- Michigan State (–) – Quiet week for the Spartans on the court, with a blowout of Charleston Southern the only action. Off the court, Joey Hauser lost his eligibility appeal, meaning instead of the rich getting richer, the rich just remain rich.
- Duke (+2) – I’ve been bullish on the Blue Devils this year, primarily due to shooting concerns. This week saw them play their first competition since the opening night battle against Kansas and Duke pulled through and won the 2K Empire Classic with wins over Cal and Georgetown. Shooting was improved, but in all reality, it may not matter when the Blue Devils can just feed the beast known as Vernon Carey.
- Louisville (-1) – It was a tale of two stories for Louisville this week. The Cards struggled early against the juggernaut of South Carolina Upstate (KenPom #344), leading by just 2 with as little 10:57 left in the game before pulling away to win by 26. Then, the Cards spanked Akron early, building their lead up to 22 before holding off the Zips and winning by 6.
- Maryland (-1) – Maryland took care of business once again this week, dispatching Fairfield by 19 and impressively routing a decent George Mason squad by 25. A date with Temple to start off the Orlando Invitational lies ahead this week.
- Kansas (+2) – Quiet week for the Jayhawks, but East Tennessee State is a strong mid major and Kansas took care of business. They’ll head to Maui this week and could potentially see a matchup with Michigan State in the finals if both take care of business.
- UNC (-1) – The Tar Heels defeated Elon by 14 on Wednesday night, but the biggest takeaway was someone other than Cole Anthony leading the way. Freshman big man Armando Bacot dropped a casual 22 points to go along with 14 boards, and could be the secondary scorer the Heels need to be truly elite.
- Gonzaga (-1) – Gonzaga whacked CSU Bakersfield by 28 on Saturday, but had to hold off a feisty UT-Arlington squad by just 6 on Tuesday night, though it wasn’t quite that close. The Bulldogs will be one of many strong teams looking to capitalize on the opportunities presented in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
- Ohio State (–) – The Buckeyes took care of business against two cupcakes in Stetson and Purdue Fort Wayne, and should have two more victories this week, though Kent State is no pushover. The December 4th game at UNC will be a key barometer to see how this team plays outside of friendly confines.
- Texas Tech (–) – The Red Raiders continued their run of powderpuff opponents to start the season and did their job in getting two wins. One thing that may be worth paying attention to is Texas Tech’s 1st half performances; they took just a 5 point lead into halftime against Tennessee State before winning by 15, and were actually down a point against Long Island before ultimately crushing them by 30.
- Virginia (–) – It wasn’t pretty, but it was three strong wins for the Hoos this past week. They survived a strong effort by a feisty Vermont team led by Anthony Lamb, and then won the Hall of Fame Tip-Off through holding UMass and Arizona State to a combined 91 points. The offense is still, quite honestly, not pleasant to watch at all, but it doesn’t need to be with the level of defense the Cavaliers have played so far.
- Seton Hall (–) – Quiet week for Seton Hall, with a 36 point destruction of Florida A&M the only game. A late night matchup on Wednesday night against Oregon lies ahead to start the Battle 4 Atlantis, where the Pirates have a chance to grab the signature win that slipped from their grasp against Michigan State.
- Kentucky (–) – I considered bumping Kentucky down a bit more after narrowly escaping Utah Valley at home, but Kentucky responded by obliterating Mount St. Mary’s and Lamar to restore order somewhat. The loss to Evansville has not aged well at all, but that’s college hoops for ya.
- Oregon (+1) – Oregon crushed a solid Houston team by 12, which is a statement that doesn’t really make sense, until you consider that Oregon was up by 21 with 5 minutes to go. Oregon has a chance to cement themselves as the top team in the Pac 12 with the opportunities ahead in the Bahamas.
- VCU (-1) – Light week of work for VCU with only a blowout against Florida Gulf Coast on the calendar. Monday night should be another blowout against Alabama State, before a huge opportunity awaits the Rams in the Emerald Coast Classic. VCU will face Purdue on Friday night, with Tennessee and Florida State co-headlining the event as well.
- Baylor (+4) – Baylor avenged their late collapse against Washington with a strong finish against Villanova to win the Myrtle Beach Invitational. The two were tied at 67 with a hair over 5 minutes remaining before Baylor ripped off a 20-11 run to finish it off. The guard play on Baylor could be some of the best in the nation.
