College Basketball Rankings 2016-17: Bleacher Report's Week 4 Top 25
Kentucky remains No. 1 in Bleacher Report's college basketball Top 25 after pummeling Cleveland State and Tennessee-Martin to improve to 6-0.
Eating turkey until you need a new notch in your belt is the best part of Thanksgiving, but spending Feast Week watching early-season tournaments for 12 straight hours every day isn't far behind at No. 2. And after all the chaos from the various tournaments, there was a ton of shake-up in our Top 25.
Voters in the poll were C.J. Moore, Brian Pedersen and Kerry Miller, and we couldn't even remotely agree on the No. 1 team after Feast Week, as Kentucky, North Carolina and Villanova each got one first-place vote.
Though we disagree on the order, we have the same top seven teams as well as the same top 15 teams, so there are a couple of tiers that have already been established just over two weeks into the regular season.
Give it another 24-48 hours, though, and something crazy like Indiana losing to Fort Wayne will happen to throw a wrench into what temporarily appears to be a well-oiled machine.
Others Receiving Votes: Oregon, North Carolina State
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.
Nos. 25-21: Rhode Island—Notre Dame
1 of 13
25. (tie) Rhode Island Rams (5-1)
Previous rank: 22
Rhody's week consisted of one game against a Belmont team playing without its star big men, Evan Bradds. Hassan Martin took advantage with a career-high 31 points. Games this week against Valparaiso and Providence should determine whether the Rams enter A-10 play in good shape for the NCAA tournament.
25. (tie) Maryland Terrapins (7-0)
Previous rank: Not Ranked
The wins haven't been pretty. The Terps needed late comebacks to eke out victories over American, Georgetown, Towson, Richmond and Kansas State. But come-from-behind wins are better than losses of any kind, and they should help inspire confidence for an extremely young roster. Melo Trimble is the undisputed star, but freshmen Anthony Cowan and Justin Jackson are off to great starts, too.
23. (tie) Wisconsin Badgers (5-2)
Previous rank: 18
The Badgers barely got by Tennessee in their Maui Invitational opener, but they were able to beat the Orange and Georgetown before getting soundly defeated by North Carolina in the championship game. Ethan Happ is playing as well as he did last year. Unfortunately, so is Nigel Hayes. Wisconsin needs to figure out how it's going to score when Hayes and Bronson Koenig aren't shooting well.
23. (tie) Iowa State Cyclones (5-1)
Previous rank: 25
Iowa State barely escaped with a win over Indiana State before running away from Miami (FL) and giving Gonzaga one heck of a fight. The biggest difference-maker was Deonte Burton. He was more harm than good against the Sycamores, but he had 50 points and 19 rebounds in the next two games. When their stretch 4 is playing like that, the Cyclones can play with anyone.
22. West Virginia Mountaineers (4-1)
Previous rank: 24
West Virginia beat the daylights out of Illinois with its typical onslaught of steals (15) and offensive rebounds (19), but the Mountaineers were clipped by Temple the following night—even though the Owls committed 19 turnovers and struggled on the glass. Saturday's road game against Virginia will be the big test.
21. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-0)
Previous rank: Not Ranked
Notre Dame picked up a pair of nice wins over Colorado and Northwestern in the Legends Classic. The Fighting Irish lead the nation in offensive turnover percentage and rank third in free-throw percentage. Those fundamentals could go a long way against a brutal ACC slate. They'll still face Villanova and Purdue in mid-December as good litmus tests for what to expect the rest of the way.
Nos. 20-16: Florida—South Carolina
2 of 13
20. Florida Gators (6-1)
Previous rank: Not Ranked
It was a big week for the SEC. Kentucky destroyed its competition. South Carolina won a pair of marquee games. And Florida book-ended a narrow loss to Gonzaga with impressive wins over Seton Hall and Miami (FL). Throw in Texas A&M's solid run in the Wooden Legacy, and it's looking like this conference is more than just the Wildcats.
