College Basketball Power Rankings: 2/4

Marcus Smart has a cool name and
apparently can also fly.

15. OKLAHOMA STATE (15-5). No, the Cowboys probably aren't one of the 15 best teams in the country. But on Saturday, they pulled off one of the most difficult feats in sports: beating Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks had won 101 of their previous 102 home games. Oklahoma State didn't care, winning 85-80 behind freshman point guard Marcus Smart. Not only did he score 25 points -- he also forced five steals and pulled in eight offensive rebounds. Like Victor Oladipo, Smart does everything for his team and should be in the National Player of the Year discussion.
Last week: unranked

14. MINNESOTA (17-5). Recovered from a rough four-game losing streak by beating Iowa and Nebraska this week. Next on the docket: a minefield of a six-game stretch including games against Michigan State, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Indiana. Are the Gophers for real? We're about to find out.
Last week: #15

13. ARIZONA (19-2). It's probably a bad thing when your "point guard" is averaging 2.9 assists and 3 turnovers per game. Come to think of it, yeah, that might be an issue at some point.
Last week: #14

12. BUTLER (18-4). They've hit a bit of a rough patch, losing two of their last four, both on the road. Turnovers have been a problem. But who's betting against this team?
Last week: #9

11. OHIO STATE (17-4). After routine wins over Wisconsin and Nebraska, things are about to get tricky. The Buckeyes travel to Michigan and then return home for Indiana in back-to-back games. Luckily, they've got Deshaun Thomas, who's averaging 20 points per game and shooing 40% from beyond the arc despite being the focal point of every opposing team's defense.
Last week: #12

10. SYRACUSE (18-3). Suffered their second consecutive loss -- this one at Pittsburgh, 65-55 -- on Saturday. It's tough to label that one an upset, though. Syracuse has almost no depth right now and Pitt plays up to ten guys regularly (the Orange bench was outscored by Pitt's bench 31-3). The Big East remains a mess. The top nine teams are all separated by just one game in the standings.
Last week: #7

9. GONZAGA (21-2). Still undefeated (8-0) in the West Coast Conference. They own the second-best team field goal percentage in the country, and the fifth-most efficient offense. The Zags are streaking towards a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament with a solid chance at the program's first Final Four appearance.
Last week: #11

8. MICHIGAN STATE (18-4). A 14-0 run to start the second half helped the Spartans top Illinois at home 80-75 and move to 7-2 in the Big Ten. They're getting hit hard by injuries, but hopefully they'll be close to full strength in time for their two February home games against Michigan and Indiana.
Last week: #8

7. MIAMI (17-3). A putback at the buzzer gave Miami a surprising one-point win at #19 N.C. State, which had been undefeated at home. The Hurricanes have played one of the five toughest schedules in the country; they rank 2nd in RPI behind Duke, who they've already beaten soundly; they still haven't lost a game when all of their players have been healthy; they're in first place in the ACC by two games with a perfect 8-0 record. What's not to like?
Last week: #10

6. DUKE (19-2). The Blue Devils entered the week with zero road wins. Now they've got two. It's 'pick your poison' with this team: at Wake Forest, Mason Plumlee scored 32 points on 12-of-15 shooting; at Florida State, Plumlee was quiet but the Devils hit 11 of their 18 three-pointers.
Last week: #6

5. LOUISVILLE (18-4). The Cardinals righted the ship this week after a three-game losing streak. They edged Pittsburgh and destroyed Marquette thanks to a slowly-recovering offense. Russ Smith scored 38 points between the two wins.
Last week: #5

4. MICHIGAN (20-2). All things considered, the young Wolverines handled themselves extremely well in their loss at Indiana. Let's see what happens during the rematch at Michigan -- the regular season finale -- which could decide the Big Ten champion.
Last week: #2

3. KANSAS (19-2). The Jayhawks' long winning streak was finally snapped (at home, no less) by Marcus Smart and feisty Oklahoma State. Smart abused Elijah Johnson and exposed Kansas's lack of a great ballhandler. There's room for improvement on the offensive end.
Last week: #1

2. INDIANA (20-2). It's obvious that nobody has a one-two punch as good as Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo. And nobody has a home-court advantage like Assembly Hall. And nobody looks as dominant as the Hoosiers when they're running on all cylinders. So let's all harken back to that time when Wisconsin beat this team in Assembly Hall last month and collectively wonder how the heck that happened.
Last week: #4

1. FLORIDA (18-2). I promise that it's okay to think the best team in the country might reside in the SEC and not the Big Ten. Admittedly, Florida's conference is home to some hideous basketball at times. But remember: the last time a Big Ten team won the national championship was in 2000. The last time an SEC team won the national championship was ten months ago.
Last week: #3