House Basketball Power Rankings

By Stephen Barston

* In parentheses are the team’s record and their previous ranking

1.      Texas (7-0, #2): The Longhorns remain the league’s only undefeated team, putting up points with ease, from a variety of sources. The Klingman brothers have solidified their position as Texas’ go-to guards and have been filling it up as of late. A matchup this weekend with Michigan State will test the resiliency of this squad.

2.      Michigan State (6-1, #1): A tough 3-point loss to Duke gave the Spartans’ record its first blemish of the year, but they remain towards the top. An impenetrable zone defense left Georgia Tech and Missouri dazed and confused on offense, and important role players like PK Brannigan have stepped up to provide a steady stream of points.

3.      Syracuse (5-2, #4): ‘Cuse gave Texas their money’s worth on Sunday, losing only by 5, and even had a win over North Carolina that wasn’t nearly as close as the score suggests. Andrew Mathew, Daniel Traver, and Timmy Lochtefeld lead a ferocious defense and Jamie Schofield continues to consistently drive to the basket and score with ease.

4.      Duke (4-3, #6): Duke may have beaten Michigan State and Indiana, but a loss to Kentucky is a concern. If the offense can continue to score a lot of points, as it does on a consistent basis, the Blue Devils should be fine, granted they can find a way to improve their shoddy defense.

5.      Stanford (4-3, #3): Stanford may have Aidan Coyle, but the trend continues that they are losing to teams with more overall size than them. The Cardinal consistently put up one of the highest point totals in the league, led by sophomores John Mackie, Davis Nixon (coming off a career performance this past week), and Anthony DiMeglio along the perimeter, but rebounding and defense have been serious concerns thus far.

6.      Kentucky (3-4, #10): Wins over Duke and 5-man UCONN this past week have been crucial for Kentucky in moving up 4 spots. Now that they feed their big men, like Robby Arrix, and capitalize off offensive rebounds the Wildcats have been a tough team for opponents to handle defensively. Continue to do this, and Kentucky will be in good shape.

7.      UCONN (4-3, #5): This past week, the Huskies beat an undersized and smaller Georgia Tech team and lost to Kentucky, as mentioned above. If Conor Davey can stay out of foul trouble and his teammates, like Liam Donoghue and Connor Gonzalez-Falla (nice game-winner!), remain physical and aggressive, UCONN can fight its way back up to the top of the rankings.

8.      North Carolina (3-4, #9): UNC broke its 4-game losing streak on Sunday during a win against Stanford, mainly due to the aggression on the offensive boards, led by Philip Rech, but its defense continues to be a concern. Syracuse had its way with the Tarheels out on the perimeter and this needs to fix quickly before they find themselves on another losing streak.

9.      Missouri (3-4, #7): Jack Duggan and Michael Maccarone run the fast break like no other combo in the league this season, but a lack of consistency in mid-range and long-range shooting and on the defensive side concerns me a little. If Missouri was to put more pressure on the guards in the half-court defense, they may be able to win on their fast breaks alone.

10.  Georgia Tech (2-5, #8): A reliance on three-point shooting scares me about the Yellow Jackets, but the Drake brothers and Scott Voigt have been amazing so far behind the line. If they can focus on feeding the ball down low more to Dolan Gregorich and crashing the boards, they should be in fine shape.

11.  Indiana (1-6, #12): Matt “The Beast?” Pettit and Jack Murray have been almost-perfect guards so far, scoring when needed and assisting to their teammates, but a failure to finish solid opportunities and to rebound (granted, they are small) have left Indiana scrounging for wins, finally finding their first victory this past weekend against Georgetown.

12.  Georgetown (0-7, #11): Much like the Yellow Jackets, the Hoyas have been depending on threes too much this year, and have failed to defend the fast break well. Even when they do get back on defense, their opponents get second- and third-chance opportunities down low. Any team can win if they get high-percentage shots, and if Georgetown attacks and draws fouls, they should find their first win soon enough.