Our weekly "Yeah, this is a weird season" update: The top two teams and three of the top four teams in the college basketball Power Rankings are on a COVID-19 pause. Two of the most anticipated games of the week (Michigan State at Virginia and Texas at Baylor) were both postponed. But one positive of this season is that conferences are beginning league play earlier than ever, which means we're about to dive into full-fledged conference play this week.
In a normal season, we would be in the midst of a quiet period in the college basketball calendar. Most teams would be toward the end of finals week, taking a short break. But teams and conferences are trying to get in as many games as possible, so this week is loaded with intraconference tilts.
Team of the Week: Florida State Seminoles
We didn't have much to go on with Florida State entering last week; the Seminoles had played only one game, and it was at home against North Florida. Well, the Seminoles have answered the bell after impressive home wins against borderline top-25 teams Indiana and Florida. The win over the Gators comes with obvious caveats -- the game itself rightfully took a backseat following Keyontae Johnson collapsing on the court and being brought to a local hospital. But this week was something of a coming-out party for top-10 freshman and potential lottery pick Scottie Barnes. Barnes shook off an iffy performance against Indiana to hit the winning shot in overtime, then went for 17 points and five assists against Florida. Here's another interesting angle, one that nobody expected entering the season. Is Florida State not the favorite to repeat as ACC champions? Virginia, the preseason favorite, has struggled; Duke, a staple near the top of the standings, has a ton to figure out; and North Carolina lost its two toughest games, to Texas and Iowa. Who's to say the Seminoles can't do this again? Never doubt Leonard Hamilton.
Player of the Week: Justin Champagnie, Pittsburgh Panthers
Sure, it came against Northwestern and Gardner-Webb, but if a player goes 20-20 in back-to-back games, he's likely winning Player of the Week. Champagnie, who had a solid freshman season for the Panthers, has turned it up as a sophomore -- and is finally getting national notoriety after his performance last week. Against Northwestern, he went for 20 points and 20 rebounds in a one-point road win. And against Gardner-Webb, Champagnie finished with 24 points, 21 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks. Some stats, courtesy of ESPN Stats and Information: Champagnie is the first ACC player over the past 25 seasons with consecutive 20-point, 20-rebound outings. He's the third major-conference player over the past 25 seasons with consecutive 20-point, 20-rebound outings. And he's the only ACC player besides Tim Duncan with a 20-point, 20-rebound, five-assist game in the past 25 seasons. Yeah, he deserves this honor.
Win of the Week: Missouri Tigers 81, Illinois Fighting Illini 78
Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin was my Coach of the Week last week after beating Oregon on a neutral court and winning at Wichita State, but the Tigers topped that this week with wins over Liberty and Illinois, the latter a huge rivalry win over the No. 6 team in the country in the Braggin' Rights game. The woeful officiating took a lot of the steam out of the game, with 52 fouls called and 59 free throws taken, but it was still a highly impressive win for Missouri. The Tigers overcame 36 points from Ayo Dosunmu, countering it with a balanced effort from their perimeter group. Xavier Pinson and Dru Smith both scored in double-figures, while Javon Pickett had 14 off the bench. Missouri is 5-0 with home games left against Prairie View A&M and Bradley before SEC play -- and the Tigers are a legitimate top-25 team.
Coach of the Week: Brian Dutcher, San Diego State Aztecs
What was life going to be like in the post-Malachi Flynn era? That was the question facing San Diego State entering this season -- but it turns out a program with seven NCAA tournament appearances and six conference championships since 2010 had a strong enough culture in place to not skip a beat. After winning by 12 at Arizona State on Thursday, the Aztecs own wins over the top two teams in the Pac-12's preseason poll. Dutcher has replaced Flynn -- and fellow senior starters KJ Feagin and Yanni Wetzell -- with returning reserves Aguek Arop and Trey Pulliam, while a return to health for Nathan Mensah has given San Diego State a shot-blocking and post presence it lacked last season. San Diego State was already the Mountain West favorite, but the team that started 26-0 last season will be favored in every game for the foreseeable future.
