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Andy Katz, krikya18.com Correspondent | November 11, 2024

Kansas and Alabama swap spots in Andy Katz's latest Power 37 men's college basketball rankings

Andy Katz reacts to Nov. 11 AP poll college basketball rankings

Andy Katz's Weekly Word is back with his second Power 37 of the men's basketball season, which is a nod to the number of at-large teams in the NCAA Tournament, the national team and player of the week, the Cinderella watch, the games to circle, five things we know and five we need to find out. 

The first number after the team name in the rankings is last week’s preseason Power 37 rankings. The records are through Sunday night’s games. Look for him to discuss and debate the AP Top 25 rankings and take your questions every Monday on the Bleacher Report App at 1 p.m. ET. 

Let’s go: 

Power 37

  1. Kansas (Prev. 2, 2-0): The Jayhawks staved off a North Carolina 20-point comeback. Hunter Dickinson dropped 20 points in the W. Kansas gets the nod over my preseason No. 1 Alabama with the better win last week. 
  2. Alabama (Prev. 1, 2-0): The Tide haven’t really been tested yet. They will be on Friday at Purdue. Alabama has yet to begin showing its true potential. 
  3. Gonzaga (Prev. 3, 2-0): The Zags blitzed Baylor to open the season 101-63 and then held off a gritty Arizona State team at home Sunday night. They are showing they’ve got more offensive options than a year ago. 
  4. UConn (Prev. 4, 2-0): The Huskies’ non-conference season will begin in Maui with the real tests. But we know for sure Alex Karaban is up to the challenge to be the go-to player. 
  5. Duke (Prev. 5, 2-0): The Blue Devils obliterated Maine and Army and Cooper Flagg as well as Kon Knueppel are living up to the hype, thus far. 
  6. Auburn (Prev. 15, 2-0): The Tigers had a scuffle on a plane to Houston and had to turn around and come back. But the Tigers aren’t backing down from anyone. Auburn blitzed Vermont after the Catamounts beat UAB and then took down Houston. 
  7. Iowa State (Prev. 7, 1-0): The Cyclones have a slow roll into the season. And they are heading for a monster first-round matchup against Auburn in the Maui Invitational on Nov. 25. 
  8. North Carolina (Prev. 9, 1-1): The Tar Heels met the moment in the second half at Kansas with a 20-point comeback to take the lead. They lost but this game will help the Tar Heels throughout the season. 
  9. Tennessee (Prev. 12, 2-0): The Vols have landed another big-time scorer from a one-bid league. Last year was Dalton Knecht and this season it is Chaz Lanier. The North Florida guard is leading the Vols with 18.5 a game. 
  10. Houston ( Prev. 6, 1-1): The Cougars did lose by five to Auburn, but we’re learning the Tigers are a legit SEC title contender. Houston will get another barometer against Alabama in Las Vegas on Nov. 26.
  11. Creighton (Prev. 16, 2-0): The Bluejays crushed their two weaker opponents but the story is Ryan Kalkbrenner, who scored 49 and 24 points, respectively in his first two games. 
  12. Indiana (Prev. 11, 2-0): The Hoosiers offense is on fire with Mackenzie Mgbako scoring 31 and 18 points, respectively. He’s likely going to have a Big Ten Player of the Year season.
  13. Arizona (Prev. 17, 2-0): The Wildcats embarrassed Old Dominion 102-44. Tommy Lloyd’s crew is playing like it’s February with Caleb Love picking up where he left off last season as the Pac-12 player of the year. 
  14. Ohio State (Prev. 28, 1-0): The Buckeyes stunned Texas in Las Vegas to open the season. They showed they’ve got a slew of options, including a freshman in John Mobley. 
  15. Kentucky (Prev. 14, 2-0): The Wildcats are playing the way Mark Pope’s BYU squads did by ripping and running. They’ve scored 100-plus in each of the first two games. 
