NCAAB Power Rankings: Baylor takes over the top spot

They've been hanging around the top 10 all season, but the Baylor Bears finally took over the No. 1 spot in our power rankings this week, after a convincing road win over Kansas on Saturday. Duke plummeted out of our top 10, after its stunning loss to Clemson, and a few teams moved to new spots this week. Let’s jump right in and see how things break down.

1. Baylor (13-1)

The 67-55 win over Kansas was the first win Baylor has ever earned in Lawrence. A 12-2 run late in the first half pushed the Bears to a lead they never relinquished, and Kansas was unable to cut the lead to fewer than five points the rest of the way.

Baylor ranks sixth in the nation in points allowed, and with its dominant guard play, it very well could be the team to dethrone Kansas from the top of the Big 12. The Bears have a busy week ahead, with three games in six days, which will put them to a serious test.

This week: vs. Iowa State, at Oklahoma State

2. Gonzaga (18-1)

The Bulldogs got back to winning big when they took home a pair of road wins by 25 or more points against conference foes. They moved back up to second in the nation in scoring, but there is concern about a slump for Killian Tillie, who scored a total of 14 points on 5-of-15 shooting in the two wins. He has reached double figures in just two of their last seven games.

This week: vs. Santa Clara, vs. BYU

3. Butler (15-1)

The other mid-major Bulldogs continue to impress, and they’ve proven they are the real deal. They will face one of their biggest tests of the season Wednesday night against Seton Hall, a game that could decide who wins the Big East.

Kamar Baldwin will need to keep up his hot streak if the Bulldogs are going to escape a challenging week with only one loss. He is averaging 19 points in his last three games.

This week: vs. Seton Hall, at DePaul

4. San Diego State (18-0)

The unbeaten Aztecs fell behind Butler this week, but only because of Butler’s superior schedule. Another pair of comfortable wins in the Mountain West came last week, as Malachi Flynn has now scored at least 19 points in each of his last four games.

This week: vs. Nevada

5. Auburn (15-0)

The Tigers have finally figured out how to shoot from the outside. The Tigers, who entered the game shooting around 32% from beyond the arc, hit a season-high nine threes against Georgia to overcome a 16-6 hole and won by 22.

The struggle to defeat Vanderbilt last week, however, is a warning sign, and rival Alabama may be just the team to exploit the weaknesses exposed by the Commodores.

This week: at Alabama, at Florida

6. Kansas (13-3)

Kansas can rightly claim all of its losses are quality losses. But the Jayhawks are not getting quality wins to counter those losses, which will be a concern come tournament time.

The bigger concern is the injury to Devon Dotson, who missed the game against Oklahoma on Tuesday with a hip pointer. The Jayhawks will hope their leading scorer does not miss extended time, especially with a tough road game against Texas up next.

This week: at Texas

7. Oregon (14-3)

The Ducks have now won eight of their last nine games since their loss to North Carolina, and followed a narrow win over Arizona with a comfortable win over Arizona State last weekend.

Peyton Pritchard tied his season high with 29 points against Arizona State, made six three-pointers, and distributed six assists. They will travel north this week for a pair of road games, including a matchup with a Washington squad that defeated Gonzaga but has lost four of its last five.

This week: at Washington State, at Washington

8. Florida State (14-2)

Could the Seminoles be the best team in the ACC? They defeated Clemson, the same team that took down Duke, by 19. But they only defeated a lowly Wake Forest team by 10 on the road, in a game that the Demon Deacons led 45-41 early in the second half.

We'll see how they do against Virginia’s defense, before a visit to Miami over the weekend.

This week: vs. Virginia, at Miami

9. West Virginia (14-2)

The Mountaineers added another ranked win to their résumé with a 66-54 win over Texas Tech, then took TCU behind the woodshed with an 81-49 whooping Tuesday.

West Virginia’s defense forced 36 turnovers combined in the two wins, and Miles McBride is providing the Mountaineers with outstanding bench play, with 33 points in reserve over the two games.

This week: at Kansas State

10. Kentucky (12-3)

The emergence of Nick Richards continues to be the story for the Wildcats, but it is the red-hot outside shooting from Immanuel Quickley that has saved them in their last two games. He hit eight of nine from the outside against Alabama and Georgia and is averaging nearly 19 points per game during UK’s four-game win streak.

Against Alabama, Ashton Hagans fell one assist and one rebound shy of the fourth triple-double in Kentucky history, and Kentucky became the first school to record 1,000 regular-season SEC wins.

This week: at South Carolina, at Arkansas

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Who will be the movers and shakers in college football this week? Check out all the matchups at BetAmerica!