Three teams with questions
Kansas State Wildcats: I can almost guarantee that any power conference team that loses at home to a previously winless Division II team will always make it into this section. Bruce Weber's team lost to Fort Hays State by 13. Entering the game, Fort Hays State was 0-3 against D2 competition.
Memphis Tigers: I was all-in on the Tigers after their season-opening win over Saint Mary's, but they're now 4-3 after losing to a middling Auburn team. Penny Hardaway's team has sort of figured out its turnover issues, but the Tigers still can't shoot and they're not quite as stingy at the other end.
Duke Blue Devils: I addressed some of the issues plaguing Duke (and Kentucky) in a piece last week, but the Blue Devils now have fewer opportunities to work out the kinks after canceling the rest of their nonconference games. Notre Dame sent Kentucky further into the abyss on Saturday; will it do the same to Duke on Wednesday?
Power Rankings
1. Gonzaga Bulldogs (3-0)
Previous ranking: 1
This week: vs. Iowa in South Dakota (Saturday)
Gonzaga saw its showdown against Baylor two weekends ago canceled and then went on pause for a couple of weeks. The Bulldogs are expected to return to practice early this week, before facing Iowa and its juggernaut offense on Saturday in South Dakota. That might be a battle between the two most explosive offenses in college basketball. The key for Gonzaga will be how it handles Luka Garza down low. Will the Zags sell out to stop him, like North Carolina did, and allow his teammates open 3-pointers all game? Or will they let him get his and clamp down on the perimeter? On the plus side, Iowa's lineup will allow Mark Few to lean on what I've deemed his "death lineup" of Jalen Suggs, Andrew Nembhard, Joel Ayayi, Corey Kispert and Drew Timme.
2. Baylor Bears (4-0)
Previous ranking: 2
This week: at Kansas State (Saturday)
Baylor had arguably the best group of perimeter defenders last season, and the Bears likely have it again this season. But they haven't been tested like we thought they would be at this point in the season. They had to withdraw from the Empire Classic, where they would've faced Arizona State's explosive perimeter group and then perhaps Villanova. The matchup against Gonzaga's offense was postponed, as was this past weekend's game against Texas and its aggressive guards. So the one big chance we got to see Baylor's guards in action was against Illinois -- and they held Ayo Dosunmu to 6-for-18 shooting and Adam Miller to four points on 11 shots.
3. Iowa Hawkeyes (6-0)
Previous ranking: 3
This week: vs. Gonzaga (Saturday)
We'll talk about Luka Garza almost every week, so let's get him out of the way quickly. The Wooden Award favorite had one of his least productive games in a couple of years against North Carolina but still finished with 16 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks -- and then bounced back with 34 points in 17 minutes against Iowa State and 23 points and 8 rebounds in 20 minutes against Northern Illinois. But how about the boost off the bench Fran McCaffery is getting from Jack Nunge and Keegan Murray? The two versatile frontcourt pieces give the Hawkeyes a different dimension when they're in the game.
4. Houston Cougars (4-0)
Previous ranking: 4
This week: at Alabama (Saturday)
Another team on COVID-19 pause, Houston hasn't played since beating South Carolina on Dec. 5. It's worth taking a look at Quentin Grimes' season thus far, though. Word coming out of Houston before the season was that Grimes was in store for a big-time season, as it was the first time he was settled for an offseason. There was no top-10 recruit hype, no NBA draft or transfer drama, just an offseason to work. And it has paid off. Grimes isn't shooting the ball that well, but he's contributing in all facets of the game and is averaging 21.0 points and 7.3 rebounds over his past three games. With Caleb Mills and Marcus Sasser battling injuries, Grimes has stepped up.
5. Michigan State Spartans (6-0)
Previous ranking: 5
This week: at Northwestern (Sunday)
We've mentioned before about Michigan State's elite depth, something we haven't seen in a few years from Tom Izzo. The Spartans rank in the top 25 nationally in percentage of bench minutes, and they're contributing consistently so far this season. Foster Loyer has provided quality point guard minutes, while Gabe Brown scored 20 points on Sunday. Malik Hall is a versatile frontcourt piece who was terrific against Duke earlier this season, posting a double-double, and Marcus Bingham is an intriguing inside-outside center. A.J. Hoggard and Julius Marble II have also posted double-figure scoring efforts off the bench.