  16. Baylor (Prev. 8, 1-1): Will the real Baylor stand up? The one that got drilled at Gonzaga or the one that beat Arkansas in Dallas. It’s more likely the latter. The Bears should be just fine. 
  17. Purdue (Prev. 10, 2-0): The Boilermakers have been led by Fletcher Loyer’s scoring and Braden Smith’s playmaking (11 assists a game). But losing 7-4 freshman Daniel Jacobsen to a broken leg could significantly affect the front line at both ends of the court. 
  18. Oregon (Prev. 21, 2-0): The Ducks are looking the part of a potential Big Ten title contender. They are long, athletic and can score in a variety of ways. 
  19. Florida (Prev. 20, 2-0): The Gators are scoring at will with Walter Clayton Jr., and Will Richard playing where they left off last season. Let’s see how they handle a crisis as Todd Golden is still going to coach the Gators amid a Title IX investigation. 
  20. New Mexico (Prev. NR, 2-0): The Lobos had one of the most impressive wins of the week, leading wire-to-wire against UCLA in suburban Las Vegas. Nelly Junior-Joseph and Donovan Dent are looking like MWC first-team players a week into the season. 
  21. Cincinnati (Prev. ​​​​​​​23, 2-0): Wes Miller has the Bearcats primed for an NCAA Tournament berth with a well-balanced squad. 
  22. Illinois (Prev. ​​​​​​​18, 2-0): The Illini can score. We won’t know how well this team defends until taking on Alabama on Nov. 20. 
  23. Rutgers (Prev. 25, 1-0): The Scarlet Knights don’t have enough to fully judge them with Ace Bailey sitting out the first game. Their toughest test comes in Las Vegas against Alabama. 
  24. Texas Tech (Prev. ​​​​​​​24, 2-0): JT Toppin, a transfer from New Mexico, may end up being one of the best additions for any tournament team. Toppin is averaging 22 points and 7.5 points in two games. 
  25. UCF (Prev. NR, 2-0): The Knights picked up one of the top wins of the week by taking down then No. 13 Texas A&M by three. Jordan Ivy-Curry is the scorer UCF needs after he transferred from UTSA. 
  26. Arkansas (Prev. 13, 1-1): The Hogs got beat by Baylor but Boggie Fland looks to be a star in Fayetteville. 
  27. Clemson (Prev. ​​​​​​​26, 2-0): The Tigers continue to be undervalued in the ACC and nationally. Ian Schieffelin should be the go-to Tigers this season. 
  28. Michigan State (Prev. ​​​​​​​32, 2-0): The Spartans are getting the post-play they didn’t get consistently next season. The schedule gets tougher immediately with Kansas in Atlanta this week. 
  29. Xavier (Prev. ​​​​​​​29, 2-0): Remember the name Ryan Conwell, the South Florida, Indiana State transfer should be a big-time scorer in the Big East. 
  30. Wake Forest (Prev. ​​​​​​​31, 3-0): The Demon Deacons scored a two-point win over Michigan and handled their first tough test. 
  31. Texas (Prev. ​​​​​​​27, 1-1): The Longhorns bounced back from the loss to Ohio State by beating Houston Christian as freshman phenom Tre Johnson scored 28 points. 
  32. Marquette (Prev. ​​​​​​​30, 2-0): The Golden Eagles got a season-memory game from David Joplin with 27 and 10 to take down George Mason. 
  33. VCU (Prev. NR, 2-0): The Rams were the pick to win the A-10 and are starting to show it with a blow-out neutral site win over Boston College. 
  34. Ole Miss (Prev. 33, 2-0): Not a bad sign for the Rebels that all-SEC player Matthew Murrell is fourth in scoring — for now. That’s showing the depth of this team. 
  35. Mississippi State (Prev. 34, 2-0): The Bulldogs are scoring 95 and 101 points, thus far, making them one of the toughest teams to defend in the SEC. 
  36. St. John’s (Prev. 35, 2-0): Kadary Richmond was the high-profile addition but getting RJ Luis and Simeon Wilcher going early is going to be a great sign for the Red Storm. 
  37. Kansas State (Prev. 37, 2-0): The Wildcats will find out where they stand this week by playing LSU. 

