The college basketball season is on fire right now as you never know what is going to happen. On any given night, a top team can go down to an unranked squad, which is going to be fun to predict when it comes to the Tournament. The story of the week has to be St. John’s, who had lost 11 games in a row before pulling off wins over top-five teams in Duke and Villanova. That is how the college-basketball season has gone. Tonight is a big night as the Duke Blue Devils will take on the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Battle for Tobacco Road. However, both teams have stumbled of late. Duke enters as the No. 9 team in the country after their stunning loss to St. John’s while North Carolina is No. 21 these days.
The top teams in the country right now are Villanova, who is at the top of the rankings, Virginia, who is second-ranked but received 16 votes for No. 1, and Purdue, who is ranked third. Here is a closer look at this week’s power rankings.
1. Duke Blue Devils
College Basketball Title Odds: +500
The Blue Devils (19-4, 7-3 ACC) lost at St. John’s last week, and now they’re heading into their rivalry game at North Carolina followed by a trip to Georgia Tech and a home game against Virginia Tech. The Blue Devils were outscored by 11 points in their 81-77 loss to the Red Storm as they got 22 points from Gary Trent Jr., but Duke also had 18 turnovers. This is a huge stretch for Duke as the St. John’s game is the beginning of four road games in five games.
2. Michigan State Spartans
College Basketball Title Odds: +550
The Spartans (23-3, 11-2 Big Ten) won on the road at Indiana and Iowa, and they’ll be home to host Purdue this week before going back out to visit Minnesota. The Spartans gutted out a pair of three-point wins on the road as their defense came up big at Indiana, holding the Hoosiers to 28.8% from the floor. At Iowa, Miles Bridges dropped 25 points as the Spartans shot 56.1%. Like Duke, Michigan State started a four-road-games-in-five-games stretch with the Indiana game.
3. Villanova Wildcats
College Basketball Title Odds: +700
The Wildcats (22-2, 9-2 Big East) won at home over Creighton and Seton Hall, but then lost to St. John’s at home. They’ll host Butler before visiting Providence. Villanova scored 98 points against Creighton and 92 points against Seton Hall, but their three-point shooting deserted them against St. John’s as the Wildcats were 8-of-33 from beyond the arc in a 79-75 loss.
4. Arizona Wildcats.
College Basketball Title Odds: +1100
Arizona (19-5, 9-2 Pac-12) lost at Washington, and they’ll host UCLA and USC this week. The Wildcats fell 78-75 on the road via a last-second three-pointer after battling back from a seven-point halftime deficit as Deandre Ayton had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Dusan Ristic added 21 points and 10 rebounds. However, the difference came at the three-point line as Arizona was 2-of-12 for the game and Washington went 8-of-14.
5. Kansas Jayhawks
College Basketball Title Odds: +1200
The Jayhawks (19-5, 8-3) lost to Oklahoma State and beat TCU, both at home, and they’ll head to Baylor and Iowa State this week. Kansas has now lost three times at home for the first time since the 1998-99 season as they fell behind by 13 by halftime in an 84-79 loss to the Cowboys. The Jayhawks were outrebounded 41-28 in that loss and even though they bounced back to beat TCU 71-64 at home, it was a game that went down to the wire.
6. Kentucky Wildcats
College Basketball Title Odds: +1200
The Wildcats (17-7, 6-5 SEC) lost at Missouri and then at home to Tennessee, and they’ll travel to Texas A&M and Auburn next. Kentucky had a brutal week from the three-point line as they were 2-of-20 in a 69-60 loss to Missouri as only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit double digits with 15 points. The Wildcats then shot 3-of-14 from downtown in a 61-59 loss to Tennessee, and they’re now shooting 33% from beyond the arc for the season. Kentucky has to figure out a way to generate points, or be better defensively if they can’t.
7. Virginia Cavaliers
College Basketball Title Odds: +1600
The Cavaliers (23-1, 12-0 ACC) won at Syracuse and Florida State, and they’ll host Virginia Tech before heading back on the road to Miami. The Cavaliers’ defense came up huge once again as they scored just 59 points in each win, but they held Syracuse to just 44 points and then they allowed another 55 points against Florida State. The win over the Seminoles was especially impressive as Florida State is 23rd in the country in points, and Virginia locked them down. That type of defense is dangerous in March.
8. Purdue Boilermakers
College Basketball Title Odds: +1800
The Boilermakers (23-3, 12-1 Big Ten) won at at Rutgers, but then they lost to Ohio State at home. Next, they’ll head to Michigan State for a showdown with the Spartans. Purdue lost their first Big Ten game of the season in a 64-63 loss to the Buckeyes as Carsen Edwards had 28 points and six rebounds, but the Boilermakers couldn’t get a stop down the stretch. However, Purdue is still in a great position in the conference ahead of this massive game with Michigan State.
9. Wichita State Shockers
College Basketball Title Odds: +1800
The Shockers (18-5, 8-3 American) won at Memphis and next, they’ll host Connecticut and Temple. Wichita State bounced back from an overtime loss at Temple with an 85-65 rout at Memphis as Austin Reaves had 22 points and six rebounds, but the Shockers had to close strong as they were up by 11 points at halftime and the lead was cut to five points. They need to finish the season strong to win the American.
10. North Carolina Tar Heels
College Basketball Title Odds: +2200
The Tar Heels (17-7, 6-5 ACC) won at home over Pittsburgh, and they’ll host Duke before heading to North Carolina State and then it is back home to host Notre Dame. The 96-65 win over Pittsburgh snapped a three-game skid for the Tar Heels, who were led by 26 points and eight rebounds from Luke Maye. North Carolina shot 51.4% from the field and outrebounded Pittsburgh 47-28 and it was the game that the Tar Heels needed ahead of their showdown with Duke this week.
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.
