College Basketball Rankings 2015-16: Bleacher Report's Week 4 Top 25
The Thanksgiving week is always the best seven days of the college basketball season before the calendar flips.
Not only do we get to stuff our faces and watch a ton of college hoops, but the holiday tournaments also have a way of sniffing out the duds in our early polls.
This year's big winner (or rather, loser) is the poor, defenseless Indiana Hoosiers.
Indiana teased us by drubbing its first three opponents—convincingly enough to climb to No. 6 in last week's poll. The Hoosiers then went to Maui and reminded us that this group has never been too fond of defense, losing to Wake Forest and UNLV. Guess Thomas Bryant isn't the savior after all.
The other big tease turned out to be California. The Bears are rich on talent, but this group has always underachieved, and back-to-back losses to San Diego State and Richmond suggest that freshmen studs Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb might not be able to change that. It's still early for both Cal and Indiana, but they head home from their holiday tourneys with some soul-searching to do.
As for the actual winners...West Virginia, Cincinnati, Xavier and Syracuse all have our attention, and all were probably underrated coming into the season.
Teams dropped from last week's poll: Indiana (6); Arizona (13); California (15); Wichita State (17); Connecticut (22); Notre Dame (23); Utah (25)
Others receiving votes: Utah, Arizona, Connecticut, Wake Forest
Our experts participate in weekly voting for B/R's Top 25. Once a vote is cast for a specific team, it's assigned a value—25 points for the No. 1 team in the rankings, 24 points for the second spot and so on. The point totals are then added up to create the Top 25.
25-21: Louisville-Baylor
1 of 17
25. Louisville
Record: 5-0
Previous rank: Not ranked
Louisville has yet to face any real competition, but it's hard not to take notice of a plus-168 score differential through five games. The first test of the season comes on Wednesday with a visit to Michigan State.
24. SMU
Record: 4-0
Previous rank: Not ranked
The postseason-ineligible Mustangs are plugging along with a couple of nice wins thus far over the smart kids of Stanford and Yale. The Mustangs have five players averaging in double figures and seven guys averaging at least 8.5 points per game. They're only going to get deeper when Duke transfer Semi Ojeleye becomes eligible next semester.
23. Butler
Record: 4-1
Previous rank: 24
N.C. State transfer point guard Tyler Lewis has made Butler a more dangerous offensive team. Lewis has always been clever off the dribble, and that's helped him get to the line frequently, where he's doing his most damage, making 20 of 22 freebies on the year. Through five games, he's averaging 11.4 points and 3.6 assists. You'd expect higher assist numbers, but Butler leans on unorthodox point forward Roosevelt Jones for much of its playmaking duties. Jones has been even better with Lewis by his side.
22. Providence
Record: 6-1
Previous rank: Not ranked
Turns out the Friars are more than just Kris Dunn. There were questions about his supporting cast coming into this season, but that group has proven itself by knocking off Arizona and then playing Michigan State close in a loss.
21. Baylor
Record: 4-1
Previous rank: 20
The Bears have enough talent to go deep in March. The key for this team is point guard play, and Lester Medford has been solid since a stinker (one assist and six turnovers) in a loss to Oregon. In the three games since, Medford has 15 assists to just four turnovers.
20-16: Miami-Gonzaga
2 of 17
20. Miami
Record: 5-1
Previous rank: 8
The Hurricanes were the talk of college basketball a week ago after impressive back-to-back wins over Utah and Butler. The Canes followed that up with a loss at home to Northeastern. Granted, Northeastern was a tourney team a year ago and has a stud in David Walker, but this is the sort of inconsistency that made Miami maddening to follow last year. One game, the Canes were knocking off Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium; two weeks later, they were losing at home to Georgia Tech.
19. West Virginia
Record: 6-0
Previous rank: Not ranked
This was a worthy preseason question to ask of West Virginia: Could Press Virginia work under the new rules that allow less contact on ball-handlers? So far, so good. Mountaineers opponents are averaging 22.2 turnovers per game, and West Virginia ran San Diego State off the floor with a 22-point win Friday in Las Vegas. Bob Huggins uncovered a gem when he adopted former Cleveland State coach Kevin Mackey's press, and it has resurrected the WVU program.
18. Cincinnati
Record: 7-0
Previous rank: 19
The Bearcats were probably the most disrespected team in the country in the preseason, considering they returned all five starters from a team that won a game in the NCAA tournament and yet did not appear in either national preseason poll. Time to give them their dap. A win this past Saturday over George Washington, who previously beat Virginia, should help the cause.
17. Xavier
Record: 7-0
Previous rank: Not ranked
The Musketeers have as impressive a resume thus far as anyone in the country. It's not just the wins; it's the margin of victory. They beat Michigan by 16, Alabama by 19, USC by 10 and Dayton by 29. And those are all wins away from home or on neutral courts.
16. Gonzaga
Record: 4-1
Previous rank: 12
Mark Few quickly scrapped the experiment of playing Kyle Wiltjer, Domantas Sabonis and Przemek Karnowski together. The three bigs started against Pittsburgh, a game that was canceled at halftime, and Sabonis has come off the bench since. Sabonis is still playing 23.8 minutes per game, so only being able to play two bigs at a time isn't much of an issue.
That will definitely be the case if the guards continue to get better. Because of the turnover in the backcourt and Few continuing to develop a feel for his rotation, this is a team that has a chance to improve throughout the season as much as any. The results so far are solid, with wins over Washington and Connecticut and a one-point loss to Texas A&M at the Battle 4 Atlantis. With a chance to pick up a few more solid nonconference wins (Arizona and UCLA, both at home), expect the Zags to end up on one of the top two lines once again in March.
15. Texas A&M
3 of 17
Record: 6-1
Previous rank: 21
Texas A&M's loss in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game is a good lesson in how early-season results can be deceiving. I watched that game and came away thinking A&M will be the better and more complete team this year. (No disrespect to Syracuse, who is much better than expected.)
The Aggies have scoring inside and out and simply ran into a team that was red-hot from distance. They have the goods to be a top-three or top-four seed in the NCAA tournament.
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14. Oregon
4 of 17
Record: 5-0
Previous rank: 18
The Ducks were all offense last season, but new big man Chris Boucher, who came from Northwest College in Wyoming, has made the Ducks a much more well-rounded team this year. Boucher is swatting 4.2 blocks per game and is on pace to obliterate Oregon's single-season block record.
He'll be breaking the record of sophomore Jordan Bell, who has been recovering from offseason foot surgery. So once Bell gets healthy, the Ducks could have the two best shot-blockers in the history of the program patrolling the paint. It might be time to redo the Pac-12 preseason poll, which had Oregon finishing fourth. Knowing how good Boucher is, the Ducks would likely be selected as the favorite if redone today.
13. Syracuse
5 of 17
Record: 6-0
Previous rank: Not ranked
Jim Boeheim deserves some props for changing the way most of his teams have played based on his personnel. No, the Orange aren't abandoning the zone, but this team is shooting way more threes than any Boeheim team in the past.
Check out the three-point rate (that's percentage of shots from beyond the arc) for Syracuse this season compared to the last five years, per kenpom.com:
- 2015-16: 45.5
- 2014-15: 29.1
- 2013-14: 27.0
- 2012-13: 30.4
- 2011-12: 31.0
- 2010-11: 31.7
That number might come down some, but probably not much, especially if Syracuse keeps winning.
12. Purdue
6 of 17
Record: 6-0
Previous rank: 16
Purdue coach Matt Painter benched center A.J. Hammons for the first two games this season, and Hammons has come off the bench for the last four. Benching a future pro who has been your best player the last two years rarely works out well, but in this case, replacement center Isaac Haas has quickly emerged as Purdue's new star.
The 7'2" sophomore is leading the Boilermakers in scoring at 15.0 points per game and has been one of the most efficient scorers in college basketball. He's shooting 75.6 percent from the field and 73.7 percent at the free-throw line. Now Hammons, averaging 9.3 points per game, is suddenly the most talented sixth man in college basketball. That's a nice luxury for Purdue to have.
11. Virginia
7 of 17
Record: 5-1
Previous rank: T-9
Despite Virginia's presence in the B/R Top 25, it's difficult to get a read on how good it really is at this point. UVA has lost against its only legitimate competition, George Washington, and has blown out its other five opponents.
