College Basketball Rankings 2015-16: Bleacher Report's Week 13 Top 25
The hot potato at the top of the rankings has come to a stall.
Thanks to the flame-throwing finger tips of Buddy Hield, this is the third straight week that North Carolina and Oklahoma top our Bleacher Report rankings.
Hield won the weekend by dropping 32 points at LSU, and his Sooners are not only the best team in college basketball, but they're also the best show as well.
This week is the show-me week for North Carolina. The Heels travel to Louisville on Monday and then face one of the nation's top offenses on Saturday at Notre Dame.
So next week could include a big shakeup. As for this week's rankings, Louisville was the big loser, dropping nine spots, and Oregon received the win-at-McKale-Center bump by rising nine spots.
Be sure to make it to the last slide this week for some perspective on the ridiculous shooting of the Sooners.
Also receiving votes: Utah, Arizona
Teams dropped from last week's rankings: Notre Dame (23), Arizona (25)
25-21: USC-West Virginia
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25. USC
Record: 17-5 (6-3, Pac-12)
Previous rank: Not ranked
The Trojans responded from a rough road trip to Oregon in which they lost to both Oregon schools by beating up on the Washington schools at home this past week. Andy Enfield's fast-paced style that succeeded at Florida Gulf Coast is now working its magic at USC.
24. VCU
Record: 16-5 (8-0, A-10)
Previous rank: Not ranked
The Rams have won 11 straight, and Havoc is alive and well even with Shaka Smart at Texas. Davidson's Jack Gibbs, one of the A-10's best guards, was the latest to experience the frustration of facing VCU's pressure. The Rams forced Gibbs into nine turnovers on Friday night at Davidson.
23. Saint Mary's
Record: 18-2 (9-1, WCC)
Previous rank: 24
The Gaels are the best shooting team in college basketball, knocking down 43.6 percent of their threes and 59.7 percent of their twos. Sophomore guard Emmett Naar is the lower-usage version of Buddy Hield. Saint Mary's leading scorer is shooting 53.9 percent from the field, 57.1 percent from three-point range and 84.6 percent at the line.
22. Indiana
Record: 18-4 (8-1 Big Ten)
Previous rank: 15
Since the Hoosiers lost to Duke, they're 13-1 but have only beat one team likely to make the NCAA tournament (Notre Dame) during that stretch. The schedule is not so kind coming up. IU travels to Michigan on Tuesday and then after traveling to Penn State next Saturday, it plays Iowa in Bloomington and Michigan State on the road the following week. We should have a much-better idea two weeks from now as to how legit the Hoosiers really are.
21. West Virginia
Record: 17-4 (6-2 Big 12)
Previous rank: 13
The Mountaineers have lost three of five, and Saturday's 88-71 loss at Florida was troubling. West Virginia's style lends itself to being foul-prone, but the rate at which WVU is fouling can make it tough to win. In WVU's last three losses during this rough patch, opponents have shot an average of 31 free throws per game.
20-16: Miami-Wichita State
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20. Miami
Record: 16-4 (5-3, ACC)
Previous rank: 17
The Hurricanes can look elite one night—take their win over Duke from this past week—but it's tough to trust them considering how they've responded to some of their biggest wins. After winning the Puerto Rico Tip-Off earlier this year, for instance, they lost at home their next time out to Northeastern. The latest bad look was losing by 16 on the road at North Carolina State on Saturday following the Duke win. The Wolfpack entered that game 1-7 in the ACC.
19. Purdue
Record: 19-4 (7-3, Big Ten)
Previous rank: 21
A.J. Hammons had the best game of his career this past Saturday in the win over Nebraska. Hammons went for 32 points on 14-of-17 shooting and also had 11 boards, five assists, four blocks and a steal. The big fella started the season in Matt Painter's doghouse and sat out the first two games this season, but he's in Painter's good graces now, and he's been the best big man in the Big Ten in conference play.
