Monday, December 4, 2017

Eye Test Power Rankings Week 5

From now until the end of the college basketball season, every Monday I'll give you guys my Eye Test Power Rankings. Basically the point of these will be to judge teams based on how I see them and nothing more. I'm not taking any numbers or national rankings into account, but they'll probably end up being somewhat similar to the AP Polls as we get a clearer picture of each team. Without further ado, here's the first edition of the Eye Test Power Rankings.

1 Duke
Marvin Bagley III and Grayson Allen and Gary Trent Jr and Trevon Duval and Wendell Carter Jr and Marques Bolden and Coach K? Yeah, this Duke team is running the table.  They've already beaten #2 and #5 in these rankings and they haven't shown how good they can be yet.

2 Michigan State
They killed Notre Dame last Thursday. They killed Nebraska on Sunday. It seems like a different Spartan leads the team in scoring every night. Their defense is the best it's been in a while and Miles Bridges hasn't even shown his full potential yet. 

3 Villanova
College basketball's version of the Killer B's (Brunson, Bridges, Booth) have been solid as a rock since the start of the season. Nova's defense is once again suffocating despite having a smaller lineup. They get a big test on Tuesday against Gonzaga

4 Kansas
You gotta have Kansas in the Top 4 considering they've killed every opponent they've faced with the exception of Kentucky, who they still beat handily. Devonte' Graham has started to settle in as a premier guard and the emergence of LaGerald Vick is eye-opening. Sviatoslav is the same old Sviatoslav.

5 Florida 
I love Florida. They are so fun to watch despite having no absolute superstar. Chris Chiozza, Kevaughn Allen and Egor Koulechov have been better than advertised, but the emergence of Jalen Hudson puts the Gators over the top. They are far and away the SEC favorite this year. 

Texas A&M
The Aggies might have the best frontcourt in the nation with Robert Williams and Tyler Davis. This team wasn't even ranked to start the season, but they've picked up two blowout wins against West Virginia (without Williams) and @USC. If I had to pick now, A&M should be in the clear for 2nd in the SEC, but they'll have every opportunity to win it. They get another major test on Tuesday when they take on Arizona in Phoenix.

7 Miami
Miami got a really nice win @Minnesota in the B1G/ACC Challenge. We knew Miami had a fantastic backcourt with Bruce Brown, Ja'Quan Newton, Lonnie Walker IV and Dejan Vasiljevic, but it's the emergence of forward Dewan Huell that has made this Miami team a Final Four contender. 

8 Wichita State
The Shockers got a great win on Saturday @Baylor, but their offense still looks a little slow for my taste. It looks like they have moved on from the Maui meltdown, but that'll be in my head for another few weeks. Landry Shamet needs to be more aggressive offensively for this team to have a shot at a decent tournament run. Overall though, Wichita State has looked really good, and they'll be even better when Markis McDuffie comes back at the end of the month. 

9 Gonzaga
This might seem like a bit of a reach for most people, but Gonzaga has looked really strong since their 2OT loss to Florida in the PK80 Semifinals. I've been up and down on the Zags all year, but their dominant win against Creighton last Friday really pounded it into me that Gonzaga is legit once again. Josh Perkins, Killian Tillie (Tillie Tillie!), and Johnathan Williams have all been spectacular for the Zags thus far. They have a big one Tuesday against Villanova in New York. 

10 Virginia
Virginia is undefeated right now with wins over Wisconsin, Vanderbilt and VCU, and their defense is once again extremely good. Now, it may look bad when you see them not even teach 50 against Wisconsin, but then you realize they held the Badgers under 40. Kyle Guy has finally started to play like a high school All-American and Isaiah Wilkins has been a beast inside. They take on West Virginia on Tuesday. 

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