College Basketball Power Rankings: Ohio State Earns Top Billing

After another week of upsets near the top, the Buckeyes stand alone atop the latest power rankings.

A lot can happen in one week. Since our last edition of college basketball power rankings, three top-five teams lost–all to teams that were outside of last week's Top 25. Louisville's defeat vs. Texas Tech cleared the way for yet another No. 1 team, this time in the form of Ohio State. But the Buckeyes weren't the only ones to benefit.

1. Ohio State (9-0)

The Buckeyes are the latest team to assume the No. 1 spot, built on the back of a 9-0 résumé that includes wins by more than 25 points over Villanova, North Carolina and Penn State—all KenPom Top 25 teams. Not only do they pass the eye test as No. 1, but they pass analytically as well, landing comfortably in the top spot on both KenPom and T-Rank.

2. Kansas (8-1)

Sophomore Ochai Agbaji is starting to emerge for the Jayhawks, scoring a combined 42 points in Kansas's wins over Colorado and Milwaukee in the last week. Most notably: He canned 9 of 14 threes in that span, continuing to show promise that he could be the perimeter scorer the Jayhawks need alongside Isaiah Moss.

3. Duke (9-1)

The Blue Devils are somewhat quietly getting themselves back to their standing pre-Stephen F. Austin loss, as they notched a second straight road win after taking care of Virginia Tech a week ago. Duke has a highly favorable schedule until Louisville comes to town on Jan. 18, and can work on continuing to gel and getting Cassius Stanley back up to full speed.

4. Louisville (9-1)

The Cardinals lost their first game of the season and their grasp on No. 1 with a 13-point defeat to Texas Tech in New York City. The Red Raiders had lost three straight and were still without freshman standout Jahmi'us Ramsey, but Chris Beard's "no middle" defense worked like a charm in stymieing Jordan Nwora and the rest of Louisville into turnovers and tough shots. 

5. Gonzaga (10-1)

The Zags picked up a strong road win over Washington behind a heavy dose of their starters, all of whom scored at least 12 points as they found their way through the Huskies' 2-3 zone. But the fun is only beginning for Gonzaga, which travels to Arizona on Saturday before hosting North Carolina next week.

6. Maryland (10-1)

The Terps flirted with disaster in a miracle win over Illinois before getting clipped on the road at Penn State. The Nittany Lions are a Top 25 KenPom team, but the Terps reverted back to old habits in the loss, turning it over 20 times. Eleven games in, it's fair to start thinking Maryland's three-point shooting regression could be for real unless Aaron Wiggins or Eric Ayala return to their freshman year form.

7. Michigan (8-2)

The Big Ten has been unkind to road teams through 10 conference games, with the home team winning each one. The Wolverines joined the list with a loss at Illinois on Wednesday in which they couldn't get their outside shooting going. Michigan has now lost both games it failed to shoot at least 30% from three.

8. Baylor (8-1)

The Bears defended home court in a pair of résumé-building wins over solid teams in the -past week, holding off comebacks by both Arizona and Butler. Baylor won both despite posting its two worst three-point shooting efforts for the season so far, instead buckling down on defense.

9. Kentucky (7-1)

The Wildcats are still awaiting their first test since the season-opener against Duke, but they have to be encouraged by the play of EJ Montgomery of late. Montgomery has now scored career-highs in back-to-back games, including dropping 25 on 12-for-15 shooting against Fairleigh Dickinson last weekend. The Knights don't start anyone over 6'8", but it's a game you'd expect the sophomore to dominate if he's to have a much-needed breakout this year.

10. Oregon (7-2)

In their first game since the Battle 4 Atlantis, the Ducks took care of Hawaii thanks to Payton Pritchard's double double and another big night from three, which very much looks like it could be a strong suit of this team all year long. A critical road trip to Ann Arbor to face Michigan awaits on Saturday.