18. Providence
Record: 18-4 (6-3, Big East)
Previous rank: 18
Buddy Hield appears to have National Player of the Year locked down, but Kris Dunn would be in contention most years. Dunn is putting up 17.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 3.2 steals per game. He's also improved his shooting stroke and is knocking down a respectable 38.6 percent from beyond the arc, but three-point shooting is Providence's weakness as a team. The Friars are making just 30.6 percent of their threes.
17. Louisville
Record: 17-4 (6-2, ACC)
Previous rank: 8
The biggest game of the ACC season is on Monday night when North Carolina travels to Louisville. The second-place Cardinals are two games back of the Heels after dropping a game at home this weekend to Virginia. If Louisville isn't able to win at home, the ACC race could turn into a battle for second place.
16. Wichita State
Record: 16-5 (10-0, MVC)
Previous rank: 18
The hardest game Wichita State had left on its schedule was at Evansville on Sunday. The Purple Aces are the Missouri Valley's second-best team and were the best bet to prevent the Shockers from going undefeated two out of three years in the Valley. The Shockers won by 13 on Sunday. Fred VanVleet dropped 32 points on the Purple Aces. Wichita State is 15-1 since VanVleet returned from his hamstring injury.
15. Kentucky
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Record: 16-5 (6-2, SEC)
Previous rank: 20
John Calipari has figured out a way to get the most out of his offense by inserting Derek Willis into the starting lineup as a strech 4. The threat of Willis from the perimeter has opened things up for Kentucky's guards, which was evident on Saturday at Kansas before Bill Self went to a Triangle and 2.
In the four games since Willis joined the starting lineup, UK is scoring 120.6 points per 100 possessions. That number would rank third nationally in efficiency on the season, according to KenPom.com.
The Wildcats have their flaws, but if they keep scoring like this, they'll be a feared team in the NCAA tournament.
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14. Baylor
4 of 17
Record: 17-4 (6-2, Big 12)
Previous rank: 14
The Baylor Bears are quietly humming along in the Big 12 and in a three-way tie for first place with Oklahoma and West Virginia.
It's hard to envision Oklahoma not winning the league unless Kansas catches fire, but OU should keep its eyes on Baylor. The Bears are the only team to win at Iowa State this season, and they've already had to play in Lawrence. They still have to play at Oklahoma and have West Virginia twice, but the Mountaineers are in a funk and the Bears swept them last year.
The Bears also seem to take care of business against teams they're better than. They are one of the few teams out there without a bad loss. Baylor's four losses (at Oregon, at Texas A&M, at Kansas and Oklahoma at home) were all against quality opponents.
13. Oregon
5 of 17
Record: 18-4 (7-2, Pac-12)
Previous rank: 22
The Pac-12 is the Big 12 lite in that everyone is beating up on each other, and the league lacks crappy teams at the bottom. Washington State is really the only dog of the bunch. Arizona State, the team in 11th place, owns a win over Texas A&M.
The Oregon Ducks showed themselves as the class of the league this past week by ending Arizona's 49-game winning streak at home. One important development this season has been the steadiness of point guard Casey Benson, who was expected to be a bench guy after Dylan Ennis transferred to Oregon. Benson has yet to have a game this year with more than two turnovers, and he had only five turnovers in the whole month of January.
Ennis played in only two games and is out for the season with a foot injury, but Benson does such a good job facilitating and not making mistakes that the injury hasn't really hurt the Ducks.
12. Iowa State
6 of 17
Record: 16-5 (5-3, Big 12)
Previous rank: 16
I'm giving the Iowa State Cyclones a bit of a pass for their loss on Saturday at Texas A&M. The Aggies deserve credit for winning the game, and their defense is really good (something I'll get into on the A&M slide), but it was obvious watching the game that Georges Niang was not his usual self, and Jameel McKay was also limited.
According to Travis Hines of the Ames Tribune, McKay was questionable going into the game because of a knee injury, and Niang fought through a minor foot ailment and suffered a thigh bruise during the game.
Getting both guys healthy should be a top priority for the Cyclones because they're more reliant on their top six guys than any quality team in the country.
11. SMU
7 of 17
Record: 19-1 (8-1, American)
Previous rank: 10
Kansas, Duke, Connecticut, Villanova and VCU.
That's a list of programs that have gone to Temple and lost over the last five years. No shame in SMU's loss at Temple last Sunday.
The Mustangs are still putting together a pretty magical season that will end on March 6 because of the program's postseason ban. They should at least have a conference title to show for their efforts. They're currently two games up on second place in the AAC.
10. Virginia
8 of 17
Record: 17-4 (6-3, ACC)
Previous rank: 12
My Twitter feed last Tuesday night read like an obituary for Virginia basketball. The Wahoos seemed destined for a loss at Wake Forest, which would have dropped them to 4-4 in the ACC and probably ended any hope of winning a third straight conference title.
They trailed by seven with less than 20 seconds left, and according to KenPom.com, their win probability at that point was 0.2 percent, meaning they should win that game one out of every 500 times.
After somehow pulling that game out—in regulation, no less!—and then winning by 16 on the road at Louisville, Virginia looks dangerous again. The win at Louisville was the widest margin of victory at Louisville since the Cards lost by 22 to Charlotte on Dec. 5, 2009.
9. Texas A&M
9 of 17
Record: 18-3 (7-1, SEC)
Previous rank: 5
The Aggies were arguably the biggest winner on Saturday in the Big 12/SEC challenge because their win solidified their standing as a top-10 team and their stance as a dominant defense.
Iowa State has had an elite offense for the last three years now, and the Aggies held it to a season-low 62 points. ISU's efficiency (0.86 points per possession) was also a season low, per KenPom.com, and the third-worst mark for the Cyclones over the last three seasons.
Additionally, the Aggies have risen to third in adjusted defensive efficiency and rank first among major-conference teams, according to KenPom.com.
8. Michigan State
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Record: 19-4 (6-4, Big Ten)
Previous rank: 10
The Michigan State Spartans beat up on Northwestern and Rutgers this week and seem to have their swagger back.
What's obvious is this team needs Denzel Valentine to influence every part of the game, and Valentine is back to his pre-knee injury ways. The senior is averaging 19.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists during the three-game winning streak.
The Spartans have a tough stretch coming up with road games at Michigan and Purdue followed by a Valentine's Day date with Indiana in East Lansing.
6 (tie). Maryland
11 of 17
Record: 19-3 (8-2, Big Ten)
Previous rank: 8
The Maryland Terrapins got a signature win this past week by knocking off Iowa, and while the bracketologists don't seem to have them on the top line, I'm guessing that's where they end up.
One reason to buy Maryland is they lack a bad loss. No shame in losing on the road to North Carolina, Michigan or Michigan State.
I'm also buying Maryland stock because of the way Robert Carter and Jake Layman are playing. Carter is a matchup nightmare as a stretch 4 who can also score inside, and Layman is getting more and more comfortable in his move back to small forward this season. The schedule also sets up nicely with only two road games left against likely tourney teams—at Purdue on Feb. 27 and Indiana on March 6.
6 (tie). Kansas
12 of 17
Record: 17-4 (5-3, Big 12)
Previous rank: 4
Ever since West Virginia's guards sliced through KU's defense three weeks ago, opponents have wisely been spreading the floor and going to work against KU's guards. Tyler Ulis had his way with the Jayhawks for much of Saturday night, and to Bill Self's credit, he essentially threw in the towel on his man-to-man defense.
Self went to a Triangle and 2, something he hadn't used on a regular basis since the team's run to the Final Four in 2013. It worked well against the Wildcats, because Ulis had a harder time finding room to operate, and it forced UK's non-shooters to shoot. Self usually saves his gimmicky defense for the NCAA tournament, but he may have finally seen enough from his perimeter defense.
It'll be interesting to watch how Self handles his defense going forward. He's pretty anti-zone, and using a gimmicky defense on a regular basis is against his nature.
5. Xavier
13 of 17
Record: 19-2 (7-2, Big East)
Previous rank: 7
I wrote this past week on why Xavier is a legitimate Final Four contender and how this team doesn't appear to really have a weakness.
One reason I really like the Musketeers in March is Chris Mack's 1-3-1 zone defense that he adopted last year to sort of hide big man Matt Stainbrook. Stainbrook struggled guarding against ball screens, and the 1-3-1 kept him in the paint.