19. Syracuse Orange (4-1)
Previous rank: 12
After beating its first four minor-conference opponents by an average margin of 33.8 points per game, Syracuse shot an abysmal 27.6 percent from two-point range in a 64-50 loss to South Carolina. Five combined points from Tyler Roberson, DaJuan Coleman and Paschal Chukwu is a great recipe for losses.
18. Arizona Wildcats (5-1)
Previous rank: 14
Arizona didn't exactly instill confidence in wins over Northern Colorado and Santa Clara before losing to Butler in the championship game of the Las Vegas Invitational. Lauri Markkanen and Kobi Simmons have been playing great, but the Wildcats need more than just that freshman duo. If only anyone had any clue whether Allonzo Trier will ever suit up for these guys.
17. Butler Bulldogs (6-0)
Previous rank: Not Ranked
Kelan Martin is the leading scorer, but freshman Kamar Baldwin has been some kind of special as Butler's sixth man. He's averaging 10.0 points and 2.0 steals per game and is shooting 54.5 percent from three-point range. If and when Martin starts scoring more efficiently, we'll need to start talking about Butler as a Final Four contender again.
16. South Carolina Gamecocks (6-0)
Previous rank: Not Ranked
For a team that wasn't competing in an early-season tournament, South Carolina had one hell of a Feast Week, beating both Michigan and Syracuse by double-digit margins. The Gamecocks only get a couple of chances this year to make nonconference statements, but they're off to a great start with Seton Hall, Clemson and Memphis looming in December.
Nos. 15-11: Saint Mary's—Indiana
3 of 13
15. Saint Mary's Gaels (4-0)
Previous rank: 19
Jock Landale put up solid numbers in limited minutes as a sophomore, but he's playing like a potential All-American thus far for the Gaels. After a pair of impressive outings against San Jose State and UAB, the big man is now shooting 77.6 percent from the field and averaging 21.0 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.
14. Purdue Boilermakers (5-1)
Previous rank: 17
Purdue didn't just win the Cancun Challenge. It destroyed Utah State and Auburn by a combined margin of 46 points. Caleb Swanigan picked up three more double-doubles this week, and Dakota Mathias has emerged as one heck of a three-point assassin. Carsen Edwards is also starting to make a major impact as the sixth man. The Boilermakers get Louisville Wednesday in the ACC-B1G Challenge.
13. Creighton Bluejays (6-0)
Previous rank: 16
Creighton shot 16-of-26 from three-point range in a win over Ole Miss, but the Bluejays trailed by eight at the half and only beat the Rebels by nine. Enjoy the ride while it lasts, but what happens when Creighton's team-wide 48.2 three-point percentage comes back down to earth a bit? It might be a month before they face another opponent that can make them pay when they aren't red hot.
11. (tie) Xavier Musketeers (6-0)
Previous rank: 15
Xavier got out to a slow start to the season, but J.P. Macura has emerged as one of the most valuable players in the entire country. The junior is averaging 17.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game and has yet to miss a free throw in 22 attempts. Once Edmond Sumner and Trevon Bluiett start making shots—that duo is a combined 13-of-54 from beyond the arc—the Musketeers are going to have quite the terrific trio.
11. (tie) Indiana Hoosiers (4-1)
Previous rank: 6
The Hoosiers suffered a disappointing loss at Fort Wayne, but these things are liable to happen when OG Anunoby plays 13 minutes without scoring a point. In Sunday's 33-point win over Mississippi Valley State, Anunoby had 21 points and eight rebounds. When that guy shows up, Indiana looks like the clear favorite to win the Big Ten.
10. Louisville Cardinals
4 of 13
Record: 5-1 (47 points)
Previous rank: 9
Results since last poll: vs. Old Dominion (W 68-62); vs. Wichita State (W 62-52); vs. Baylor (L 63-66)
Games before next poll: vs. Purdue; at Grand Canyon
Though the Cardinals only lost by three points in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis, their play was a bit disappointing in the Bahamas.
