Power Rankings: Alabama, Purdue are both on historic rolls
How many teams in college basketball have the makeup to win the national championship in Houston this April?
It's a question of rich fluidity, but my top tier in the group would be Alabama, Kansas, Houston, UCLA and Purdue. Three of these teams lost this past weekend, and if that doesn't sum up the current state of affairs in college hoops, I'm not sure what does. The sport is filled with parity and chaos, and there's easily a double-digit number of candidates that could reach the Final Four.
The chaos was felt Sunday evening at the Fertitta Center, as Temple took down AP No. 1 ranked Houston, 56-55. It marked the Owls' first win over the top team in the rankings since 2000. For the Cougars, it's a setback, but those aren't the worst things to go through on the marathon to March. Candidly, because Houston plays in the American Athletic Conference, it leaves them less susceptible to losing compared to those programs in the Power 5/Big East.
The big-picture item for Kelvin Sampson to figure out is his offense. Beyond Marcus Sasser and Jamal Shead, the Cougars did not get much from other sources. While five-star freshman Jarace Walker has two 20-point performances in his last four games, Sampson and his staff have to find a way to get contributions from him on a more consistent track. In Sunday's loss, Walker scored nine points but went 3-for-12 from the field. At just over 33% from beyond the arc, perimeter shooting is something that goes hot and cold for the Cougars. As good as they are defensively, at some point on the big dance floor scoring consistently becomes a must.
Going back to our discussion of the double-digit number of potential Final Four candidates, one of those teams is TCU — yes, TCU. And no, I'm not just saying that because the Horned Frogs blew out Kansas on Saturday, 83-60, for the highest-ranked road win in the history of the program. Jamie Dixon's team is ranked in the top-15 of KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency while being loaded with experience and an All-American-level guard in Mike Miles Jr. With other seniors in guard Damion Baugh and forward Emanuel Miller in the equation, and a gang rebounding mentality, this team is really difficult to stop when knocking down perimeter shots. In Saturday's win over the Jayhawks, the Horned Frogs shot 8-for-15 from beyond the arc and six players scored at least eight points. Yes, TCU is 15-4, but three of those losses came by just a combined seven points. The Frogs are going to be one tough out, as Arizona learned in the NCAA Tournament last year.
Another storyline reflecting the randomness to the season? Gonzaga's 75-game home unbeaten streak ended with a loss to Loyola Marymount. The Bulldogs also said goodbye to a streak of 116 consecutive victories in the WCC over teams not named BYU or Saint Mary's. Those numbers are ridiculous, but they also show that even a top-10 Gonzaga team doesn't feel like the Zags squads of recent years. And just think, this team was ranked sixth in the AP Poll last Monday.
While it was another week of change in college hoops, our power rankings actually have a repeat No. 1 for the first time in several weeks — and for good reason.
1. Alabama (17-2)
The Crimson Tide is doing something historic. At 7-0, Alabama has won every SEC game by double-figures. Nate Oats' team is the first to achieve that feat in a decade, since 2012-13 Florida went 24-6 and reached the Elite Eight. Four of the Crimson Tide's seven conference wins have come by at least 20 points, the latest coming in an 85-64 blowout at Missouri on Saturday.
2. Purdue (19-1)
The Boilermakers are off to their best start to a season in school history, with Zach Edey coming up clutch in a win at Michigan State and following it up with 24 points and 16 rebounds in Sunday's win over Maryland. The season that Edey has put up thus far has been generational. Here's some proof:
3. Kansas State (17-2)
The Wildcats pulled off one of the best moments of the week in the sport, taking down Kansas in an overtime thriller in Manhattan, 83-82. It's nothing short of incredible to see what this team has done this season behind Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell. Jerome Tang would be my national coach of the year today.
4. UCLA (17-3)
Hey, you're allowed to lose in this sport. The Bruins won 14 in a row before falling to an Arizona team that also cracks our top 10 this week. UCLA shot just 31% against the Wildcats, but only lost by six. In the two games this past week, Bruins point guard Tyger Campbell combined for 35 points and eight assists. Mick Cronin has an All-American in Jaime Jaquez and an elite orchestrator as his engineer.
5. Houston (18-2)
The Cougars' foursome of Sasser, Shead, Walker and Tramon Mark shot a combined 13-for-48 in the one-point loss to Temple. Houston will look to bounce back Wednesday at UCF, which is coming off losses to USF and Tulane.
6. Virginia (15-3)
Winners of five in a row, the Cavaliers have a great blend of experience while ranking in the top 25 of KenPom offensive and defensive efficiency. Armaan Franklin posted 25 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's road win over a Wake Forest team that's in NCAA Tournament contention.
7. Tennessee (16-3)
The Vols notched double-digit victories over Mississippi State and LSU this past week, with Josiah Jordan-James scoring a season-high 22 points and Zakai Zeigler going for a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists in Saturday's win over the Tigers.
8. Texas (16-3)
The Longhorns showed something on Saturday, going into Morgantown and grinding out a 69-61 win over West Virginia. Marcus Carr has posted 20-point performances in two of the last three games, going for 23 against the Mountaineers.
9. Arizona (17-3)
Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo are one of the best frontcourt duos in college basketball and showed that again on Saturday. The Wildcats' bigs combined for 30 points and 18 rebounds to earn the 58-52 win over UCLA.
10. Kansas (16-3)
The defending national champions still get the benefit of the doubt from me even after they got run off the floor by TCU on Saturday, 83-60. In terms of concerns for Kansas, giving up 42 points in the paint shows their thinness inside, but you won't see a Bill Self offense commit 17 turnovers very often.
11. TCU (15-4)
Yes, the Horned Frogs clicked on all cylinders in a win over Kansas, but I am taking the loss last week to West Virginia into account as well. The Horned Frogs shot over 50% from 3-point range and hit eight triples against the Jayhawks. That's when they are really difficult to beat, but it's not a consistent theme for this team. Against the Mountaineers, their offense was not great beyond Miles, and WVU took away transition opportunities. I like this team a lot, but their offense needs to show me some more.
12. Marquette (16-5)
The Golden Eagles have the No. 1-ranked offense according to KenPom, and even though they're currently in second place in the Big East, their remaining schedule is the easiest of the top teams. This team is the conference favorite, which is pretty wild to think about. Kam Jones is a bucket-getter, scoring 22 points to lead a 74-53 win at Seton Hall, while the Golden Eagles forced 26 Pirate turnovers.
13. Iowa State (14-4)
The Cyclones suffered a two-point loss at Oklahoma State over the weekend following an 11-point win over Texas earlier in the week. After his 21 points powered Iowa State past the Longhorns, Jaren Holmes was shut down by the Cowboys, held to 3-for-13 from the floor.
14. Xavier (16-4)
Even though the Musketeers fell at DePaul on Wednesday, this is a team that is still at the top of the Big East at 8-1 and has won 12 of its last 13 games. In Saturday's win over Georgetown, Zach Freemantle went for 30 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Up next for Sean Miller's team? A top-25 battle at Gampel Pavilion against UConn on Wednesday (6:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and the FOX Sports app.
15. Baylor (14-5)
The Bears have won four in a row. Two of their Big 12 losses — TCU and Kansas State — came by a combined three points. In Saturday's 62-60 win at Oklahoma, Adam Flagler steered the ship with 16 points and five boards while Flo Thamba highlighted a 39-30 rebounding edge with 10 boards. Baylor gets a precious opportunity Monday night in a home game against Kansas, while the Jayhawks look to snap out of their skid.
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.
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