Dropped out: UCLA (19), Texas A&M (22), Providence (36)
Under consideration: BYU, Maryland, North Florida. 

Team of the Week

North Florida: The Ospreys are off to a sensational start at 3-0 by winning buy games at South Carolina and at Georgia Tech. Matthew Driscoll’s crew is being led by former Columbia forward Liam Murphy. Austin Peay beat Butler, too, indicating the Atlantic Sun is going to be a league to track. 

Player of the Week

Ryan Kalkbrenner, Sr., Creighton: The preseason Big East player of the year scored 49 points and grabbed 11 boards against Rio Grande and then doused FDU with 24 and six. The 7-1 center is a three-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year but he’s answering the call to be a dominant offensive player, too. 

Cinderella watch

Potential double-digit seeds that had bankable wins last week:

  • North Florida: Two guarantee road wins at South Carolina and at Georgia Tech. 
  • Austin Peay: Took down Butler.
  • Central Connecticut: Beat a preseason top-five A-10 team Saint Joseph’s. 
  • Vermont: The Catamounts split a road trip to the state of Alabama, beating UAB and then losing at Auburn. 
  • Columbia: Won at Villanova. 
  • San Francisco: The Dons took down one of the MWC favorites Boise State by 11. 

Five things we know: 

  1. BYU freshman Egor Demin is a star. The playmaking guard is going to be in the chase for top five freshmen and as a lottery pick. He’s averaging 19 and nine assists in two games. 
  2. First-year coach Gerry McNamara was ready for his own gig. The long-time Syracuse assistant and former player has Siena off to a 2-0 start by sweeping two schools in Rhode Island beating Brown and Bryant. 
  3. Tucker DeVries isn’t going to miss a beat transferring from Drake to West Virginia. He’s averaging 17 for his dad Darren in two games.
  4. Maryland did a terrific job rebuilding the roster with freshman Derik Queen (22/20 in his first game) and transfers Rodney Rice (Virginia Tech), 28 points in game two and Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Belmont), who is averaging 14.5 points.
  5. Mike Rhoades has Penn State playing the way he wanted to after coming from VCU a year ago. The Nittany Lions scored 100-plus points in back-to-back games for the first time in program history. 

Five things we need to find out:

  1. What are the chances Purdue goes smaller or leans on Will Berg to be more of a post presence in the absence of Daniel Jacobsen?
  2. How much will Robbie Avila’s ankle injury derail Saint Louis, even with a soft schedule for the first six weeks of the season? 
  3. How fast can UCLA fix its turnover/point guard problem after they had 21 turnovers in a loss to New Mexico? 
  4. Where is Louisville in its talent rebuild under Pat Kelsey? The Cardinals got blitzed by 22 to Tennessee and will have a slew of rugged games upcoming later this month. 
  5. How deep will the Mountain West be this season after the favorite Boise State lost by 11 to San Francisco? New Mexico clearly looks like a new team to beat, but the tournament depth of the league is still unknown. 

Shot of the Week

The shot of the week goes to….Jackie Johnson III of Fordham. His shot at the buzzer took down Seton Hall 57-56 at Walsh Gym. 

Top 10 Games/events to circle this week:

  • The Champions ClassicMichigan State vs. Kansas and Duke vs. Kentucky, Atlanta, Tuesday, Nov. 12
  • Grand Canyon vs. Arizona State, Phoenix, Thursday, Nov. 14 
  • Alabama at Purdue, Friday, Nov. 15
  • Arizona at Wisconsin, Friday, Nov. 15
  • Marquette at Maryland, Friday, Nov. 15
  • Ohio State at Texas A&M, Friday, Nov. 15
  • West Virginia at Pitt, Friday, Nov. 15
  • TCU at Michigan, Friday, Nov. 15
  • Wake Forest at Xavier, Saturday, Nov. 16
  • New Mexico vs. St. John’s, MSG, Sunday, Nov. 17
.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions.

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