The defense helped the Musketeers make the Sweet 16 last season, and Mack said it was a great weapon in the tournament because teams aren't used to seeing the 1-3-1, and it's difficult to prep for on a quick turnaround.
This season Mack is using the defense even more, and it's not because he's trying to hide anyone. The 1-3-1 has become a great weapon, and Xavier's ability to switch in and out of zone and man-to-man—and do so both effectively—makes this a really hard team to play.
4. Villanova
14 of 17
Record: 18-3 (8-1, Big East)
Previous rank: 6
The new Big East is not the Goliath the old conference was, but it's still a pretty good league—fourth-best in the country this year, per KenPom.com—and Villanova has owned the league since the reformation.
The Wildcats are 40-5 over the last three years in Big East play, and two of the last three losses have come in overtime, with the latest coming last Sunday against Providence. If you take out games Doug McDermott played in, the Wildcats are 40-3.
Unless Jay Wright's team makes the Final Four this year, this run will likely go under-appreciated because the Wildcats have flamed out early in March. (One of those early exits, it should be noted, was courtesy of eventual national champion Connecticut in 2014.)
But the power rankings would like to end this oversight of an awesome run that doesn't appear to be coming to an end anytime soon. Job well done, Nova.
3. Iowa
15 of 17
Record: 17-4 (8-1, Big Ten)
Previous rank: 3
The Iowa Hawkeyes are no longer just a nice story with one guy having an All-American season in Jarrod Uthoff. This team is looking like it has the goods to get to the Final Four, especially now with Peter Jok's emergence.
Jok has been awesome over the last six games, averaging 20.2 points per game and making 19 of 37 threes during that stretch. Iowa runs a ton of screens for both Uthoff and Jok and also does a good job of finding shots for them in their early offense or transition. In other words, you're not going to keep both from getting looks.
It was hard enough trying to focus the defense around slowing Uthoff. Game-planning for another shooter who is just as dangerous right now can't be fun for the rest of the Big Ten.
2. North Carolina
16 of 17
Record: 19-2 (8-0, ACC)
Previous rank: 2
The biggest question mark with this group has always been its defense, but eight games into the ACC season, there's proof Roy Williams might have finally gotten the Heels to buy in on the defensive end.
North Carolina has been the ACC's best defensive team in league games, holding opponents to 0.96 points per possession, according to Kenpom.com. Ranking first in the ACC is impressive considering Louisville has been one of the country's best defensive teams on the season. And anytime you can lead a defensive metric in a league that includes Rick Pitino and Tony Bennett, that's something to hang your hat on.
So the numbers are promising, although it could be slightly schedule-based. The Tar Heels have yet to play the league's other four best offensive teams (Notre Dame, Duke, Virginia and Pittsburgh). They'll see three of those teams over their next five games.
1. Oklahoma
17 of 17
Record: 18-2 (6-2, Big 12)
Previous rank: 1
I went into the ridiculousness of Buddy Hield's shooting numbers this past week, and Hield kept it up with an awesome performance at LSU (32 points and 8-of-15 shooting from three).
This is the time of season when percentages start to regress toward the mean, but somehow Hield and the Sooners are getting even better shooting from distance.
Oklahoma is now knocking down 46.8 percent of its threes, which is the highest clip of any college team since 2000. The tear the Sooners have been on over the last four games (59 of 112) is so good, it would make the Golden State Warriors envious.
In fact, that four-game stretch looks even more impressive when you compare it to the best four-game stretch Golden State has had in its own historic season. The Warriors made more threes during their run (69 triples between Nov. 27 and Dec. 2), but OU shot a higher percentage (52.7 to 51.9 percent).
Much like the Warriors have proven, it's really hard to defend a team that can shoot the three so well college basketball is experiencing the same phenomenon with the Sooners. The Warriors shut up the doubters of such a reliance on jumpers by becoming champs. We'll see if the Sooners can prove a team can win the NCAA title playing that way.
C.J. Moore covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @CJMooreBR.
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