- Utah State (–) – Utah State, still without Neemias Queta, pulled off a miraculous 19 point comeback to defeat LSU by two on Friday night. It was the type of win that will be monumental for the Aggies’ seeding come Selection Sunday. The Aggies also capped off the weekend with a somewhat too-close-for-comfort 9 point win over North Texas.
- Auburn (–) – Auburn was inactive aside from a 29 point drubbing of Colgate on Monday night. An intriguing matchup awaits them in the Legends Classic, with a game against New Mexico set to start things off on Monday night. Auburn is the clear favorite in this 4-team tournament that includes Wisconsin and Richmond, but no team is a pushover.
- Arizona (+3) – Arizona didn’t actually dominate every aspect of the games this week, with a pesky South Dakota State team hanging around and ultimately falling by 7 to the Wildcats. Arizona responded to that incomplete performance by eviscerating Long Beach State by 37. Expect that domination to continue in the Wooden Legacy next weekend, where Arizona is the clear best team in the field.
- Villanova (-4) – Villanova fell to 0-2 against ranked teams, which does cause some concern, but this is a young team, and they did have a solid 7 point win against a respectable Power 5 team in Mississippi State. The Wildcats need to step it up on the defensive side of the floor if they want to be able to close games out moving forward in what looks to be a deep Big East Conference.
- Colorado (–) – The Buffaloes doubled their win total this week, moving from 2-0 to 4-0 as they defeated a solid UC Irvine team by 16 and started off the MGM Resorts Main Event with an ugly 56-41 win over Wyoming. McKinley Wright may be a more well-known name, but Tyler Bey is the player to watch. Averaging 15.0 points and 9.7 rebounds after posting a 11 point, 19 rebound (!!!) performance against Wyoming.
- Tennessee (+3) – Tennessee was mostly inactive this week, save for a blowout of Alabama State. Opportunities abound in the Emerald Coast Classic this weekend, which features a trio of teams (Purdue & FSU being the other two) that are also in the “It doesn’t matter who’s on the roster cause they’re just gonna find a way to be a top 15-20 team anyway” phase.
- Memphis (+1) – James Wiseman officially got his 12-game sentence handed out by the criminal organization known as the NCAA, and Memphis began the post/pre-Wiseman era with an uninspiring 10 point win against Little Rock. They did rebound nicely to post a strong win over a good Ole Miss squad on Saturday, where freshmen Precious Achiuwa and DJ Jeffries costarred with 25 and 23 points, respectively.
- Xavier (-5) – The heart attack Musketeers appear to have decided that every game they play, no matter what, will come down to just one or two plays. Naji Marshall put up another “fuck you” bucket to force OT against UConn, and the Musketeers managed to choke spectacularly in the first OT period allowing the Huskies to force a second OT, and somehow overcome Marshall, Paul Scruggs, and Quentin Goodin all fouling out to get the W. Then, Xavier fell behind by 17 points to Florida early in the second before rallying all the way back with a chance to tie in the final seconds until Scruggs’ 3 pointer rimmed out. Buy your Zantac/some drug that doesn’t cause cancer now, Xavier fans.
- Oklahoma (+1) – To be honest, I’m still not sure if Oklahoma is actually good or not, so this week’s Hall of Fame Classic will give some more insight on the Sooners. They survived a pesky William & Mary upset bid on Monday night and blew out Maryland-Eastern Shore on Thursday, so a game against Stanford followed by a matchup with either Missouri or Butler will be a good test.
- Washington (New) – Straightforward week for the Huskies, with expected wins over Maine, Montana, and San Diego. They’ll actually get a full week off, then have to deal with South Dakota and Eastern Washington before a big showdown with Gonzaga on December 8th.
Dropped Out: Texas (22)
Next 5: Texas, Michigan, Florida State, Florida, Marquette
Mid-Major of the Week: Let’s give a shoutout to Bowling Green this week. The Falcons knocked off Western Kentucky in a battle of two strong mid majors, then took down Cincinnati in OT at the Paradise Jam after a stirring comeback from a 10 point deficit with just over 3 minutes to play. Michael Huger is doing a hell of a job, and they get a chance to win the Paradise Jam when they take on Nevada on Monday night.
Bracketology Busters 