You know the college basketball season has been wacky none of Duke, Kentucky or North Carolina appear in my top 25 poll. The former two were easy exclusions for me, as they’ve both played underwhelming basketball through the first three weeks. North Carolina was tougher to leave out, but after losing to Iowa by 13 at home and narrowly escaping NC Central days later, UNC is on the outside looking on alongside their blue-blood “friends.” At least Kansas is back in the top 10, so it’s not all crazy, right?
While those teams may have disappointed, there have also been lots of pleasant surprises, like Clemson, Missouri and Xavier, all of which appear in my top 25 this week. Let’s jump into the always-unique Bauertology Top 25 for Week 4.
1. Gonzaga (0)
Gonzaga hasn’t played since the Dec. 2 victory over West Virginia in the Jimmy V Classic because of COVID-19 concerns, so we don’t have any new data on the Bulldogs in terms of ranking them. That’s OK, because we don’t need new data to know that they’re the best team in college basketball right now. They have two of the top five players in Division I with Corey Kispert and Drew Timme, they have perhaps the starting five in the nation, they already have wins over this week’s No. 4 and No. 7 teams… what else evidence do you need?
2. Baylor (0)
Likewise, we didn’t need any more evidence to confidently say that Baylor is the second best team in the nation right now, but we got some anyway with the Bears’ 83-52 annihilation of Stephen F. Austin. The backcourt quartet of Jared Butler, Davion Mitchell, MaCio Teague and Adam Flagler combined for 46 of Baylor’s points. It’s safe to say that the Bears have the best guard group in the country. Once again, we were deprived of an excellent Baylor matchup because of COVID, as Sunday’s game against Texas was canceled.
3. Iowa (0)
So, this Luka Garza guy is pretty good, huh? Of course, you could just take my word that he’s the best college hooper in the nation, or you could look at the numbers. Garza is averaging 29.2 points and nine rebounds through six games. He’s also shooting 69.3% from two-point range and an unbelievable 68.4% from 3-point range. Yes, a 6-foot-11-inch center is shooting nearly 70% from long. Absolutely insane. Let’s hope COVID doesn’t deprive us of yet another incredible early-season matchup, as Iowa is set to take on Gonzaga on Saturday.
4. West Virginia (0)
West Virginia is Final Four good. If the Mountaineers’ five-point loss to No. 1 Gonzaga didn’t prove that, then Sunday’s 16-point win over Richmond did. West Virginia dominated that game for all 40 minutes, shooting 8 of 14 from 3-point range as a team, while keeping Jacob Gilyard to seven points in 39 minutes. Derek Culver has arguably been the most impressive player with 13.9 points and 10.7 rebounds per game, but the sharpshooting duo of Miles McBride and Taz Sherman deserves recognition too. Together, they’re hitting 46.7% from the perimeter.
5. Houston (+1)
Just like Gonzaga, COVID knocked out Houston’s in-state matchups against Sam Houston State and Rice last week, meaning the Cougars don’t have any new numbers to tell their story. So we’ll have to rely on what we saw in weeks past, and what we saw was excellent basketball. They’re 4-0 with wins over Texas Tech and South Carolina, and with Memphis taking already taking some early blows, the Cougars are far-and-away the favorites to win the American this season. Houston finally returns to action Saturday for a good one at Alabama.
6. Texas (+3)
I think it’s time to believe in Texas. This seems like Shaka Smart’s best Longhorns team by a country mile, and Wednesday’s 21-point drubbing of Texas State is only further evidence. Obviously the offense is the flashiest part of any good team, but the Longhorns have been simply fantastic on the defensive end, as Wednesday’s win marked the fourth time in six games that Texas has held its opponent to 20% or below from 3-point range. With three teams in the top six, the Big 12 is shaping up to be stacked at the top. Conference play can’t come soon enough.
7. Kansas (+5)
Let’s make that four Big 12 teams in the top seven. Kansas is back in the top 10 after a successful week that featured a résumé-building one-point win over Creighton and a 45-point thrashing of Omaha. Perhaps the most important thing to note is that Marcus Garrett put up nine and five points in these games, respectively. The Jayhawks have finally found a way to win without him contributing offensively. A lot of the offense has been running through freshman Jalen Wilson, who is making a very convincing case for Freshman of the Year through seven games.
8. Villanova (-1)
It’s always hard to assess a team after a game in which it went down by a huge margin early then came back to win rather convincingly. That’s what happened with Villanova against Georgetown last week, as the Hoyas took an 18-point lead before halftime, only for the Wildcats to enter maximum overdrive in the final five minutes and win by 13. So, do you punish Villanova for trailing by nearly 20 to an inferior opponent? Or do you reward them for playing terrific basketball when it matters most? I think the answer is to leave them just about where they were last week.