6. Kansas Jayhawks (6-1)
Previous ranking: 6
This week: at Texas Tech (Thursday)
For the first five games of the season, David McCormack was looking like a player Bill Self needed to start to move away from in his lineup. He was struggling to finish around the basket, and Kansas' more versatile frontcourt players made the Jayhawks significantly more dangerous on the offensive end. But McCormack finally began to make plays last week, dominating Creighton in the first half and finishing with 13 points and seven rebounds and then following that up with 11 points and 11 boards against Nebraska Omaha.
7. West Virginia Mountaineers (6-1)
Previous ranking: 7
This week: vs. Iowa State (Friday)
If West Virginia can shoot like it did against Richmond on Sunday, Bob Huggins has quite a team on his hands. The Mountaineers buried six first-half 3s and finished shooting 57.1% from behind the arc in the 87-71 win -- a margin that was even bigger before Richmond scored the final six points of the game. West Virginia led by as much as 30 points in the second half. Miles McBride was terrific on the offensive end, going for 20 points and five assists, but five guys finished in double-figures in the rout. By the way, the Mountaineers now have five top-100 KenPom wins.
8. Villanova Wildcats (5-1)
Previous ranking: 10
This week: vs. Butler (Wednesday), vs. Virginia in New York (Saturday)
There was positive buzz about Caleb Daniels during his redshirt season following his transfer from Tulane, but there are still always going to be questions about how one's game translates to Villanova's system. Thus far, the buzz has been correct. Daniels has scored at least 11 points in five of six games, including 18 points and five 3-pointers in a win at Georgetown last week. At 205 pounds, Daniels provides physicality on the perimeter and fits well with Justin Moore as two bruising wings who can make shots. He's a unique player for Jay Wright.
9. Texas Longhorns (5-1)
Previous ranking: 11
This week: vs. Sam Houston State (Wednesday), vs. Oklahoma State (Sunday)
The Longhorns missed an opportunity to face Big 12 favorite Baylor on Sunday, so Shaka Smart will get one more nonconference tuneup against Sam Houston State on Wednesday before conference play begins. Due to its experience and depth, the floor of this Texas team is fairly solid -- but it's the potential of forwards Greg Brown and Kai Jones that will determine its ceiling. Brown, a five-star prospect, had a bit of a breakout game (18 points, three 3-pointers, three blocks) against Texas State, while Jones has hit double-figures three times and has missed just five shots in six games.
10. Tennessee Volunteers (2-0)
Previous ranking: 12
This week: vs. Appalachian State (Tuesday), vs. Tennessee Tech (Friday)
We finally got to see Tennessee in action after COVID-19 pauses forced the Volunteers to delay the start of their season until Dec. 8. The biggest headline after two games? Rick Barnes has an elite defensive team. Colorado and Cincinnati combined for 103 points in two games, neither team shot better than 37.9% from 2-point range, and the two teams went 13-for-50 from behind the arc. The biggest difference from last season, besides being more experienced, should be the improved athleticism and length on the perimeter. With Kentucky struggling, this is the clear SEC favorite.
11. San Diego State Aztecs (5-0)
Previous ranking: In the waiting room
This week: vs. BYU (Friday)
In the first two and a half weeks of the season, San Diego State has already notched wins over UCLA and Arizona State, the projected top two teams in the Pac-12, with the latter coming on the road. The Aztecs' defense was suffocating against the Sun Devils, holding them to a season-low 0.94 points per possession -- despite making a season-high 13 3-pointers. And here's the crazy part: That's the most points per possession San Diego State has allowed this season. Essentially, Brian Dutcher took a team that finished No. 10 in adjusted defensive efficiency last season and added -- hopefully -- a full season of Nathan Mensah, a high-level shot-blocker and defensive rebounder.
