blue Devils and Spartans have since face-planted? Well, how’s this for a gauntlet? Tommy Lloyd’s team will host the Badgers, then face Purdue in Indianapolis, Alabama in Phoenix and Florida Atlantic in Las Vegas, all in a row, before Pac-12 play begins. That’ll certainly put the Wildcats’ gaudy metrics to the test. They’re top-10 in offensive and defensive efficiency, top-five in offensive and defensive rebound percentage, play at a blazing pace (top-10 nationally) and they’re shooting it very well as a team, despite highly inefficient UNC transfer Caleb Love leading them in field-goal attempts and points on 39.5 percent shooting. The glue guy continues to be San Diego State transfer Keshad Johnson, who started every game the last two games for the Aztecs but is enjoying a career year in Tucson. He leads the Pac-12 in defensive rating and ranks third in the league in box plus/minus (+11.3).
Last week: 1
Yeah, so, about that question we posed here last week, when the Boilermakers sat atop this list: Are their guards good enough around 7-foot-4 star Zach Edey to avoid another March meltdown? Losing to unranked Northwestern as the top-ranked team in the country for a second straight season won’t do much to quiet that concern. In the loss, Edey went nuts yet again — 35 points, 14 boards, three blocks and the tying bucket to force overtime — but that backcourt let him down. Braden Smith, who ranks top-10 nationally in assists but also averages nearly three turnovers per game, coughed it up six times against Northwestern. Lance Jones was 2 of 11 shooting in that game and is barely over 40 percent for the season. The good news? Those guards bounced back Monday night as Purdue beat down Iowa at home. Smith had eight assists and just one turnover; Jones hit 7 of 11 shots, including three 3-pointers. And Edey did what he does: 25 points (9-of-10 FG), 12 rebounds, three assists, three blocks. The reigning national player of the year is a machine, ranking third nationally in points, fifth in rebounds and No. 1 in offensive rating.
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Last week: 4
We’re very, very sorry for doubting the Golden Eagles for about five seconds. They’re just fine. Yes, they lost by double digits on Saturday, but the fact is, their only two defeats of the season were by three points to Purdue and on the road against red-hot rival Wisconsin. Still, just in case those bumps in the road made anyone wonder whether Marquette is really for real … they took Texas behind the freakin’ woodshed in the Shaka Bowl on Wednesday night. They led by 14 at halftime, by as many as 32, and rolled to an 86-65 win over the Longhorns.
Have a night TK! @johnsoncontrols | #MUBB pic.twitter.com/00WmVxpByJ
— Marquette Basketball (@MarquetteMBB) December 7, 2023

Tyler Kolek was spectacular, hitting 11 of 16 shots in arguably the finest performance of his career: 28 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three steals. The Golden Eagles hit 14 of 30 3-pointers and were so thoroughly overwhelming that not even a classic Max Abmas performance (nine of his 25 points came in the first minute of the game) could help Texas keep it competitive. Friends, fellow lovers of hoop, can you imagine how epic the Big East battles between Marquette, Connecticut and Creighton are going to be? For planning purposes, the Eagles play the Bluejays Dec. 30 at home, March 2 on the road; the Huskies Feb. 17 on the road, March 6 at home. Mark. Your. Calendars.
Last week: 6
Scott Drew’s team is very, very fun. The Bears rank No. 1 in offensive efficiency and 3-point percentage (46.1), No. 4 in effective field-goal percentage and No. 6 in offensive rebounding percentage (40.2). That is a lethal combination of numbers. The Bears blasted Northwestern State by 51 points (!!!) on Saturday, then beat Seton Hall by 18 on Tuesday. The new guys — freshmen Ja’Kobe Walter and Yves Missi, plus Toledo transfer RayJ Dennis (14.2 ppg, 6.6 apg) — continue to be Baylor’s most interesting pieces. Missi is still putting up absurd per-40 numbers: 20.9 points, 13.7 boards, 4.7 blocks, 1.9 steals. In the last two games, in 44 total minutes, he had 26, 18 and 5. Even better news for Baylor: Walter, the former five-star recruit, got his groove back against the Pirates. He averaged 19.2 points in his first five college games, including that 28-point heater against Auburn in his debut, but scored a total of 23 points on 8-of-26 shooting the next three games. Drew surely let out a sigh of relief when Walter bounced back with 15 points, five boards, three assists, zero turnovers and 4-of-7 shooting from 3 against Seton Hall. It’s scary to think what the Bears will look like once all these new faces figure out how to play together.
