NCAA Tournament 2010: Kentucky Tops Power Rankings With 24 Remaining

Top-seeded teams across the NCAA Tournament—Ohio State in particular—are licking their chops now that top-ranked Kansas has fallen from the field.

The Jayhawks were stunned Saturday by Northern Iowa, 69-67, a result that shakes up the tournament yet again. Coupled with Villanova’s loss to Saint Mary’s, it opens things up for the rest of the field.

Kentucky solidified its place atop the power rankings by blitzing Wake Forest on Saturday. Now the remaining top seeds, Duke and Syracuse, must fend off pesky upstarts to advance to the Sweet 16.

Here’s a ranking of the 24 teams still standing going into Sunday’s action.

1. Kentucky. A 90-60 laugher over Wake; odd-on favorite to run the table.

2. Duke. Blue Devils should be wary of Cal’s guard-oriented offense.

3. Syracuse. If they hold Gonzaga in check, they should reach Indianapolis.

4. West Virginia. A solid win over Missouri would put Kentucky on notice.

5. Kansas State. Dumping BYU jumps the Wildcats over Ohio State, for now.

6. Ohio State. Midwest theirs for the taking, but can’t look past Georgia Tech.

7. Baylor. Despite a close one with Old Dominion, they’re safely into the Sweet 16.

8. Pittsburgh. Get by Xavier, and you may get K-State and Syracuse? A nightmare.

9. Maryland. Top Michigan State, gain the upper hand against Northern Iowa.

10. Xavier. Jordan Crawford needs another big game for the Musketeers to win their showdown with Pitt.

11. Wisconsin. The Badgers need Whitman to come up big to hold off Cornell.

12. Butler. Classy team holds serve over Murray State; now it gets really tough.

13. Purdue. Chip squarely on their shoulder, would love to see Cal upset Duke.

14. Texas A&M. Interchangeable with Purdue, their showdown may be Sunday’s showcase.

15. St.Mary’s. Richmond and Villanova gone, confidence is sky high for Baylor.

16. Tennessee. Towering frontcourt dispatches Ohio, may keep Vols rolling.

17. California. Triple-threat backcourt must fire on all cylinders to top Duke.

18. Michigan State. So-so opener requires big win over Maryland for Spartans to emerge.

19. Washington. Bye-bye, Marquette and New Mexico. Cal's higher seed still rankles Huskies.

20. Northern Iowa. Give ‘em their due, they beat the top team in the land.

21. Gonzaga. Good shooters must be great to get past West’s top seed, Syracuse.

22. Georgia Tech. Derrick Favors needs to play up to his size against a Buckeye team with fire in its eyes.

23. Cornell. Surprise over Temple won’t translate against Wisconsin’s size.

24. Missouri. West Virginia has a tough road ahead, won’t want to mess with the Tigers.