The schedule should help clear that all up by Christmas.
The Cavaliers travel to Ohio State on Tuesday, then play William and Mary (who owns a win against North Carolina State), then get West Virginia and its devastating full-court press in New York, then Villanova (and the nation's best defense) at home, followed by another home game against talent-rich California on Dec. 22. If Tony Bennett's team gets through that stretch perfect, its current ranking will be far too low.
10. Duke
8 of 17
Record: 6-1
Previous rank: T-9
Duke sophomore guard Grayson Allen is putting up ridiculous numbers that bring back memories of J.J. Redick's senior season.
To put in perspective how good Allen has been through seven games, take a look at a comparison to Redick's first seven games in his Naismith Award-winning senior year in 2005-06:
- Allen: 22.6 PPG, 48.6 3FG%, 52.5 2FG%, 91.8 FT%
- Redick: 22.7 PPG, 44.2 3FG%, 50.0 2FG%, 86.4 FT%
The Blue Devils need freshmen Brandon Ingram and Derryck Thornton to play much better if they're going to reach their potential. But as long as Allen keeps scoring the ball at such a ridiculous rate, it can buy Mike Krzyzewski some time to help his freshmen figure things out.
9. North Carolina
9 of 17
Record: 5-1
Previous rank: 7
North Carolina head coach Roy Williams announced Monday that Marcus Paige will play Tuesday at Maryland, barring a setback. That's great news for the Tar Heels, and his impact could be felt in a surprising area.
Paige has been one of the most important players to his team's offensive success in recent years, but the Heels have actually gotten along just fine without him on the offensive end. Where they've struggled is defensively, particularly guarding point guards off the dribble. Against UNC's best three opponents (Northern Iowa, Northwestern and K-State), the starting point guards averaged 19.7 points and 6.3 assists.
Paige will be an upgrade at that spot over Joel Berry, and he'll get a tough test right away trying to contain Maryland's Melo Trimble.
8. Vanderbilt
10 of 17
Record: 5-1
Previous rank: Not ranked
The SEC is not a foregone conclusion this year because Kentucky has legitimate competition in Vanderbilt and Texas A&M.
The Commodores are one of the few teams in the country that can line up with the Wildcats from a talent standpoint. Kevin Stallings has surrounded 7-footers Damian Jones and Luke Kornet with a bunch of three-point shooters. Both Jones and Kornet are future pros, and Vandy has four players shooting better than 40 percent from deep with at least 10 attempts. Not included in that group is Kornet, who is 2-of-20 from deep thus far this season but shot 40 percent last year and is too good a shooter to continue struggling.
Combine the offensive creativity of Stallings with all that shooting, inside scoring and the playmaking abilities of guard Wade Baldwin IV, and Vanderbilt's offense should consistently produce at a high level.
7. Iowa State
11 of 17
Record: 5-0
Previous rank: 14
When I asked Georges Niang at Big 12 media day what was different about new head coach Steve Prohm, Niang said the Cyclones were doing similar things on offense, but there was much more of a focus on defense than in the past.
The early returns on that emphasis have been positive. The Cyclones are still scoring at a high rate, and now they're defending at a similar level. Through five games, opponents are scoring 0.89 points per possession, which ranks 24th nationally, according to kenpom.com.
It's still a bit early to say the Cyclones will be a really good defensive team, as Prohm's only team that was great on that end was his first (2011-12) at Murray State. However, it's certainly possible an increased focus and some new schemes could pay off this year.
6. Oklahoma
12 of 17
Record: 4-0
Previous rank: T-9
The Sooners returned four starters, and the expectation was that this team could be every bit as good—if not better—as last season's with another year of experience. But the graduation of power forward TaShawn Thomas could be a bigger hole than anticipated.
Khadeem Lattin, the sophomore tasked with replacing Thomas, is off to a slow start. Lattin has scored only nine points through four games. OU doesn't necessarily need Lattin to score—defense and rebounding should be his top two priorities—but it's not the best sign that he's only playing 14 minutes per game. We'll have a much better idea of how good the Sooners are and how much they miss Thomas when they get their first true test of the season playing Villanova on Dec. 7 in Honolulu.