Last week: 7
The Cougars won at KenPom top-50 Xavier on Friday, despite shooting 27 percent in the second half, because Kelvin Sampson’s defense was suffocating. The Musketeers shot 33 percent for the game and turned it over 17 times. But what’s new? This could be the fourth straight season Houston finishes with a top-10 D, as the Cougars entered Wednesday ranked No. 1 nationally in defensive efficiency, No. 3 in eFG percentage defense and No. 3 in steal percentage. And that was before they limited Rice to .629 points per possession in a 75-39 win.
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Senior guards Jamal Shead and LJ Cryer make it all go — which is especially true of Cryer on the offensive end, where Sampson has turned him loose. Cryer is averaging career highs in points (17.8) and 3-point attempts (8.8) and makes (3.4) per game. Before Wednesday, he’d hit 27 3s at a 39 percent clip. Only three high-major players had made more beyond the arc: USC’s Boogie Ellis (28 on 47.5 percent), Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman (29 on 38.2 percent) and Pittsburgh’s Blake Hinson (30 on 42.3 percent).
Last week: 10
Why do we ever doubt Mark Few? Since a Maui Invitational loss to Purdue, the Zags have beaten Syracuse, UCLA and USC away from home to remind us that no matter what Few loses — No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren and second-round pick Andrew Nembhard in the summer of ’22, three-time All-American Drew Timme and first-rounder Julian Strawther this summer — he’s going to assemble and deploy a roster capable of playing with anybody in America. He’s also not afraid to play anybody in America, anywhere. He’ll play at Washington on Saturday, defending national champ UConn in Seattle on Dec. 15, national runner-up San Diego State on Dec. 29 and at Kentucky on Feb. 10. Creighton transfer guard Ryan Nembhard (13.3 ppg, 5.6 apg) and Wyoming transfer big man Graham Ike (13.4 ppg, 8.0 rpg) have plugged the latest holes, while returning vets Nolan Hickman (13.0 ppg) and Anton Watson (14.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg) have helped Gonzaga maintain its program DNA. Those four, plus freshman Braden Huff, who is shooting 50 percent from 3, are all averaging double figures. So the Zags are good again. What’s new?
Last week: Not ranked
For the first month of the season, there just wasn’t much to brag about on the Illini’s resume, other than a competitive home loss to Marquette. But now it’s time to pay attention after an 18-point road win at Rutgers to open Big Ten play and a real “OK, these guys are legit” victory over Florida Atlantic at Madison Square Garden. Terrence Shannon Jr. is playing like an All-American — 21.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 54 percent shooting, 45 percent from 3 and a Big Ten-leading 24 made treys — especially against the Owls, where both he and Southern Illinois transfer Marcus Domask scored 33 points. Per the AP, it was the first time since 1999 that Division I teammates each scored 30-plus while shooting 70 percent in a game. The Illini, who shot a ridiculous 63 percent against FAU, now rank No. 1 in 2-point defense, No. 2 in eFG percentage defense and No. 9 in defensive efficiency.
Now comes another chance to validate their strong start on Saturday at Tennessee. Props to the Volunteers, by the way, for a fairly insane non-league schedule. This will be the fourth KenPom top-15 team UT has faced in five games (and fifth overall). Playing Wisconsin, Syracuse, Purdue, Kansas, UNC and Illinois before SEC games begin is wild.
Last week: NR
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We might’ve written off the Badgers too soon, after they lost at home to Tennessee and at Providence back-to-back early on, because now they’ve won six straight, including by 26 points against Virginia on a neutral court, comfortably over top-100 SMU on a neutral court, at home Saturday against top-10 Marquette and by 13 Tuesday at Michigan State. Greg Gard has arguably the hottest team in the country, and that would be indisputable if they win Saturday at Arizona. (Have we mentioned how many awesome non-con games we’ve been treated to in these first few weeks of the season? More, please!)
GO DEEPER
Wisconsin’s win over Marquette gives reason to believe in the Badgers
In an era of annual roster overhauls across college basketball, the Badgers returned five guys who started at least 19 games last season — Steven Crowl, Tyler Wahl and Chucky Hepburn all average double figures this season — and added St. John’s transfer AJ Storr, who leads them in scoring (14.2 per game). Wisconsin doesn’t feel particularly great at anything but is just really solid at almost everything (except playing fast and blocking shots). With a top-15 offense and top-25 defense, this team is built to compete for a Big Ten title.
Last week: 14
Remember last week when we were wondering whether Kentucky had the most fun offense in the country? Womp, womp. The Wildcats fell off a cliff against, of all teams, UNC Wilmington. Coincidentally, though, it’s a former Kentucky player whose team might now have the strongest claim to the Most Fun Offense crown. Mark Pope’s Cougars rank fifth in assist percentage, sixth in effective field-goal percentage and ninth in offensive efficiency. Nearly half their field-goal attempts are 3-pointers, and 42 percent of their points come from beyond the arc.
BYU has made at least 10 3s in every game this season and has hit 14-plus 3s in five of its eight games. Blink and these guys will bomb you right out of the ballgame, as Jaxson Robinson, Trevin Knell, Noah Waterman and Dallin Hall have all made at least a dozen 3s on at least 44 percent shooting from deep. Since the last rankings, Pope’s fun-and-gun style has smacked Fresno State by 29 points and Evansville by 41, and we’re starting to think they’ll get to 14-0 heading to Baylor on Jan. 9. First, they’ll have to get by bitter rival Utah on Saturday.
Last week: NR
The more we learn about Colorado State, the less concerned we are about the Bluejays’ loss to the Rams. Before and after it, Creighton has looked like a team capable of making another deep run in March — even if it hasn’t really beaten anyone of consequence. Nevertheless, as owners of working eyeballs, Greg McDermott’s consecutive road wins at Oklahoma State (by 14) and Nebraska (by 29) have us hopping back on the bandwagon. His team’s average margin of victory in the seven games not against CSU has been 26.6 points. Former South Dakota State star Baylor Scheierman is getting comfortable competing at a higher level in Year 2 with the Jays. He had a combined 45 points, 18 boards and nine made 3-pointers in those wins over the Cowboys and Cornhuskers and is averaging a career-best 19.3 points with 7.5 boards and 3.4 assists.
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Trey Alexander has also shaken off the miserable Colorado State game, his personal nightmare, when a 1-of-16 shooting night helped doom Creighton. Alexander had 33 points, 12 boards, eight assists and four steals in the two wins since. Now we just need to see these guys beat somebody legit. Three consecutive games against Alabama, Villanova and at Marquette from Dec. 16-30 will provide ample opportunity to do so.
Last week: NR
Hey, look, Tony Bennett’s team is back to mercilessly strangling opponents to death with elite defense. After getting clubbed by Wisconsin, the Cavaliers woke up and clamped down, beating West Virginia, Texas A&M and Syracuse consecutively while allowing an average of just 54.3 points on 36 percent shooting, 14.7 turnovers to 9.7 assists per game. Now the Cavaliers are ranked No. 1 in opposing eFG percentage (.397), No. 4 in block percentage, No. 4 in defensive efficiency and No. 6 in steal percentage. Per usual, the offense can be plodding (314th in average possession length) and at times painful (77th in efficiency), but the Hoos take care of the ball and shoot it well from deep (39.3 percent).
Reece Beekman, last year’s ACC defensive player of the year, has been a stud again on that end — nearly three steals per game — while leading the league in assists (5.8). He’s third in the country in defensive box plus/minus, second in the ACC in defensive rating. Meanwhile, The Athletic’s NBA Draft expert Sam Vecenie says Ryan Dunn is “running away with the National Defensive Player of the Year award at this early stage.” The schedule sets up beautifully for Virginia to turn this snowball of momentum into an avalanche. The first nine league games are all against Notre Dame, Louisville, NC State, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, teams ranked 62nd to 168th in KenPom. It’s not crazy to think UVA could be 20-1 when it visits Clemson Feb. 3.
Last week: 13
Isaiah Stevens has been unstoppable. He ranks second nationally in assists per game (7.9) and has been at his best in his last four games against high-major opponents (Boston College, Creighton, Colorado and Washington). CSU won all of those as Stevens averaged 17.5 points, 7.8 assists, 1.5 steals, shot 51 percent from the field and 43 percent from 3. With San Diego State’s sudden struggles — needed a buzzer-beater to escape UC San Diego and then lost at Grand Canyon — we’re feeling even more confident in last week’s bold prediction that the Rams can unseat the Aztecs as kings of the Mountain West.
