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Why wait until Monday morning for new power rankings? That's our mindset for this college basketball season – a season that promises to be a success. So we're going to put on new power rankings every day the results require it.
Kansas and Kentucky battled for our preseason No. 1 spot, and while Kansas lived up to the hype on the season, the same can not be said for Kentucky, which was obliterated by Duke. We usually do not move teams to No. 1 or No. 1, but the Blue Devils' beatdown of Kentucky was scary. We knew Duke had the highest ceiling of any team in the country going into the season. Right now, they're the best team in college basketball.
Meanwhile, John Calipari came into the campaign with his group, but it's still there, especially on the defensive end. Calipari will have to figure out his rotations and optimal lineups, because nothing seemed to work on Tuesday.
1. Duke Blue Devils (1-0)
This week: Beat Kentucky 118-84; Next game: vs. Army (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Yeah, they're good. Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of the freshman clbad was their shooting. Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish and RJ Barrett combined to shoot 7-for-16 from 3-point range.
2. Kansas Jayhawks (1-0)
This week: Beat Michigan State 92-87
The biggest subplot coming out of Kansas' win was the use of Udoka Azubuike. Bill Self said Azubuike is the team's No.1 option – goal teams are still fouling him late in games.
3. Gonzaga Bulldogs (1-0)
This week: Beat Idaho State 120-97. Next game: vs. Texas Southern (Saturday, 10 p.m. ET)
While Gonzaga casually dropped 120 points on Idaho State in the Pacific Northwest. Rui Hachimura had 33 points.
4. Nevada Wolf Pack (1-0)
This week: Beat BYU 86-70. Next game: vs. Pacific (Friday, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN3)
Nevada's depth was on full display on Tuesday night, as Caleb and Cody Martin struggled to score – Jordan Caroline dominated early.
5. Virginia Cavaliers (1-0)
This week: Beat Towson 73-42. Next game: George Washington (Sunday, 2 p.m. ET, ACC Network)
Virginia sees the biggest jump of the preseason rankings, since the initial rankings came out before Braxton Key received a waiver to play immediately.
6. North Carolina Tar Heels (1-0)
This week: Beat Wofford 78-67. Next game: vs. Elon (Friday, 7 p.m., ESPNU)
Full credit to Roy Williams for starting the season by going to Wofford and going to Elon. More elite teams need to play road games early, especially against mid-majors.
7. Auburn Tigers (1-0)
This week: Beat South Alabama 101-58. Next game: vs. Washington (Friday, 9:30 pm ET)
The Tigers are still working in progress, given the various suspensions and injuries. But if they make 18 3-pointers like they did against South Alabama, they'll be fine.
8. Tennessee Volunteers (1-0)
This week: Beat Lenoir Rhyne 86-41. Next game: vs. Louisiana (Friday, 9:30 pm SEC Network)
Another balanced effort for Tennessee, which had five players in double-figures, but no more than 18 points.
10. Kentucky Wildcats (0-1)
This week: Lost to Duke 118-84. Next game: vs. Southern Illinois (Friday, 7 p.m., SEC Network)
So they're clearly not expected – yet. Defense is the biggest issue, as they were completely run by Duke's freshmen scorers.
11. Oregon Ducks (1-0)
This week: Beat Portland State 84-57. Next game: vs. Eastern Washington (Friday, 9 p.m. ET)
We will not see how good Oregon really is until the Ducks get fully healthy, which may not be until December.
12. Syracuse Orange (1-0)
This week: Beat Eastern Washington 66-34. Next game: vs. Morehead State (Saturday, 7 p.m., ACC Network)
Like Oregon, the Orange is dealing with short-term injuries – but their defense was more than enough on Tuesday, holding Eastern Washington to 34 points.
13. Virginia Tech Hokies (0-0)
This week: vs. Gardner Webb (Friday, 7 p.m. ET, ACC Network)
The Hokies Chris Clarke, who is suspended indefinitely.
14. Kansas State Wildcats (0-0)
This week: vs. Kennesaw State (Friday, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN3)
Bruce Weber's team might be a stiff competition in the Big 12, but it seems like a fairly wide gap at this point.
15. Michigan State Spartans (0-1)
This week: Lost to Kansas 92-87. Next game: vs. Florida Gulf Coast (Sunday, 6 p.m. ET)
The Spartans are clearly behind Kansas in terms of their development, which is understandable. One bright spot was Kenny Goins, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds.
16. Florida State Seminoles (1-0)
This week: Beat Florida 81-60. Next game: vs. Tulane (Sunday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN3)
Leonard Hamilton's Seminoles move up from No. 19 to No. 16 after dominating Florida by 21 points – without Phil Cofer, who is out another five or six weeks.
Dropped out: LSU
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