5. Villanova
13 of 17
Previous rank: 2
Record: 6-0
Villanova has been the best defensive team in the country so far, and the numbers are Virginia-esque—if only UVA's pack-line defense could create turnovers along with the ability to force a lot of missed shots.
The Wildcats are holding opponents to 36.2 percent shooting inside the arc, 26.0 percent from three-point range, rarely fouling (opponents average 16.2 free throws per game), netting 17.3 turnovers per game and Daniel Ochefu is blocking 2.3 shots per game. Jay Wright is able to play smaller lineups who like to gamble because of Ochefu's presence at the back of the defense.
Nebraska's 63 points is the most scored against Villanova so far, and Akron is the only other opponent to top 55 points against the Wildcats. My thoughts and prayers are with Big East offenses.
4. Maryland
14 of 17
Record: 6-0
Previous rank: 4
Melo Trimble is benefitting from the rule changes as much as any player in the country so far this season. Trimble is as good as it gets at shaking defenders off the dribble, and he also knows how to use a ball screen. What is different from Trimble last year compared to this year is he's now getting to the basket much easier.
A year ago, Trimble took only 29 percent of his shots at the rim, according to Hoop-Math.com. That number is up to 43.6 percent this year, and he's making 79.2 percent of those attempts. The floor has also opened up more for Trimble because Maryland has more balance—six Terps are averaging at least than 8.8 points per game. Because he can trust his teammates more this year, Trimble's assists are up as well (from 3.0 to 4.5 per game).
Keep a close eye on how North Carolina defends Trimble on Tuesday. The Tar Heels have struggled with penetrating guards thus far, and Trimble is not only the best they've seen, he might just be the best in the country at getting his feet in the paint and causing trouble for defenses.
3. Kansas
15 of 17
Record: 4-1
Previous rank: 3
The Jayhawks slowed down Vanderbilt, one of the best offenses in the country, in the Maui Invitational finals by doing two things exceptionally well: defensive rotations and team rebounding.
I wrote this past week on the impact Cheick Diallo could have for Kansas. On the defensive end, he gives the Jayhawks the rim protector they're currently lacking, and he'll likely be the best defensive rebounder on the roster. But if you want to look for a possible positive from his early absence, it could be that the Jayhawks locked in on their team defense and rebounding without a safety valve at the back of the D.
The rebounding is especially impressive, considering the current group lacks an elite rebounder. The fact that 5'11" point guard Frank Mason is averaging 5.0 boards per game shows how well his teammates are boxing out. Vandy, a team that had way more size up front than KU, grabbed only six of a possible 37 available offensive rebounds, and KU's opponents are rebounding only 21.3 percent of their misses, 16th-best nationally, according to kenpom.com.
Add Diallo to the mix, and this could turn into an elite defense.
2. Michigan State
16 of 17
Record: 7-0
Previous rank: 5
You know you're having an impressive season when you go for 17 points, five assists and six rebounds, and your averages drop across the board.
That was the case for Denzel Valentine in Sunday's win over Providence. Valentine had season lows in both rebounds and assists. He already has two triple-doubles this season and is a threat to get there every night.
Kris Dunn was the pick for some, myself included, for preseason National Player of the Year, but the clear winner over the first few weeks of the season is Valentine. Sparty is better than expected because he's playing at such a ridiculously high level.
1. Kentucky
17 of 17
Record: 6-0
Previous rank: 1
The one area where Kentucky has struggled this season is shooting beyond the arc. The Wildcats are making only 29.1 percent of their threes, but this isn't as much of a weakness as it would be for most teams. That's because Kentucky has rebounded nearly half of its missed threes (29-of-61) so far this year.
Kentucky's shooting is going to get better. Tyler Ulis (28.6 percent) and Jamal Murray (32.3 percent) are taking a majority of the threes, and both are better shooters than their percentages reflect. Ulis shot 42.9 percent from deep last season, and Murray has hovered around 40 percent in his past international and summer league competition.
This is why the 'Cats are the most complete team in the country. They can negate one area of inconsistency with an elite group of offensive rebounders. That makes it really hard to find a weakness to exploit.
C.J. Moore covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @CJMooreBR.
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