College Basketball Power Rankings

By Andrew Musur on February 16, 2015

With a little over a month to go before Selection Sunday, my anticipation for the tournament could not be higher. There has been a lot of good basketball this season, but who are the best teams in the country?

It took ranking after ranking, but here are my college basketball Week 15 Power Rankings.

No. 1: University of Kentucky 26-0 (13-0), SEC Conference

Win Streak: 26

Week Results: Beat Tennessee 66-48 (Road)

Upcoming Game: Feb. 21 vs. Auburn

The Kentucky Wildcats have been a gift from the basketball gods. The Wildcats are undefeated on the year, and continue to play the best basketball in the country. Though Kentucky has had some close calls in SEC play (Ole Miss OT, Texas A&M 2OT, LSU won by 2), they have a knack for finding a way to win.

No. 2: Gonzaga University 26-1 (14-0), West Coast Conference

Win Streak: 19

Week Results: Beat Pepperdine 56-48 (Home)

Upcoming Games: Feb. 19 @ Pacific

Gonzaga has been one of the most dominant teams this year. The Bulldogs have won an incredible 25 games, thanks in large part to their offense. This Gonzaga team ranks first in the country in field goal percentage (53 percent), and put up more than 80 points per game.

Ironically, Gonzaga is led by forward, Kyle Wiltjer (16.4 ppg, 54 percent FG), a former Kentucky player. Wiltjer saw limited action during his time with Kentucky, and figured transferring would be his best option. Fortunately for Gonzaga and Wiltjer, it worked out really well.

No. 3: University of Virginia 23-1 (12-1), ACC

Win Streak: 5

Week Results: Beat Pittsburgh 61-49 (Home)

Upcoming Game: Feb. 22 vs. Florida State

Virginia has been fantastic this season. The Cavaliers are 4-1 against top 25 opponents including wins at Maryland, North Carolina, Notre Dame and against Louisville. Guard, Malcolm Brogdon, has come up huge for the Cavaliers during ACC play. Brogdon is averaging 14 points per game in conference play.

No. 4: Duke University 23-3 (10-3), ACC

Win Streak: 6

Week Results: Beat North Carolina 92-90 (Home)

Upcoming Game: Feb. 21 vs. Clemson

The Duke Blue Devils have been very impressive in an awfully tough ACC conference. The Blue Devils quickly recovered from their two straight losses in the middle of January to win seven of their last eight. Duke will be right in the thick of it for an ACC championship.

No. 5: University of Wisconsin 24-2 (12-1), Big Ten Conference

Win Streak: 9

Week Results: Beat Penn State 55-47 (Road)

Upcoming Game: Feb. 21 vs. Minnesota

Wisconsin has won its last seven games after a fluke loss to Rutgers on January 11. The Badgers have utilized player of the year candidate, Frank Kaminsky, perfectly. Kaminsky is averaging 17 points a game and is playing more than 30 minutes per contest. The Badgers should have no problem winning the Big Ten regular season championship.

No. 6: University of Arizona 22-3 (10-2), Pac 12 Conference

Win Streak: 2

Week Results: Beat Washington State 86-59 (Road)

Upcoming Game: Feb. 19 vs. USC

Arizona is coming off a heartbreaking loss to rival Arizona State. The Wildcats overcame a seven point halftime deficit to make it a game, but the Wildcats ultimately fell short losing by three. Arizona will meet No. 11 Utah on February 28 with huge Pac 12 championship implications.

No. 7: Villanova University 23-2 (11-2), Big East Conference

Win Streak: 7

Week Results: Beat Seton Hall 80-54 (Home)

Upcoming Game: Feb. 21 @ Marquette

Villanova started the year off hot winning their first 13 games including wins over VCU, Illinois, Syracuse and Butler. The Wildcats currently sit at first place in the Big East, but have a huge Valentine’s Day match-up with conference foe, Butler.

The Butler game may be tough, but Villanova has an easy finish to the year. In the Wildcats’ final seven games, four of their opponents are under 500 in the Big East.

No. 8: Kansas 21-5 (10-3), Big 12 Conference 

Win Streak: 0

Week Results: Lost to #23 West Virginia 62-61 (Road)

Upcoming Game: Feb. 21 vs. TCU

The Jayhawks struggled early in non-conference play losing by 32 points to Kentucky and to Temple by 25 points. Based on these shaky performances many, including myself, thought Kansas would have a down year in a highly competitive Big 12 conference.