They needed a late comeback to force overtime against Old Dominion before emerging with a win by the skin of their teeth. Louisville only shot 25.0 percent from two-point range and got out-rebounded by a team that doesn't start anyone taller than 6'7". Were it not for the Monarchs shooting 3-of-16 from beyond the arc, the Cardinals would have been on the consolation side of the bracket.
Their most impressive performance came in the semifinals against Wichita State, shutting down a Shockers team that was averaging 91 points per game and that had not won a game by a margin of fewer than 27 points. Anas Mahmoud blocked six shots and made life miserable for Wichita State in the paint.
The Cardinals led Baylor by 20 a few minutes into the second half, but they went ice cold from the floor and gave it all away. We'll have more to say about that game on Baylor's slide, though.
The big key for Louisville and its most promising prospect for the rest of the season is sophomore guard Donovan Mitchell. He averaged 15.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.7 steals in the Battle 4 Atlantis. He's shooting much better from three-point range than he was last season and appears to be in a better rhythm as a starter than he was as a reserve.
The Cardinals are still waiting on Deng Adel, though. He shot 6-of-28 from the field this week and had more personal fouls (11) than rebounds (nine). If his breakout season ever arrives, they can win the loaded ACC.
9. UCLA Bruins
5 of 13
Record: 7-0 (51 points)
Previous rank: 11
Results since last poll: vs. Portland (W 99-77); vs. Nebraska (W 82-71); vs. Texas A&M (W 74-67)
Games before next poll: vs. UC Riverside; at Kentucky
"The question for UCLA has been: Can they defend? Can they get the stops? Tonight, the answer is, down the stretch of this game, when they want to, they can."
Those were the words of ESPN's Sean Farnham as the Bruins were wrapping up a second consecutive, lower-scoring win over a major-conference opponent in the semifinals and championship of the Wooden Legacy.
UCLA lit up the scoreboard in its first five games, averaging 104.4 points per game while playing minimal defense in up-tempo affairs. In a back-and-forth game against Texas A&M, though, the Bruins blocked nine shots, recorded six steals and won the rebounding battle.
Make no mistake about it, though, there was still a lot of great offense on display.
Lonzo Ball was named the tournament MVP for averaging 15.7 points and 9.3 assists while shooting 11-of-21 from three-point range. Fellow 5-star freshman T.J. Leaf scored in double figures in all three games, as did Isaac Hamilton and Bryce Alford.
Whether the Bruins are one of the 10 most complete teams in the country remains to be seen, but you'd be hard-pressed to come up with five more entertaining squads to watch. Saturday's showdown with Kentucky might be the most fun game of the entire season.
8. Baylor Bears
6 of 13
Record: 6-0 (52 points)
Previous rank: 10
Results since last poll: vs. VCU (W 71-63); vs. Michigan State (W 73-58); vs. Louisville (W 66-63)
Games before next poll: vs. Sam Houston State; vs. Xavier
In winning the Battle 4 Atlantis, the Bears proved their early 17-point win over Oregon was more about their greatness than the lack of Dillon Brooks for the Ducks.
Baylor trailed at halftime of each of its three games this week, only to outscore the opposition by a combined margin of 52 points after the intermission.
The 20-point comeback against Louisville was particularly impressive and was fueled by an unlikely source. King McClure had scored a grand total of three points in the first 226 minutes of Baylor's season, but he exploded for 15 second-half points, including three clutch free throws in the closing seconds.
The real hero of the week, though, was Johnathan Motley. The big man averaged 20.0 points and 7.3 rebounds in the Bahamas. He was particularly dominant against Michigan State, demanding the ball time and again to exploit his size and strength advantage over the Spartans. If he can maintain that mindset, he'll be the best frontcourt player in the Big 12 by a country mile.