9. Creighton (-1)
Hard to punish Creighton too much for losing a close one to Kansas, especially when they backed it up with a 24-point domination of Nebraska a few days later. If there’s anything to learn from the Kansas result, it’s that offense does indeed still run through Marcus Zegarowski, for better (16 points, four assists) or for worse (five turnovers, 3-of-6 from the free-throw line). Certainly the performance against Nebraska was a bit more inspiring, but Zegarowski isn’t quite one of the elite college hoops players just yet. Let’s see if that changes with Big East play starting Monday.
10. Michigan State (-5)
You don’t need to lose to drop in the rankings, as Michigan State proves this week. I think it’s fair to call it concerning when the Spartans put up three straight performances against vastly inferior teams that leave you wanting more. They barely escaped Detroit, they didn’t create separation from Western Michigan until late, and they let Oakland of all teams shoot 53% from deep. These are all coming off that huge win over Duke in Cameron Indoor. Let’s hope we see that Spartans team again instead of the one we’ve seen lately when Big Ten play starts on Sunday.
11. Wisconsin (-1)
You’ll take a nine-point win over a solid Rhode Island team any day of the week, but the opportunity for a truly impressive win over Louisville in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge was lost because of COVID. That’s certainly an unfortunate missing piece to Wisconsin’s early-season résumé. Still, Badgers have played well in every game they’ve played, including the two-point loss to Marquette, and they’re getting contributions from everybody, as it was Brad Davison who had 23 points and a 12-of-12 performance at the free-throw line against the Rams.
12. Saint Louis (+1)
Another week, another 20-point win. The Billikens are one of the most underrated teams in the nation, and last week’s victory over Central Arkansas shows that they’re not just top-heavy. Javonte Perkins has done most of the heavy lifting so far, while Hasahn French (recently returned from injury) was expected to be the go-to guy. But Yuri Collins, Jordan Goodwin and Gibson Jimerson were the stars, Goodwin in particular with his 15 points, 11 rebounds and six steals. With Richmond on the decline, Saint Louis appears to be the team to beat in the Atlantic 10.
13. Clemson (+10)
Speaking of underrated teams… there are a lot of people who haven’t been paying attention to just how excellent Clemson has been. The Tigers are 5-0 with all but one win coming against a power conference opponent and all but one being by double digits. The defense in particular has been electric, as the Tigers’ 51.4 points allowed per game is tops in Division I among teams that have played at least twice, and opposing offenses are shooting a mere 26.1% from 3-point range against Clemson. If the Tigers didn’t have your attention before, they should now.
14. San Diego State (+3)
San Diego State has not lost a step with Malachi Flynn going pro. The Aztecs are now 5-0 following a 12-point win over a ranked Arizona State team in Tempe. San Diego State lead in that game by as much as 20, with Jordan Schakel putting up another career night of 25 points, six rebounds and 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range. The senior has been the best player on any Mountain West team thus far. If he can continue his hot streak and the Aztecs can take down BYU and Saint Mary’s within the next 10 days, they’ll likely be undefeated going into 2021.
15. Florida State (+4)
Florida State has the talent and potential to win the ACC again this season, and the early results have been very encouraging. The Seminoles are 3-0 with back-to-back Quad 1 wins under their belt, those being against Indiana and Florida, two teams that should be in the bracket come March. That’s early-season résumé-building at its finest. The whole roster is loaded, but all eyes are on the duo of senior M.J. Walker and freshman Scottie Barnes, who each put up 17 points against the Gators. Georgia Tech kicks off ACC play on Tuesday.
16. Illinois (-5)
Illinois presents an interesting rankings quandary as the highest-ranked team with two losses already. When they’ve balled, they’ve balled, demolishing mid-majors early, notching a key win at Duke last week, and playing good basketball in a loss to Baylor. But the consistency concerns are still there, made apparent by the loss to Missouri. The not-so-great refereeing didn’t help, but Kofi Cockburn has gotten in foul trouble a lot recently. Who’s there to step up as Ayo Dosunmu’s No. 2 when Cockburn is out? Still some questions to be answered by the Fighting Illini.
