The weekend rolled on in NCAA college basketball, but the biggest news came off the court. Duke landed another talent to next year’s class, which already looks like the best in the country. On the court, all eyes will be on their big showdown with Virginia this week. Duke only has one loss on the year. However, a home game against No. 2 Virginia will give us a preview of what could turn out to be a March Madness meeting in the latter stages of the tournament. The winner of that game should see a bump in their futures. As for the Villanova Wildcats, who are the top team in the country, they come in third in the power rankings and that probably won’t change this week. They aren’t expected to be tested too much with their schedule this week.
Here’s a look at this week’s power rankings.
1. Duke Blue Devils
NCAA Basketball Title Odds: +500
The Blue Devils (17-2, 5-2 ACC) won big at home over Pittsburgh, and they’ll head to Wake Forest before returning home for games against Virginia and Notre Dame. Duke thumped Pittsburgh 81-54 behind 21 points and eight rebounds from Wendell Carter Jr., but the big news was the announcement that Zion Williamson will be at Duke next season. Williamson is the #2 player in the class behind R.J. Barrett and ahead of #3 Cameron Reddish, and all three will be at Duke next season. There is a very good chance that the Blue Devils will be the preseason #1 for next season.
2. Michigan State Spartans
NCAA Basketball Title Odds: +550
The Spartans (17-3, 5-2 Big Ten) beat Indiana at home, and they’ll head to Illinois, then host Wisconsin before heading to Maryland and hosting Penn State. The Spartans jumped out to a 19-point halftime lead in an 85-57 trouncing of Indiana as Miles Bridges had 22 points. Michigan State also had a 45-27 on the glass and they held the Hoosiers to 33.9% shooting from the floor.
3. Villanova Wildcats
NCAA Basketball Title Odds: +700
The Wildcats (18-1, 5-1 Big East) took care of Connecticut on the road, and they’ll host Providence before heading to Marquette. It was an easy 81-61 thrashing of Connecticut as the Wildcats were up by 19 points by halftime, and Jalen Brunson led the way with 23 points. Villanova held the Huskies to 34.4% shooting from the floor and since their first loss at Butler, the Wildcats have beaten their four of their last five opponents by 10 points or more.
4. Arizona Wildcats
NCAA Basketball Title Odds: +1000
The Wildcats (16-4, 6-1 Pac-12) won at Stanford and will host Colorado and Utah next before heading to Washington State. The Wildcats had to rally late to win 73-71 at Stanford as Allonzo Trier had 21 points. Freshman sensation Deandre Ayton didn’t have a good scoring game with nine points and he also fouled out, but he added eight boards and six blocks. If Arizona can put forth a consistent effort, they can truly compete with anyone in the country.
5. Kentucky Wildcats
NCAA Basketball Title Odds: +1100
Kentucky (14-5, 4-3 SEC) fell at home against Florida, and they’ll host Mississippi State before heading to West Virginia and then it is back home for Vanderbilt. The Wildcats fell in a tight 66-64 loss to Florida as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and sub Sacha Killeya-Jones had 10 points each for Kentucky. The Wildcats shot just 40% from the field, including 23.5% from three-point land and in a game where they held the Gators to 33% shooting (including 20% from beyond the arc), Kentucky should feel like they gave one away.
6. Kansas Jayhawks
NCAA Basketball Title Odds: +1200
The Jayhawks (16-3, 6-1 Big 12) beat Baylor at home and they’ll visit Oklahoma before hosting Texas A&M and travelling to Kansas State. The Jayhawks held off Baylor with a 70-67 win as Malik Newman had 24 points, but Kansas won’t get to see Billy Preston on the floor. The highly-touted freshman has signed with a professional team in Bosnia-Herzegovina as the NCAA investigates a car accident that caused them to look at how much the car cost, and how he got it. Preston was a five-star recruit and Kansas could really use him right now.
7. Wichita State Shockers
NCAA Basketball Title Odds: +1800
The Shockers (15-4, 5-2 American) followed up a home loss to Houston by losing at Houston, and they’ll host Central Florida and Tulsa next. Wichita State shot just 32.8% from the floor, including 20% from the three-point line, in a 73-59 loss at Houston as Shaquille Morris was the only player in double figures with 12 points. The Shockers have to get their act together quickly and even though they’re the best team in this conference, Wichita State should have higher standards than that.
8. Gonzaga Bulldogs
NCAA Basketball Title Odds: +2200
The Bulldogs (17-4, 7-1 WCC) lost at home to Saint Mary’s before bouncing back with a win at Santa Clara, and they’ll head to Portland before hosting San Francisco. The Bulldogs got 23 points off the bench against Saint Mary’s, but allowed the Gaels to shoot 56.6% from the field and 61.5% from three-point land. Gonzaga were much better against Santa Clara in a 75-60 win as Zach Norvell had 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and the Bulldogs held their opponents to 41.2% shooting.
9. North Carolina Tar Heels
NCAA Basketball Title Odds: +2200
The Tar Heels (16-4, 5-2) won at home over Georgia Tech, and then will visit Virginia Tech, host North Carolina State and visit Clemson. Luke Maye had 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead a balanced North Carolina attack, while Theo Pinson also had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Tar Heels also had a massive 46-25 advantage on the boards.
10. Arizona State Sun Devils
NCAA Basketball Title Odds: +2500
The Sun Devils (15-4, 3-4 Pac-12) continued their up-and-down conference play with a win at California, and they’ll host Utah and Colorado next. The Sun Devils won 81-73 at California as Tra Holder and sub Remy Martin both had 13 points and Arizona State had a 39-30 edge on the boards. However, it might have been a bit lucky as California hit just 12 of their 22 free-throw attempts and had a couple more of those shots went in, it might have been a different game. Arizona State won’t go far into March if they continue to be this inconsistent.
The 2018 March Madness futures are out. There has been plenty of news to keep up with in the offseason but keep an eye on the betting lines as they move around at Diamond Sportsbook! Get the latest college basketball betting lines right here.