Perhaps most impressive about Baylor's week is that it beat three surefire NCAA tournament teams while shooting just 9-of-38 (23.7 percent) from three-point range. The Bears won these games in the trenches with defense and controlled aggression. They limited free-throw attempts and—aside from the first half against Louisville—did an outstanding job of keeping their opponents off the offensive glass.
As is they haven't faced a tough enough schedule already, the Bears will have another big showdown with Xavier this Saturday. If they get to 8-0 in that game, it might be time to start seriously considering whether Kansas' streak of Big 12 titles is in jeopardy.
6. (tie) Gonzaga Bulldogs
7 of 13
Record: 6-0 (59 points)
Previous rank: 8
Results since last poll: vs. Quinnipiac (W 82-62); vs. Florida (W 77-72); vs. Iowa State (W 73-71)
Games before next poll: vs. Mississippi Valley State; vs. Arizona
When the offense is clicking, Gonzaga looks Final Four good. The Zags shot 13-of-25 from three-point range Sunday afternoon against Iowa State, including an entirely unexpected 6-of-8 from Nigel Williams-Goss. NWG entered the game with just three made triples this season and had never made more than three in a game in his career, but it just goes to show you how many weapons this offense has.
Przemek Karnowski was everywhere against the Cyclones following a lackluster game against the Gators. Johnathan Williams III was great in both games, as was Josh Perkins. And the freshman frontcourt duo of Zach Collins and Killian Tillie continues to impress off the bench.
But when is this team going to start playing defense against a quality, healthy opponent?
Florida shot an abysmal 2-of-19 from three-point range against Gonzaga, but it led for most of the game and had little trouble getting key Bulldogs into foul trouble. Iowa State's Deonte Burton had 29 points and 12 rebounds in bringing the Cyclones back from an 18-point deficit, even though they didn't shoot very well from the perimeter, either.
Gonzaga didn't show much of an ability to end defensive possessions this week. Iowa State and Florida combined for 28 offensive rebounds while committing just 13 turnovers. As a result, both teams were able to score in the 70s and hang with Gonzaga. So what should we expect when the Zags face a team like Saint Mary's that both scores and rebounds efficiently?
The first of those games is still seven weeks away, though, so perhaps Gonzaga will have improved on the defensive end by then. But considering the sheer amount of new players in this system this year, it's impressive how quickly the offense has come together.
6. (tie) Virginia Cavaliers
8 of 13
Record: 6-0 (59 points)
Previous rank: 7
Results since last poll: vs. Grambling (W 90-34); vs. Iowa (W 74-41); vs. Providence (W 63-52)
Games before next poll: vs. Ohio State; vs. West Virginia
The Cavaliers might eventually miss Austin Nichols, but they haven't shown it yet, consistently destroying their "competition" with grind-it-out defense.
It hasn't been uncommon to see teams playing games with at least 90 possessions and 100 points this season, but Virginia just keeps doing its thing, ranking dead last in the nation in adjusted tempo while allowing an absurd 41.3 points per game.
You expect Tony Bennett's guys to shut down teams like St. Francis NY, Yale and Grambling, but holding Peter Jok and Iowa to just 15 field goals is unbelievable. The Hawkeyes have averaged 95.4 points in their other five games, but they only scored 41 against UVA.
With Nichols out of the picture, Jack Salt has become a huge piece of that defensive front. The big man from New Zealand played a total of seven minutes in Virginia's final 15 games last season, but he has started all six games at center and is averaging better than 20 minutes per contest.
Redshirt freshman Mamadi Diakite is also making a major impact off the bench, averaging 17.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 6.4 blocks per 40 minutes. True freshman shooting guard Kyle Guy has been lethal from the perimeter and might be a starter before much longer.
The real tests begin this week, though. Iowa and Providence were decent warmups, but it's against the Buckeyes and the Mountaineers that we'll get a good look at what Virginia's rotation will be against quality opponents.