17. Louisville (-2)
Louisville is another team that didn’t play last week because of COVID concerns. The only reason the Cardinals drop a couple spots is because Clemson, San Diego State and Florida State put up some performances to remember within the last seven days. Louisville still appears to be one of the best teams in the ACC, and with Duke and North Carolina suddenly stumbling, perhaps the door is a little more open than it once was. The Cardinals will return to action on Wednesday against NC State. A win to begin conference play would go a long way.
18. Rutgers (0)
So far, Rutgers has passed every single test, the most recent being an eye-catching 10-point home win over a Syracuse team that went on to beat Boston College by 38 a few days later. As the sole Quad I non-conference victory for the Scarlet Knights, that game is going to be huge for the résumé. We all know how difficult it is to win inside the Trapezoid of Terror, but now Rutgers needs to show what it’s got away from Piscataway, as road bouts with Maryland and Ohio State make up two of the Scarlet Knights’ first three Big Ten games.
19. Texas Tech (+3)
Outside of that head-scratching loss to Houston, Texas Tech has played exemplary basketball. The Red Raiders are now 6-1 with an average margin of victory of 29.5 points in those six wins. I’ve already mentioned how impressive the defenses of Texas and Clemson have been, so I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the Red Raiders, which rank No. 1 in that category according to KenPom. Considering Houston is the only team that has scored more than 60 points against Texas Tech, I’d say Mr. Pomeroy is probably about right in his estimation.
20. Tennessee (NEW)
Would you look at that! Tennessee finally played a game! I made it known in my Week 2 rankings that I wouldn’t be ranking any teams that haven’t played a game yet out of fairness to the teams that have. But now that the Volunteers have not just one but two games under their belts (importantly, both wins), they get back into the poll for the first time since the preseason. Their 2-0 start comes from victories over solid Colorado and Cincinnati teams, so I’d say a spot in the top 25 is well deserved. With Kentucky disappointing, the Vols are the best team in the SEC at the moment.
21. Missouri (NEW)
In hindsight, Missouri should probably be ranked higher that No. 21. It’s not every day that a team picked to finish 10th in the SEC preseason poll starts 5-0 with wins over Oregon, Wichita State and most importantly Illinois. The senior duo of Dru Smith and Mark Smith has led the way for the Tigers, with Mark making his mark from the perimeter (48.3% from 3) and Dru being the exemplary guard in his all-around game. We’ll see how the Tigers handle the SEC gauntlet once that begins on Dec. 30, but it’s hard not to be excited right now if you’re a Mizzou fan.
22. Xavier (+3)
The only 7-0 team in the nation is ranked once again. The Musketeers showed that they deserve it, taking down tournament contender Oklahoma by 22 on Wednesday. As expected, Paul Scruggs has been the leader of this team, but Nate Johnson and Zach Freemantle have been playing just as well, especially Freemantle with his 18.7 points and eight rebounds per game on top of 44% 3-point shooting. What was expected to be a down year for the Musketeers has suddenly become very exciting. Big East play starts on Friday. Let’s see if the early success continues.
23. Arkansas (NEW)
I’m a big fan of good teams that fly under the radar, a la Clemson or Xavier. Arkansas definitely fits that build, as the Razorbacks are 6-0 with each win coming by at least 12 points (most of them 20), yet they aren’t receiving much attention nationally. Certainly the quality of opponents is a part of that, as five of Arkansas’ wins came against Quad IV teams, but this roster is not one to ignore. The Razorbacks have shooters, as four of their five leaders in minutes combine for a 43.4% rate from beyond the arc. Keep on eye on these guys.
24. Richmond (-12)
Richmond is not looking as impressive as it once did. The Spiders are 4-1, and that’s certainly worth praising, but a 16-point loss to West Virginia opens the gate to some other questions. That Kentucky win isn’t looking as amazing as it once did with the Wildcats struggling mightily at the moment, and a close call against Wofford to kick off last week’s slate is also reason for concern. The Spiders have the potential to get back on track with key matchups against Vanderbilt and Loyola Chicago this week, but it’s hard to be as excited about this team as we all were a week or two ago.
25. Michigan (NEW)
That overtime game against Oakland appears to have been a false alarm. The Wolverines are now 6-0 with wins 20 points or more over Ball State, UCF and Toledo, tacking on a hard-fought four-point win over Penn State on Sunday. Four-star recruit Hunter Dickinson has been something else, as the 7-foot-1-inch freshman has posted back-to-back performances of at least 18 points and seven rebounds. Throw in some great play from Isaiah Livers and Franz Wagner and the Wolverines are back on track… even though they don’t play again until Christmas.
Next 5: UCLA, Virginia, Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon
Also considered: Oklahoma State, UConn, Syracuse, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Arizona