However, Niko Medved’s team is banged up. Starting guard Josiah Strong suffered a broken wrist in a fall against Washington and will miss about six weeks, same as sixth man Jalen Lake, who has a broken finger. Lake played with that injury against rival Colorado last week and scored 16 points, then had surgery. Gritty. Starting senior forward Patrick Cartier is also dealing with a back injury that has cost him some time. Perhaps those injuries are why the Rams trailed Denver at halftime on Wednesday before pulling out a 90-80 victory, behind Stevens’ 18 points and nine assists. A good reminder that a little luck is required to have a special season.
Dunks on the menu tonight @ian_schieffelin 👨‍🍳
📺 ACCN pic.twitter.com/GSSvUt920V
— Clemson Basketball (@ClemsonMBB) December 7, 2023

Last week: 15
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The Tigers’ game against in-state rival South Carolina on Wednesday night was something of a full-circle moment. Clemson won 23 games last season but was left out of the NCAA Tournament largely because of a horrendous nonconference resume, which included a loss to sub-200 USC and featured just one win against a team ranked higher than 86th. Fast forward, and Brad Brownell’s team is 8-0 with wins over Boise State, at Alabama and now the Gamecocks, who aren’t the same team they were last year. Lamont Paris’ USC started 7-0 with wins over Virginia Tech, Notre Dame and at Grand Canyon and took a halftime lead at Clemson. Coming from behind to win that one ensures the Tigers won’t get dinged again for their non-league performance. PJ Hall, averaging 21 and 8 and shooting over 40 percent from 3, and Syracuse transfer Joe Girard are driving this hot start. Girard has more than 300 career made 3s. and he’s hit 25 of 55 (45 percent) for Clemson, which has a top-25 offense, top-40 defense and the seventh-best team 3-point percentage in the country. Are we sure this team can’t contend for an ACC title?
Last week: NR
The Tigers don’t have an attention-grabbing win — the season-opener on a neutral floor against Rutgers is the best on paper — but they’ve already won five true road games and six away from home. That’s worth some serious respect. Princeton, which upset Arizona and Missouri as a No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament last season, looks like the class of the Ivy League again. They took out Drexel, which had just stunned Villanova, by double digits on Tuesday night. Sophomore Xaivian Lee, a role player on last year’s team, is leading the way with a breakout season: 19 points, 4.6 boards, 3.3 assists, 49 percent shooting, 41 percent from 3. Two starters from last season’s team are also having huge years: Caden Pierce is averaging a double-double (15.8 and 11.0), while Matt Allocco is averaging 17.5 points with absurd shooting splits: 60/50/90. This is yet another team no top-four seed is going to want to draw on opening weekend in March.
Also thinking about: Oklahoma (7-0), after the Sooners beat Providence on Tuesday to set up a showdown with Arkansas on a neutral court Saturday. Porter Moser has better talent in Year 3, and he already has solid neutral-site wins over Iowa and Southern California. … Ole Miss (8-0). after the Rebels beat NC State and Memphis to stay unbeaten under Chris Beard, who quickly flipped the roster via the transfer portal. Auburn transfer Allen Flanigan leads them in points (18.0) and rebounds (6.9). Saint Peter’s transfer Jaylen Murray leads them in assists (4.8) and Western Kentucky transfer Jamarion Sharp leads them in blocks (2.5). … Cincinnati (7-0), which hasn’t really played anybody yet, but the Bearcats have won six of seven games by double digits, five by 20-plus, including a 35-point romp against Georgia Tech, which just beat ranked Mississippi State and Duke back-to-back. Win at rival Xavier on Saturday, and we’ll have to take Wes Miller’s Bearcats seriously. … Grand Canyon (7-1), after the Antelopes beat national runner-up San Diego State. Bryce Drew’s team won 24 games and made the tournament last season, returned a bunch and added star transfer Tyon Grant-Foster (21.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg).
(Top photo of Terrence Shannon Jr.: Peter K. Afriyie / Getty Images)

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Kyle Tucker is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering Kentucky college basketball and the Tennessee Titans. Before joining The Athletic, he covered Kentucky for seven years at The (Louisville) Courier-Journal and SEC Country. Previously, he covered Virginia Tech football for seven years at The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot. Follow Kyle on Twitter @KyleTucker_ATH

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