However, Bill Self and co. had other plans. Self has the Jayhawks sitting pretty atop the Big 12 rankings an entire game and a half ahead of Oklahoma. The Jayhawks are seeking their 11th consecutive Big 12 regular season championship–all of those have come under Bill Self.

No. 9: Utah 20-4 (10-2), Pac 12 Conference 

Win Streak: 4

Week Results: Beat Cal 76-61 (Home)

Upcoming Games: Feb. 19 @ Oregon State

If you haven’t watched much of Utah, I strongly recommend you take a look at them. The Utes have four losses on the year all to respectable teams: San Diego State, Kansas, Arizona and UCLA.

Utah is led by senior Delon Wright. Wright, a Wooden award finalist, is averaging 14 points, 4.5 boards and 5.6 assists per game. The 6-foot-5 guard will play a huge role in Utah’s success down the stretch.

No. 10: Louisville 20-5 (8-5), ACC 

Win Streak: 0

Week Results: Lost to Syracuse 69-59 (Road)

Upcoming Game: Feb. 21 vs. Miami

You can’t be too upset if you are a fan of Louisville. The Cardinals have lost four games this season all to ranked teams: Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke and Virginia. Louisville lost those four games by an average of 6.25 points.

Terry Rozier and Montrezl Harrell have been huge for the Cardinals. Rozier and Harrell lead the team in points and rebounds, Rozier averaging 18.5 points and 5.7 rebounds, and Harrell averaging 15.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.

No. 11: Iowa State 18-6 (9-4), Big 12 Conference

Win Streak: 1

Week Results: Beat #22 Oklahoma State 70-65 (Road)

Upcoming Game: Feb. 21 @ Texas

Iowa State has struggled in their last six games only winning three of them, but the Cyclones are an extremely talented team. Junior, Georges Niang leads the cyclones with nearly 15 points per game. Niang has been an offensive nightmare for Big 12 teams averaging 14 points per conference game.

Iowa State still has four ranked teams left on their schedule. If they take care of business, the Cyclones will be in a great position for a 2-seed come tournament time.

No. 12: North Carolina 18-8 (8-5), ACC

Win Streak: 0

Week Results: Lost to #4 Duke 92-90 (Road)

Upcoming Game: Feb. 21 vs. Georgia Tech

All but one of North Carolina’s six losses have come against opponents ranked in the top 20: Kentucky No. 1, Virginia No. 3, Louisville No. 10, Notre Dame No. 13 and Butler No. 18. The Tar Heels currently sit two games out of first place in the ACC, but still have plenty of time to make a climb to the top.

No. 13: Notre Dame 22-4 (11-3), ACC

Win Streak: 1

Week Results: Beat Wake Forest 88-75 (Home)

Upcoming Game: Feb. 21 @ Boston College

If you have been keeping track, this my 5th ACC team in the top 15. Let that sink in for a second. The ACC has dominated college basketball and Notre Dame has been a pleasant surprise. Though the Irish played a weaker non-conference schedule, they certainly made up for it with their conference play.

Notre Dame beat North Carolina in Chapel Hill and they were able pull off an upset on Duke at home. The Irish have six games remaining: five of them are winnable and the second to last one is a giant battle with No. 9 Louisville.

No. 14: Northern Iowa 25-2 (14-1), Missouri Valley Conference

Win Streak: 14

Week Results: Beat Loyola (Il) 58-39 (Road)

Upcoming Game: Feb. 21 vs. Bradley

Northern Iowa has not played the toughest schedule this year, but that doesn’t mean the Panthers can’t compete. Northern Iowa is currently tied for first in the Missouri Valley Conference. Yes, the same conference Wichita State usually dominates.

The Panthers actually beat the Shockers this year, and they beat them by a lot. Seth Tuttle is Northern Iowa’s go-to guy. Tuttle is a 6-foot-8 senior who has dominated. The Iowa native is averaging a staggering 18 points per game through Missouri Valley Conference play.

Northern Iowa will be a huge sleeper come tournament time, and will have an opportunity to win the MVC if they beat Wichita State on February 28.

No. 15: Baylor 19-7 (7-6), Big 12 Conference

Win Streak: 1

Week Results: Beat Texas Tech 54-59 (Road)

Upcoming Game: Feb. 21 vs. Kansas State

The Baylor Bears are one of the only teams in the country that really spread out their scoring. The Bears have four starters averaging 10 or more points per game. This spread of production has been huge for Baylor, and it will be important for Baylor to keep this up as March nears.

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