11. Auburn (8-0)

OFF last week

12. Virginia (8-1)

The Hoos rebounded from their rough loss to Purdue by clamping down on North Carolina in a home ACC win. Virginia isn't going to win pretty this season, but these Cavs are good enough defensively to muck games up and try to get just enough offense. Their 35.3% mark from three against UNC was their best of the season to date.

13. Dayton (7-1)

A neutral-court game with Saint Mary's in Phoenix was a potentially tricky spot for the Flyers, but by five-minutes into the second half, they built a 24-point lead that would eventually become a 10-point win. Dayton continues to shoot the lights out, actually connecting on a higher percentage from three (54.2%) than two (53.6%) against the Gaels.

14. Arizona (10-1)

A slow start in Waco doomed the Wildcats against Baylor last weekend, and they responded with a 50-point rout of Nebraska Omaha. Arizona is the only team nationally to rank in the top 20 in both two-point offense and defense. 

15. Butler (9-1)

The Bulldogs dropped from the ranks of the unbeaten after a tough one-point loss to Baylor in Waco. Senior Kamar Baldwin led Butler with 19 points but was blocked by Mark Vital on his game-winning attempt in the final seconds.

16. San Diego State (10-0)

The Aztecs nearly suffered what would been a brutal home loss to sub-300 San Jose State last Sunday, but Malachi Flynn, who had struggled from the field all night, came to the rescue with an ice-cold three with 0.9 seconds to go to keep SDSU as one of just five unbeaten teams nationally.

17. Memphis (8-1)

Penny Hardaway's Tigers have treaded water without James Wiseman and Lester Quinones, climbing to 8-1 on the season, but their biggest test since a loss to Oregon arrives on Saturday with an in-state trip to face rival Tennessee in Knoxville. There's no love lost here, and it would be a massive win for short-handed Memphis...if it can get it.

18. Michigan State (6-3)

Gabe Brown had a season-high 14 points to help the Spartans beat Rutgers at home. The Scarlet Knights were the first team Michigan State held under 1.0 points per possession since Charleston Southern on Nov. 18.

19. North Carolina (6-3)

Not surprisingly, the Tar Heels' offensive struggles continued against the nation's most efficient defense in a nine-point road loss to Virginia. There just aren't enough dependable options right now around Cole Anthony, who's shooting just 38.5% from the field himself. But getting to face an up-tempo team like Gonzaga next week might work in UNC's favor more after grind-it-out losses to elite defenses Ohio State and UVA.

20. Seton Hall (6-3)

The Pirates' road loss at Iowa State last weekend was a double dagger, as they lost second-leading scorer Sandro Mamukelashvili with a fractured wrist in the process. Mamukelashvili could miss up to two months, making this not just a problem with a trip to Rutgers and a visit from Maryland coming this week, but potentially for a considerable part of Big East play as well.

21. Villanova (7-2)

The Wildcats needed a late charge to beat Saint Joseph's on the road, but it was another big game for breakout sophomore Saddiq Bey. So far, the power forward is showing the efficiency he flashed as a freshman was for real, and he's actually upped his offensive rating despite taking on a larger load of usage and production.

22. Florida State (8-2)

The Seminoles bounced back from last week's road loss to Indiana by using a second-half surge to beat Clemson at home. Through 10 games, the Hoosiers and Western Carolina are the only teams that have managed at least 1.0 points per possession on FSU's athletic defense.

23. Tennessee 

OFF last week

24. Purdue (6-3)

The Boilermakers have one of the more uneven résumés so far, with losses to Texas, Marquette and Florida State and wins over VCU, Northwestern and a marquee 29-point rout of Virginia. Purdue continues to be an analytics darling, ranking sixth on KenPom and fouth on T-Rank. 

25. Xavier (9-1)

The Musketeers won the Crosstown Shootout over rival Cincinnati for the fifth time in the last seven years behind a huge night from Naji Marshall, who dropped 31 points with eight rebounds, five steals and three assists.

Maybe Next Week: Iowa, Marquette, Texas Tech, Indiana, Utah State