15. COLORADO STATE (21-4). Getting lost in the hoopla over the Big Ten is the strength and depth of the Mountain West (which actually ranks as the second-best conference according to RPI). It's sending at least four teams to the tournament, including New Mexico, San Diego State, and UNLV, but Colorado State looks like the best of the bunch. The Rams are the top rebounding team in the country and they start five seniors.
Last week: unranked
14. ARIZONA (21-4). This week, the Wildcats dropped a game at Colorado and survived a close call with Utah. There is no universe in which a 9-4 record in the Pac-12 is impressive.
Last week: #13
13. WISCONSIN (18-8). The Badgers scored a grand total of four points in the final ten minutes of an overtime loss at Minnesota. Then they shot the lights out in a 71-49 beatdown of Ohio State that was so complete, it pushed the Buckeyes out of the Power Rankings. A typical week for up-and-down Wisconsin.
Last week: #14
12. BUTLER (21-5). Like the Mountain West, the Atlantic 10 is getting overlooked. Not only are Butler and VCU locks for the NCAA Tournament; Saint Louis, Temple, La Salle, and Charlotte are all jockeying for at-large berths, too. This conference will get more teams into the tournament than the SEC and perhaps the ACC.
Last week: #12
11. OKLAHOMA STATE (19-5). The Cowboys are on a serious roll right now. A come-from-behind overtime win against rival Oklahoma kept their seven-game winning streak alive heading into a home showdown with Kansas. If they beat the Jayhawks, they can win the Big 12.
Last week: unranked
10. SYRACUSE (21-4). The final Big East game between Syracuse and Connecticut ended with an Orange loss. A 4-for-23 effort from the three-point line won't cut it when they have virtually no scoring threat in the paint. Four of Syracuse's six remaining games are against teams at the very top of the conference -- Georgetown twice, Marquette, and Louisville -- so if the Orange win the Big East, they'll have earned it themselves.
Last week: #9
9. KANSAS (21-4). Blowouts of Kansas State and Texas seem to have pulled Kansas out of its nosedive. And just in time, too: the Jayhawks travel to Oklahoma State seeking to avenge their home loss to the Cowboys and take back control of the Big 12.
Last week: #11
8. DUKE (22-3). By getting beat up in the paint in their loss at Maryland, the Blue Devils essentially ceded the regular season ACC title to Miami. Somewhat unexpectedly, the absence of Ryan Kelly might be costing Duke on defense even more than on offense.
Last week: #5
7. GONZAGA (25-2). Away games at Saint Mary's and San Francisco have historically been nightmares for Gonzaga. Yet the Zags won at both schools last week, just more evidence that this year's team is the best one this program has ever had.
Last week: #7
6. MICHIGAN (22-4). The Wolverines emerged from their four-game-stretch-of-death with just one win, but at least their limbs are still in the correct sockets. Their reward? Three of their final five games are against Illinois, Michigan State, and Indiana. At least all three are at home. Michigan really needs to show improvement on the defensive end before it can be considered a national title contender.
Last week: #2
5. LOUISVILLE (21-5). Russ Smith leads Louisville in scoring with over 18 points per game and he might be an All-American. He's also shooting below 40% on the season. That sums up this entire Cardinals team pretty well.
Last week: #8
4. MIAMI (21-3). After a month of casually dominating the opposition, Miami was dragged down into the mud by Clemson on Sunday night, only scoring 45 points. Of course, the Hurricanes still won the game, because, you know, Clemson. But their bubble of invincibility might have been popped. Let's see what happens in their next game, against an underrated Virginia team that's in desperate need of a big win to boost their NCAA Tournament chances.
Last week: #4
3. MICHIGAN STATE (22-4). It already feels like old news, but Michigan State's annihilation of Michigan last week was one of the more impressive wins of the season. The Spartans had 18 team assists, only turned the ball over eight times, and smothered the nation's top offense. They won by 23; it could easily have been 40. And now Indiana comes to town.
Last week: #6
2. FLORIDA (21-3). It's looking more and more like their bizarre loss at Arkansas was a fluke and not a warning sign. In three games since then, the Gators have blown out their opponents by 25, 17, and 31 points. The only conference game left on the schedule that looks even remotely challenging is on Tuesday at Missouri.
Last week: #3
1. INDIANA (23-3). The Hoosiers have won their last two games by a combined total of 57 points. Now they just have to hope Victor Oladipo is 100% healthy for the biggest game of the season at white-hot Michigan State.
Last week: #1
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