College hoops has been wild a few weeks in with a host of upsets and already a handful of March-level games from San Diego to Indianapolis to Cincinnati to East Lansing to Las Vegas and Spokane. The level of play will only increase as Feast Week picks up Monday in Maui.
HAWAII HOOPS: 2022 Maui Invitational: Bracket, schedule, scores
College basketball rankings: The Power 36 for Week 2
1. North Carolina (1): North Carolina is off to a 4-0 start after Armando Bacot dropped 19 and had a career-best 23 rebounds in a win over CAA title contender James Madison.
2. Houston (2): The Cougars have an absolute star in freshman Jarace Walker. The win at Oregon should send another strong message that the Cougars are for real.
3. Kansas (5): The Jayhawks beat Duke in the Champions Classic and have the next-in-line Big 12 player of the year candidate in Jalen Wilson.
4. Indiana (6): The Hoosiers passed their first major test with a road win at Xavier in the Gavitt Games.
5. Texas (11): The Longhorns throttled Gonzaga in Austin behind Tyrese Hunter, who could end up being one of the best transfers after coming from Iowa State.
6. Gonzaga (3): The Zags bounced back after the loss in Austin by pulling away from Kentucky in Spokane in the first of six meetings in successive seasons with the Wildcats.
RECAP: Gonzaga powers past Kentucky in top-4 matchup
7. Michigan State (19): The Spartans beat Kentucky in double OT in a thriller in the Champions Classic and then followed that up with a gritty home win over Villanova in the Gavitt Games.
8. Creighton (9): The Bluejays will get a true barometer this week in the Maui Invitational where they are one of the favorites. Creighton opens with Texas Tech.
9. Arkansas (13): Trevon Brazile had the dunk of the season against South Dakota State. Arkansas will be tested this week in Maui, with the potential of facing Creighton or Texas Tech on day two.
DUNK OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE BY TREVON BRAZILE 😤 @RazorbackMBB pic.twitter.com/fUzqSSEoAq
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 17, 2022
10. Virginia (23): The Cavaliers played with heavy hearts and then took out Baylor and Illinois to capture the Main Event tournament title in Las Vegas.
11. Baylor (8): The Bears bounced back after losing to Virginia to take out Illinois behind a big-time effort from LJ Cryer.
12. Duke (7): The Blue Devils had their chances against Kansas in Indianapolis but still aren’t 100 percent healthy. We shall know more about Duke this week in Portland.
13. San Diego State (14): The Aztecs beat Stanford for a momentum win heading into a matchup against Ohio State in the Maui Invitational.
14. Illinois (15): The Illini throttled UCLA in the second half only to be beaten by a disciplined Virginia in the title game of the Main Event in Las Vegas.
15. Purdue (16): The Boilermakers continue to funnel the offense through Zach Edey and it’s working quite well. Purdue outlasted Marquette in the Gavitt Games.
16. Maryland (NR): The Terps beat Saint Louis and then Miami to take home the title in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off at the Mohegan Sun. Donta Scott had a star weekend with 24 in the title game. Kevin Willard has the Terps ready to be a contender in the Big Ten.
17. Arizona (18): The Wildcats have looked the part of a Pac-12 title contender and Kerr Kriisa has been sensational. But we will know more about the Wildcats after this week in Maui.
18. UCLA (4): The Bruins did drop two games in Las Vegas but they did so to two deep March contenders in Illinois and Baylor.
19. Kentucky (10): The Wildcats lost two games last week but in double overtime to Michigan State and to Gonzaga in Spokane. Like UCLA, they shouldn’t be dropped out of the top 25 for losing two high-level games.
20. Arizona State (NR): The Sun Devils won the Legends Classic in Brooklyn after beating VCU and Michigan, the latter game behind Dexter Cambridge Jr.’s 20 points. This all came after a stunning loss at Texas Southern and it was done without the injured Marcus Bagley.
21. Alabama (25): The Tide continued to get stat-stuffing play from Brandon Miller. The competition rises with a matchup against Michigan State in Portland.
22. UConn (26): Adama Sanogo is averaging 20 a game through a 5-0 start for the Huskies. UConn will play Oregon in Portland this week to test itself at a higher level.
23. Wisconsin (24): The Badgers aren’t running away past the competition but their defense has been solid enough to remain undefeated heading into the Battle 4 Atlantis.
24. Auburn (27): The Tigers are rolling but the competition hasn’t met the moment just yet.
25. Iowa (34): The Hawkeyes had a significant road win by beating Seton Hall in Newark. Kris Murray has already made his mark on this young season.
26. TCU (12): The Horned Frogs bounced back after a stunning loss to Northwestern State with a win over UL Monroe by 35.
27. Michigan (22): The Wolverines dropped after losing to Arizona State at the Barclays Center and surviving wins against Eastern Michigan and Ohio (in OT).
28. Tennessee (28): The Vols dispatched the same Florida Gulf Coast team that beat USC. This was much needed after the loss to Colorado.
29. Saint Mary’s (NR): The Gaels are destroying the competition en route to a 5-0 start. There has been no drop-off from last season’s NCAA tournament second-round team.
30. Ohio State (31): Welcome freshman Brice Sensabaugh to the national scene after dropping 20 against Eastern Illinois. The Buckeyes will get a major test against San Diego State in Maui.
31. Florida (17): The Gators were upset by FAU but then turned around and beat rival Florida State.
32. Texas Tech (36): The Red Raiders are 3-0 heading to Maui where they will be tested each game.
33. UNLV (NR): The Runnin’ Rebels served notice with a win over Dayton at home that they intend to be a contender in the Mountain West.
34. Dayton (21): The Flyers lost to UNLV but bounced back with a win over Robert Morris before heading to face Wisconsin in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
35. UMass (NR): The Minutemen won the Myrtle Beach Invitational under Frank Martin with wins over Charlotte, Murray State and Colorado.
36. Drake (NR): Missouri Valley favorite and potential conference player of the year Tucker DeVries scored 29 in a win over Wyoming in the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands.
Dropped out: Colorado (20), UC Irvine (29), Rutgers (30), Miami (32), Xavier (33), Texas A&M (35).
Team of the week
Virginia: The Cavaliers finished an extremely emotional week by winning the Main Event in Las Vegas with wins over Baylor and then Illinois. The Cavaliers were playing with heavy hearts after the murders of three Virginia football players — Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry. The Cavs canceled their game against Northern Iowa Monday a day after the tragedy occurred. They then continued to Las Vegas and were able to focus well enough to beat two top-20 teams back-to-back. The Cavs did a great job on Illinois’ Terrence Shannon Jr., holding him to nine points after he scored 29 the previous night against UCLA. The Cavs' next major test comes on Nov. 29 at Michigan in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
Player of the week
Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana: TJD dropped 30 on Xavier in the Cintas Center in the Hoosiers' first test of the season. Indiana was not a good road team last season. This was a major step to prove Indiana is the real deal and TJD needs to be taken seriously as a national player of the year candidate. TJD didn’t let up against Miami (OH) on Sunday, finishing with 17 and 16 boards.