5. Duke Blue Devils
9 of 13
Record: 6-1 (64 points)
Previous rank: 4
Results since last poll: vs. William & Mary (W 88-67); vs. Appalachian State (W 93-58)
Games before next poll: vs. Michigan State; vs. Maine
Still no sign of Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles or Marques Bolden, but it didn't hurt the Blue Devils in home games against a pair of minor-conference teams.
Grayson Allen had 38 points, nine rebounds and eight assists between the two games—and didn't even play in the second half against Appalachian State after rolling his ankle. All five starters scored in double figures in both games, including Frank Jackson, who is averaging 16.0 points per game this season and who has established himself as a guy who needs to play major minutes even when everyone is healthy.
Though short-handed in the frontcourt, the Blue Devils dominated the paint in both games. They shot 57.7 percent from inside the arc, blocked 10 shots and finished plus-29 on the glass.
But there's only so much we can learn from wins over the likes of William & Mary and Appalachian State.
What we're waiting to find out is if and when the three freshmen will make an appearance this season. Mike Krzyzewski has already said they won't play Tuesday against Michigan State. It's probably safe to assume they won't take the court for Saturday's game against Maine, either.
At this point, we have to start wondering whether they'll get enough nonconference reps to be ready to make an impact in ACC play. After this coming week, Duke only has four more games before a tough conference opener on the road against Virginia Tech. These big men are extremely talented and shouldn't need much of a learning curve to get up to speed, but it'd be nice to at least see one of them in a jersey in the first month of the season.
4. Kansas Jayhawks
10 of 13
Record: 5-1 (67 points)
Previous rank: 3
Results since last poll: vs. UAB (W 83-63); vs. Georgia (W 65-54); vs. UNC-Asheville (W 95-57)
Games before next poll: vs. Long Beach State; vs. Stanford
Kansas won each of its three games this week by a double-digit margin, but it wasn't all roses and sunshine for the Jayhawks. Georgia's Yante Maten went off for 30 points and 13 rebounds while Kansas' entire four-man frontcourt combined for five points and eight boards.
Take out that Maten outlier, though, and the Jayhawks faced little resistance.
They held the rest of the Bulldogs to a grand total of 24 points, including two points on 10 shots from backcourt star J.J. Frazier. They shot 13-of-21 from three-point range in their rout of UAB. The breakout party for stud freshman Josh Jackson got started to the tune of 17.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 4.3 APG and a combined 3.0 blocks and steals per game.
But in a week where Baylor's Johnathan Motley and Iowa State's Deonte Burton each had multiple monstrous performances in the paint, it's kind of difficult to just forget about what Maten did to the Jayhawks.
Between Frank Mason III, Devonte' Graham and Jackson, the Jayhawks have possibly the best backcourt in the entire country. However, if Carlton Bragg Jr. continues to average 4.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game like he did this week, they may run into some trouble in the Big 12.
Udoka Azubuike did start at center against UNC-Asheville and finished with 17 points and three blocks, but let's see how the freshman fares against the likes of Stanford and Nebraska before we declare Kansas' frontcourt problems solved.
3. North Carolina Tar Heels
11 of 13
Record: 7-0 (69 points)
Previous rank: 5
Results since last poll: vs. Chaminade (W 104-61); vs. Oklahoma State (W 107-75); vs. Wisconsin (W 71-56)
Games before next poll: at Indiana; vs. Radford
If you spent the offseason concerned about North Carolina's frontcourt after losing Brice Johnson, you can go ahead and let go of those reservations. Freshman Tony Bradley leads the nation in offensive rebounding percentage while senior Kennedy Meeks is right behind him in second place—and that doesn't even include the game against D-II Chaminade in which they combined for nine offensive boards.
