No ties this week. Arizona is standing alone as the No. 1 team in Andy Katz’s latest Power 37 rankings. Here’s how the fifth week of college basketball shook up the rankings:
1. Arizona (T1): The Wildcats remain undefeated with another high-profile win, this time crushing Auburn. 2. Michigan (3): The Wolverines continue to dominate the competition, but Arizona gets the nod based on the quality of competition. 3. Iowa State (9): The undefeated Cyclones have the best nonconference win to date — winning at Purdue in a dominating fashion.4. Duke (4): The Blue Devils had quite a week by beating Florida at home and winning at Michigan State. 5. UConn (5): The Huskies are trending in the right direction in healthy bodies and efficiency. Look out. 6. Purdue (T1): The Boilermakers have to drop after losing at home by a stunningly wide margin.
STUNNER: Iowa State crushes top-ranked Purdue in historic win
7. Alabama (7): The Tide continue to roll against one of the toughest schedules. 8. Michigan State (6): The Spartans had chances but let Duke get the best of them in the little things, the differences that can win games. 9. Louisville (8): The Cardinals bounced back from a loss to Arkansas with a significant win over Indiana. 10. Kansas (10): Darryn Peterson is back and the Jayhawks beat rival Missouri to look the part again of a Big 12 contender. 11. Houston (12): The Cougars’ defense is back to lock-down mode with a double-digit win over Florida State. 12. Gonzaga (15): The Zags erased the bad taste of the Michigan loss in Las Vegas with a wire-to-wire win over Kentucky in Nashville. 13. Illinois (19): The Illini saved the Big Ten from a rough Saturday with their best win of the season — beating Tennessee in Nashville. 14. BYU (13): The Cougars have won four in a row and are getting the kind of balance needed to be a serious contender, not just a squad relying on a top draft pick. 15. Tennessee (11): The Volunteers were going shot-for-shot with Illinois but lacked the closing ability to get past the Illini. 16. Vanderbilt (17): The Commodores have the look of a team that isn’t going anywhere in the SEC race. 17. North Carolina (16) The Tar Heels have played an extremely tough schedule, and the win at Kentucky was a massive confidence boost before a 20-point take down of Georgetown Sunday. 18. Arkansas (26): The Hogs had their best win of the season by taking down Louisville at home. 19. Texas Tech (28): The Red Raiders beat LSU soundly Sunday to continue their climb back up after a few tough early season losses. 20. St. John’s (29): The Red Storm got the desperately needed win over a power peer by taking down Ole Miss at MSG.21. Oklahoma State (35): The Cowboys are undefeated and off to their best start since 2006.22. UCLA (NR): The Bruins are healthy, and that means they should be back in the mix for a top-five Big Ten finish after starting 2-0. 23. Ohio State (33): The Buckeyes bounced back after the tough last possession loss at Pitt. 24. Nebraska (25): The Huskers routed rival Creighton Sunday to remain unbeaten at 9-0. Fred Hoiberg continues to do a wonderful job back in Lincoln. 25. Notre Dame (NR): Micah Shrewsberry has the Irish back playing high-level ball after beating Missouri and TCU.26. Seton Hall (NR): Love, love this Shaheen Holloway squad. He’s got ballers. No all stars, but ballers. The Pirates backed up the quality 2-1 Maui showing with a win at Kansas State. 27. USC (21): The Trojans have to drop after a shocking defeat at home to Washington after leading by 18 points. 28. Arizona State (30): Moe Odum is a bucket getter and got 17 in a 16-point win over Oklahoma. 29. Auburn (18): The Tigers beat NC State by 10 but then ran into a buzzsaw at Arizona. 30. TCU (22): The Horned Frogs had quality wins in San Diego but then couldn’t close out Notre Dame at home. But TCU then bounced back with a comeback win over North Texas. 31. Florida (23): The Gators’ best win appears to be Miami, but that was five games ago. Florida has played a tough schedule, but lost two of the last three. I know the Duke game was by one, but the Gators need a quality W. UConn is next in New York. 32. Wisconsin (NR): The Badgers shed the bad vibes from the loss to TCU by crushing Northwestern and Marquette in consecutive games.
HOOSIER MADNESS: Recapping a wild weekend in Indiana
33. Cal (NR): Mark Madsen has the Bears back. The win over UCLA was a statement W for Cal. The Bears then took out former Pac-12 member Utah to go to 8-1 on the season. 34. Virginia (NR): The Cavaliers had an impressive week, taking out Texas in Austin and then Dayton. 35. Miami (NR): Jai Lucas has the ‘Canes as a factor again with wins over Georgetown, Ole Miss and Southern Miss in the last three games. 36. Georgia (NR): The Bulldogs have just one loss and are coming off a 107-73 victory over Florida State in Tallahassee. 37. Saint Mary’s (NR): The Gaels bounced back after the loss to Vanderbilt in the Bahamas with a solid win at Davidson to move to 9-1.
Dropped out: Indiana (14), Kentucky (24), Utah State (26), Iowa (27), Missouri (30), Texas (31), Butler (32), Baylor (34), Clemson (37).On the verge: Villanova, Xavier, St. Bonaventure, Virginia Tech.
Andy Katz is an NCAA.com correspondent. Katz worked at ESPN for 18 years as a college basketball reporter, host and anchor. He’s covered every Final Four since 1992, and the sport since 1986 as a freshman at Wisconsin. He is a former president of the United States Basketball Writers Association. Katz can also be seen covering college basketball on Big Ten Network during the regular season. Follow him on Twitter at @theandykatz.
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