Power Rankings: Week 14: Feb. 16

I apologize for the lateness of these rankings! Next week, they will be published on Monday as usual.


The number in parenthesis is the previous ranking I gave. Includes games through the 13th.


1. Texas (3)
Well, color me damned. With Ohio State's loss to Wisconsin, their flaws were exposed, and I find this Longhorns team to be even better than Kansas. Jordan Hamilton has really evolved from his disappearing act of last season, and Tristan Thompson really seems to, despite being a 48.4% free-throw shooter, able to make the clutch free-throws coming down the stretch, as we saw against Baylor.


Next week: Feb. 16 @ Oklahoma State, Feb. 19 @ Nebraska.






 2. Ohio State (1)

Ok, so the Buckeyes were the last team stung, suffering an excruciating loss to the Badgers at the Kohl Center. But this team is still very, very good, and in line for a #1 seed come tourney time. It will be interesting to see whether OSU can rebound from their loss this week.


Next week: Feb. 15 vs. Michigan State (W, 71-61), Feb. 20 @ Purdue.









3. Kansas (2)

Kansas keeps rolling on, but their 1st half against Missouri really concerns me. Mizzou is not the best team, and they held with them blow-by-blow for 25 solid minutes before falling apart. Selby needs to recover to 100% and losing emotional leader Thomas Robinson for a few weeks with a meniscus injury really hurts. Anything can happen in the Octagon, and a loss to K. State would really set them back. This team's defense really concerns me.


Next week: Feb. 14 @ Kansas State (L, 84-68), Feb. 19 vs. Colorado.




4. Pittsburgh (4)

Pittsburgh has really asserted itself as the leader of the Big East, taking down both Villanova and West Virginia on the road without leading scorer Ashton Gibbs. It's their conference to lose at this point, with only ranked matches left against Villanova at home and at Louisville. They have to definitely be careful against the red-hot Red Storm in MSG, though.


Next week: Feb. 16 vs. South Florida, Feb. 19 @ St. John's.






5. Duke (5)

I still worry about Duke because of their extreme lack of a post-presence, but they've got so many shooters, along with the slashing of POY candidate Nolan Smith that they should be ok. The comeback against North Carolina showed that Duke really has a great resiliency to them, and that will be useful come tourney time.


Next week: Feb. 16 @ Virginia, Feb. 20 vs. Georgia Tech








6. Notre Dame (6)

Notre Dame passed their single test last week, with a raw 89-79 OT win over Louisville at home. An easy thrashing @ USF followed, paced by reserve forward Jack Cooley's career game of 18 points, and the surprise team of the Big East keeps on winning, sitting on a 7 game hot streak. A testy game in West Virginia awaits the Fighting Irish this week.


Next week: Feb. 19 @ West Virginia.






7. Brigham Young (7)

Welcome to the Jimmer Show, ladies and gents. These Cougars are fueled by the sensational senior, but his point output has actually decreased in the last couple of games. After 3 straight 30 point games (including 2 40 point efforts), Fredette hasn't eclipsed that 30 point mark. But it's ok, because he's finally getting some support. In their last win against Utah, Charles Abuou, plugged in for this game, was on fire in scoring 22 for a crucial output when Jimmer was a little off.


Next week: Feb. 19 @ Texas Christian.




8. San Diego State (8)

The Aztecs had some of their offensive weaknesses exposed at Las Vegas against the Runnin' Rebels, but they pulled out the crucial win, so only two more games until the rematch against BYU. D.J. Gay, along with the other 4 starters of this team, all returners from last year, seem to really have the poise to go far this March.


Next week: Feb. 16 vs. New Mexico, Feb. 19 @ Air Force.


9. Georgetown (10)

The Hoyas are really asserting themselves as a power to be reckoned with in the Big East, rattling off 8 big wins, with defeats of Louisville, Syracuse, and Villanova. And to help the Hoyas, two dates with Cincinnati still remain for them to trounce the Bearcats and end their tournament hopes.


Next week: Feb. 16 @ Connecticut, Feb. 19 @ South Florida.






10. Wisconsin (12)

The Badgers got their marquee win, finally taking down the Buckeyes, and thrusting Jordan Taylor into the limelight, and it's well deserved. It's a pretty cool win, seeing as how the only other defeat of a number one was also Ohio State, way back in 1964. That was a 20-point thrashing; this was a tough game they had to claw their way back into, but they got the job done. A tough test against Purdue in West Lafayette is upcoming.


Next week: Feb. 16 @ Purdue (L, 70-62), Feb. 20 vs. Penn State.




11. Purdue

Purdue is the quiet team in the Big 10; they get little love from the press, but they appear to take control of second place in the conference for now. The Boilermakers are very tough to beat in West Lafeyette, and stopping the tough tandem of E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson is just so difficult to do. This is the biggest week of the whole year for Purdue, with great chances to defeat Wisconsin and the Buckeyes at home.


Next week: Feb. 16 vs. Wisconsin (W, 70-62), Feb. 20 vs. Ohio State.






12. Connecticut (11)

Connecticut has fallen off a bit, going 3-3 in their last 6 games. Kemba Walker, we can prove, is for sure human. Kemba needs to provide leadership in their upcoming games, and their next game is a perfect opportunity to assert themselves again, with a home matchup against surging Georgetown. They look very solid, but they definitely have weakness that UConn can exploit.


Next week:  Feb. 16 vs. Georgetown (W 78-70), Feb. 18  @ Louisville.






13. Florida (17)

Florida was originally a top-10 team, and it finally appears they're on the cusp of playing like it. Erving Walker had a clutch lay-up with 14 seconds left to top Tennessee by one after being down 7 at half. This starting five is continuing to grow together, and Walker is emerging as the strong leader of this team. This week is a boring one, with only a lone game against LSU in Baton Rouge. A loss would be devastating.


Next week: Feb. 20 @ LSU.






14. Louisville (14)

Louisville mainly stayed on par, falling in a heartbreaker at Notre Dame in OT, then following up with a win at home against Syracuse. Preston Knowles has been a trey shooter, but he's starting to establish himself as a dual threat, slashing at times. A big game at Cincinnati awaits, where former assistant will meet his boss, Rick Pitino. They really still need their injuries to be healed, however.


Next week: Feb. 16 @ Cincinnati (L, 63-54), Feb. 18 vs. Connecticut.


15. Syracuse (13)

Syracuse had seemed to rebound from their 4 game skid with a couple of wins. but then they dropped a pair of tough games against Georgetown and Louisville. They have a couple of more winnable games against West Virginia and Rutgers.


Next week: Feb. 14 vs. West Virginia (W, 63-52), Feb. 19 vs. Rutgers.







16. Villanova (9)

Villanova was the biggest loser of the week, losing to a pathetic Rutgers team with an extremely undisciplined foul at the buzzer to allow Jonathan Mitchell a four-point play to win by one, and following that up with a tough, tough loss at home against Pittsburgh to snap a long home win streak at the Pavilion. They have ample chance to rebound though, with winnable games at Seton Hall and at DePaul.


Next week: Feb. 15 @ Seton Hall (W, 60-57), Feb. 19 @ DePaul.




17. Arizona (19)

Sean Miller has led his team to the top of the Pac-10 this season, amassing a 10-2 record in conference. Derrick Williams is an amazing 69.4% from 3-point land, and Arizona gets a chance to redeem their loss to Washington. 


Next week: Feb. 17 @ Washington State, Feb. 19 vs. Washington.










18. North Carolina (20)

North Carolina almost had the week of the year, pulling off an improbable win at Duke before Duke made a hell of a run in the second half, locking up the win. They rebounded with a close win over Clemson, and I feel that the Tarheels are picking up a big amount of steam heading into late February. The Heels have an easy game ahead against Wake.


Next week: Feb. 15 vs. Wake Forest (W, 78-64), Feb. 19 vs. Boston College.


19. Kentucky (16)

If Kentucky played the NCAA Tournament at Rupp Arena, they'd be real title contenders. But unfortunately, the games are played at neutral sites. The Wildcats are 1-5 on the road against SEC opponents this year, and they are a middling 5-5 this year. Their next two games are against middling Mississippi State and South Carolina.


Next week: Feb. 15 vs. Mississippi State (W, 85-79), Feb. 19 vs. South Carolina.






20. Vanderbilt (NR)

Vanderbilt enters my Power Rankings with an extremely solid win against Kentucky in Knoxville. Before this, they also had an awesome win against WCC opponent Saint Mary's. It took a career-effort of 32 points from John Jenkins to defeat the Wildcats, but it established them as a power in the SEC. 


Next week: Feb. 16 @ Georgia (W, 64-56), Feb. 19 @ Auburn.








21. Xavier (24)

X asserted itself as the power of the A-10 with its win over Duquesne. Dante's finally getting on a roll, and this week, X faces the cupcakes of the A-10; both of them, in Saint Joseph's and Fordham.


Next week: Feb. 16 @ Saint Joseph's (W, 74-54), Feb. 19 vs. Fordham.





 
22. Missouri (18)

Honestly, I don't know what it is about this team that bothers me. But they just don't seem to have it for me. They really aren't very good in the Big 12, but they have two easy games this week.


Next week: Feb. 15 vs. Texas Tech (W, 92-84), Feb. 19 @ Iowa State.








23. George Mason (NR)

George Mason is a new addition to the Power Rankings this week, and a team from the Colonial Athletic Association who's really become the top team in the CAA. They proved this with a big win by 20 at CAA recent powerhouse VCU.  They have an upcoming BracketBuster game against Northern Iowa.


Next week: Feb. 15 @ VCU (W, 71-51), Feb. 19 @ Northern Iowa.








24. Temple (NR)

Admitttedly, I did not give enough credit and kudos to Temple for their OOC play this season. They had an extremely powerful win against then #10 Georgetown, along with close losses against Villanova, Texas A&M (before we knew they were good), and California. They are led by first year starting G Ramone Moore, who averages 15 PPG to go with 4.4 RPG and 3.2 APG. They have a big matchup against Richmond to take sole possession of the A-10 behind Xavier.


Next week: Feb. 17 vs. Richmond, Feb. 20 vs. Saint Joseph's.

25. Texas A&M (NR)

The Aggies are another team that I did not give enough credit to. Their lone OOC loss was against a Boston College squad early in the year, and after that loss, they defeated Temple and Washington. In conference they have held their own, currently 3rd with a solid 7-4 record. They had a very good win against Missouri during their school-record win streak, but I left them off last week due to the poor losses against Baylor and Nebraska. They rebounded well with wins at Colorado and Texas Tech.


Next week: Feb. 16 vs. Iowa State (W, 71-66), Feb. 19 @ Oklahoma State.





Fell out of the rankings:
Wichita State
West Virginia 
Saint Mary's
Coastal Carolina