Or if you were worried about who would run the offense in the absence of Marcus Paige, Joel Berry II has you covered. The junior point guard is averaging 17.1 points, 4.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He's shooting 55.9 percent from the field, 47.1 percent from three-point range and 93.3 percent from the charity stripe. With the possible exception of Frank Mason III, there's not a more valuable leader in the country right now.
Put those pieces together and you've got a 7-0 team that has won each of its games by a margin of at least 15 points. Unless you count a limited supply of blocked shots as a weakness, it's impossible to find an Achilles' heel on this team.
On their trip to Maui, North Carolina out-rebounded the competition 134-81 and averaged 20 made free throws per game. The Tar Heels shot 61.8 percent from two-point range while limiting its opponents to 38.9 percent. Suffice it to say, they didn't scrape their way to wins in what was supposed to be the most entertaining early-season tournament.
If they have a similarly dominant performance at Indiana this Wednesday, they'll get a lot of No. 1 votes in next week's polls, regardless of what Villanova and Kentucky do.
2. Villanova Wildcats
12 of 13
Record: 6-0 (71 points)
Previous rank: 2
Results since last poll: vs. College of Charleston (W 63-47)
Games before next poll: at Penn; vs. Saint Joseph's
'Twas a slow week for the Wildcats, but it was business as usual in a 16-point win over Charleston. They hardly committed any turnovers, they defended the three-point line and they did so without giving up many free-throw attempts. The Cougars hung with Villanova on the glass and in the paint, but there was never any doubting which was the more disciplined team.
Phil Booth missed his third consecutive game with a knee injury, but Villanova's eight-man rotation still looks strong with seven pieces. Though they only scored 63 points as a team, it was a balanced scoring attack with all seven guys making at least two buckets.
The big question marks for this team going forward are offensive rebounds and two-point field-goal defense. The Wildcats have been shredded in the paint by Caleb Swanigan, Isaac Haas, John Collins and Tacko Fall. Those four big men shot a combined 32-of-43 (74.4 percent) from inside the arc and averaged 19.8 points.
It hasn't cost them a win yet—in part because they're shooting so well as a team—but we'll need to see Darryl Reynolds and Eric Paschall make more of an impact in those areas before penciling this team back into the Final Four. Neither opponent this week figures to give the Wildcats much of a fight, but they'll need to get stronger in the paint to survive Big East play.
1. Kentucky Wildcats
13 of 13
Record: 6-0 (73 points)
Previous rank: 1
Results since last poll: vs. Cleveland State (W 101-70); vs. Tennessee-Martin (W 111-76)
Games before next poll: vs. Arizona State; vs. UCLA
There is not a more unstoppable wrecking ball in college basketball right now than the Kentucky Wildcats.
Each of their six wins has come by a margin of at least 21 points, including blowouts of Cleveland State and Tennessee-Martin this week. They're averaging 92.3 points per game while only allowing 64.3.
It took a few games for some of the freshmen to get going, but they're currently firing on all cylinders.
Malik Monk led the way with 49 points and 11 assists this week. De'Aaron Fox wasn't far behind with 32 points, 16 assists and five steals. Bam Adebayo had at least 12 points and eight rebounds for the third and fourth time this season. Wenyen Gabriel had 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists against Cleveland State and is quickly emerging as a dangerous freshman. Even Sacha Killeya-Jones got in on the action with 12 points in just 13 minutes against Tennessee-Martin.
Isaiah Briscoe missed both games with a lower back injury, but he should return soon. Meanwhile, Derek Willis has been a non-factor since the season-opener, and it hasn't slowed this team down one bit.
There will be games when Monk can't buy a bucket. Adebayo will deal with foul trouble. Turnovers will occasionally be a problem. Kentucky isn't flawless, and it's fitting that they face a UCLA team that exposed their flaws in early December last year. But for the time being, there isn't a better team out there.
Stats are courtesy of KenPom.com and Sports-Reference.com. Recruiting information is courtesy of Scout.
Kerry Miller covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @kerrancejames.
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