12. Creighton Bluejays (4-1)
Previous ranking: 13
This week: vs. Marquette (Monday), at St. John's (Thursday), at UConn (Sunday)
We can't penalize Creighton too much for losing in the final seconds at Kansas last week -- especially in a game in which the Bluejays got better-than-expected looks late, but the shots just wouldn't fall. All-American guard Marcus Zegarowski shot just 5-for-14 from the field and committed five turnovers, and the team as a whole was just 9-for-27 from behind the arc. Neither of those things will happen too often. And against Nebraska on Saturday, neither thing did. Zegarowski went 5-for-7 from 3, and Creighton shot 14-for-30 from 3 as a team.
13. Florida State Seminoles (3-0)
Previous ranking: Unranked
This week: vs. Georgia Tech (Tuesday), vs. UCF (Saturday)
While Scottie Barnes was the likely headliner for the Seminoles entering the season, the emergence of M.J. Walker as a legitimate go-to guy on the offensive end has been huge for Leonard Hamilton. Walker hit multiple big shots in the win over Indiana, then did most of his damage at the free throw line against Florida, finishing 12-for-12 from the stripe. He showed this sort of scoring package at the high school level but has been mostly a complementary piece in Tallahassee. Through three games, the former five-star prospect is averaging 17.7 points and shooting 46.2% from 3.
14. Missouri Tigers (5-0)
Previous ranking: Unranked
This week: vs. Prairie View A&M (Friday)
One of the more surprising teams through the first few weeks of the season, Missouri picked up a second statement win of the season on Saturday, beating Illinois at home after knocking off Oregon in Omaha earlier in the season. What has been the most impactful change from last season for the Tigers? Their defense is pretty much on par with the past two seasons of underwhelming basketball, but the offense has been far more efficient. They're making 2-pointers at a 61.0% clip; the past two seasons, they shot 48.7% and 47.6% inside the arc.
15. Illinois Fighting Illini (4-2)
Previous ranking: 8
This week: vs. Minnesota (Tuesday), at Rutgers (Sunday)
Illinois has lost two of its past three games, with defeats to Baylor and Missouri sandwiched around a win over Duke. So what was the difference in those two losses? One, there were issues on the defensive end in both losses -- and even in the close win over Ohio the day after Thanksgiving. The Fighting Illini allowed more than one point per possession in three of their past four games. At the other end, at least in the Missouri game, the offense devolved too much into simply hoping Ayo Dosunmu would make a play. Adam Miller -- who was terrific in the opening few games -- averaged 3.0 points on a combined 3-for-17 shooting in the two losses.
16. Wisconsin Badgers (4-1)
Previous ranking: In the waiting room
This week: vs. Loyola Chicago (Tuesday)
Wisconsin saw its ACC/Big Ten Challenge game against Louisville postponed due to COVID-19 protocols but replaced the Cardinals with Rhode Island and got a bounce-back win following the buzzer loss to Marquette a couple of weeks back. After a handful of games, it's a good time to revisit the Badgers' 3-point shooting. The biggest reason for their hot finish to last season was shooting 41% from 3-point range over their final eight games. Was that going to be sustainable? Thus far, they're at 37.0%, which is good enough for 70th in the country.
Dropped out: Virginia Tech (No. 9), North Carolina (No. 14), Duke (No. 15), Richmond (No. 16)
In the waiting room
Louisville Cardinals: The Cardinals haven't played since beating Western Kentucky on Dec. 1, and their ACC opener against NC State scheduled for Wednesday has also been postponed. Freshman Dre Davis was looking like a surprise newcomer before the COVID-19 pause.
Clemson Tigers: Brad Brownell might have one of the best defensive teams in the country this season. The Tigers have allowed only one of their first five opponents to score more than 56 points, and that came in an 11-point win against Purdue.
Virginia Tech Hokies: So maybe we overreacted to the Hokies' win over Villanova earlier this season. Tech got steamrollered by Penn State in Blacksburg last week by 20 points. The Hokies do have a chance to bounce back this week at home against Clemson.