Eye Test Power Rankings Week 9

Before I give you the rankings I want to apologize for the delay. Returning to school this week has hit me like a truck. Yesterday we saw Kansas look terrible in a home loss to a better-than-expected Texas Tech team. We saw Xavier assert their dominance over Butler and remind people that the Big East is more than just Villanova. Texas A&M lost their second straight SEC game to Florida, who I still don't know how to judge. TCU got a signature win at Baylor, and new SEC heavyweights Tennessee and Arkansas both lost their respective games. That carnage doesn't even compare to what we saw on Saturday, where Villanova, TCU and Arizona State, the three remaining undefeated teams in DI, all lost. It's been one of those rare weeks in college basketball in which we can say that no team is safe. Oh, and it actually continued tonight as North Carolina continued their perplexing season with a loss at Florida State. Not to mention Miami lost to Georgia Tech as well. Okay. Now let's see these rankings.

1. Duke
This may surprise some people who would've expected me to have Michigan State up here, but I'm taking Duke just because they had a very impressive win against Florida State, a team that seems to be better than we all anticipated. This stuck out to me because the Seminoles couldn't miss from 3. They hit 15 of them while Duke only mustered 8. I honestly thought it was gonna take a Boston College turn, but the Blue Devils stuck with it this time and closed out a very difficult game. Also, Marvin Bagley III had 32 and 21. I don't know how anyone can really defend him at this point.

2. Michigan State
Sparta is here for two reasons: 1) Duke beat them earlier in the year, and while that doesn't count for much in the long run, it makes a difference here where I try not to base my rankings on who lost the earliest. 2) Michigan State's been blowing teams like Savannah State to the moon, but they haven't really played anyone since playing at Rutgers in early December. As you all know, I believe this team will win the National Championship in March, but right now I have to see them play against someone decent in order to measure progress.

3. Xavier
A ranking like 3 for the Musketeers is perfect because this team rides momentum so well. They definitely aren't in the top tier in terms of talent, but the intensity that Chris Mack instills in this team is unreal. If Xavier were down 20 with 10 minutes to go, I would still say they were favored. This upcoming stretch will be telling for X though, it includes a tough game at Providence followed by the Big East Grandaddy of 'Em All when they visit Villanova on January 10.  If they win that game, you gotta think they are in the driver's seat for the Big East.

4. Villanova
Although Villanova lost to Butler last Saturday, I'm really not concerned for their whole season outlook. Nova had two key supporting players injured and Butler shot an absurd 68.2% from deep. And they only lost by 8. This year is unique for Villanova because the offense seems to be the most consistent part of their game. I mean they dropped 93 points at Hinkle Fieldhouse, they don't have problems in that area. Their defense has been shaky though, as they've given up an average of 93 points per game in Big East play. Depth will help with defending, but at least the offense is fluid.

5. Arizona
Yeah I have them here. Arizona hasn't lost since the Battle 4 Atlantis and just capped off an impressive December which saw them beat Texas A&M (a healthy one), UNLV, Alabama and Arizona State. Deandre Ayton has been a tank for the Wildcats. It looks like they've finally discovered him as their primary weapon, and it's benefited them greatly. Once again, Arizona is the favorite in the Pac12.

6. Arizona State
Right behind Arizona is Arizona State, who I thought was not worthy of all the hype they were receiving. Well, they are..kind of. Arizona State has the makings of a great regular season team. They shoot the ball really well and they probably play the hardest of any team in the country. They've been down double digits several times against a multitude of opponents and have battled their way back against most of them. They are the team responsible for Xavier's only loss on the year, so when they're on, they're on. But I can't trust that reliance on the 3-ball in the Tournament.

7. Oklahoma
Trae Young is awesome blah blah blah, we get it Bobby. But I just want to point out one thing: Young had 25 and 10 tonight in a blowout of Oklahoma State and it DROPPED his season averages. That is all. 

8. West Virginia
I like West Virginia because they just don't change. This is their year for the Big12. The defense is as good as ever and Jevon Carter is quietly turning into one the nation's top players. Another key point worth mentioning is that they just got Esa Ahmad back after an eligibility issue. He was the second leading scorer on the team last year, so that should bode well for the Mountaineers. They play Oklahoma on Saturday in a juicy, juicy matchup.

9. Virginia
Virginia just keeps winning using that same old boring styler of defense they always have. The best thing about Virginia is that a 10-point lead against them is a 30-point lead against any other team according to the Bennett Scale. So when you see that they just beat Virginia Tech, a decent team, by 26 on the road, it's time to take notice. The offense scoring 78 points is also a good sign. The backcourt of Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy is sneaky good.

10. Purdue
I've kind of slept on Purdue this year because the Big Ten is such a trainwreck, but the Boilermakers, along with Michigan State, have shed their conference label and defined themselves on the national level. I mean they have wins over Arizona, Louisville and Butler, so we should start taking them seriously. I think they are unquestionably the second-best team in the Big Ten and shouldn't be happy with anything lower than a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament.