15. Wisconsin
Record: 9-2
Last week’s ranking: 14th
AP ranking: 16th
Coaches’ poll ranking: 14th
Games last week: W 78-44 vs. Idaho State, W 93-84 at Marquette
Games this week: vs. Green Bay (12/14)
Breakdown: Nigel Hayes has continued his run of strong play, finishing with 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals in Wisconsin’s win over in-state rival Marquette Saturday. Hayes struggled early on, due in large part to not being as much of a playmaker as he’s capable of being. When Hayes is at his best he’s creating not only for himself but for his teammates as well, and Wisconsin’s offense moves more smoothly as a result. Bronson Koenig and Ethan Happ have both played well, but how far the Badgers ultimately go will depend largely upon the play of Hayes.
14. Butler
Record: 9-1
Last week’s ranking: 11th
AP ranking: 18th
Coaches’ poll ranking: 18th
Games last week: L 72-71 at Indiana State, W 75-65 vs. Cincinnati
Games this week: vs. Indiana (12/17 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis)
Breakdown: Chris Holtmann’s team suffered its first loss of the season last week, with a Bryson Scott free throw being the deciding play. Butler rebounded with a ten-point win over Cincinnati, adding a quality win to its credentials with another opportunity coming up as they face Indiana in the Crossroads Classic. Forwards Kelan Martin and Andrew Chrabascz have led the way for the Bulldogs, with point guard Tyler Lewis distributing the ball well and players such as Kamar Baldwin stepping forward as well. In Saturday’s win over Cincinnati, Martin scored 20 points off the bench to make the difference.
13. Virginia
Record: 8-1
Last week’s ranking: 14th
AP ranking: 13th
Coaches’ poll ranking: 12th
Games last week: W 76-53 vs. East Carolina
Games this week: vs. Robert Morris (12/17)
Breakdown: The Cavaliers have played just once since their loss to West Virginia on December 3, beating East Carolina by 23 Tuesday night. Freshman guard Kyle Guy led five double-figure scorers with 13 points in the win over ECU, and defensively the Cavaliers limited the Pirates to 8-for-26 shooting inside the three-point line. Virginia’s ranked 11th in adjusted offensive efficiency and second in adjusted defensive efficiency per KenPom.com, remaining successful despite not having a clear number one scoring option. But given how efficient Tony Bennett’s team can be on that end of the floor, do they truly need a marquee scorer?
12. West Virginia
West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins giving guard Tarik Phillip some instructions during last month’s NIT Season Tipoff (Getty)
Record: 8-1
Last week’s ranking: 13th
AP ranking: 12th
Coaches’ poll ranking: 13th
Games last week: W 90-37 vs. Western Carolina, W 90-55 vs. VMI
Games this week: vs. UMKC (12/17)
Breakdown: The Mountaineers are currently on a four-game win streak, with the win at Virginia being sandwiched in between three wins against overmatched opponents. That’s essentially how the remainder of non-conference play will go for Bob Huggins’ team, with UMKC, Radford and Northern Kentucky being the opponents before West Virginia opens Big 12 play at Oklahoma State on December 30. With their “Press Virginia” system WVU is forcing a turnover on 34.7 percent of its opponents’ possessions, a number that ranks first nationally. The win over Virginia showed that Nathan Adrian, Esa Ahmad and company can win a half-court style of game, as that isn’t something they’ve been asked to do very often this season.
11. Louisville
Record: 9-1
Last week’s ranking:12th
AP ranking: 11th
Coaches’ poll ranking: 11th
Games last week: W 74-51 vs. Southern Illinois, W 102-71 vs. Texas Southern
Games this week: vs. Eastern Kentucky (12/17)
Breakdown: Since losing to Baylor in the title game of the Battle 4 Atlantis the Cardinals have won four straight games, with their best win coming against Purdue in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Louisville won’t be test again until they face in-state rival Kentucky December 21, and through their first ten games the Cardinals are ranked first nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency. Louisville isn’t forcing turnovers at a particularly high rate, but what they have managed to do is force their opponents to make tough shots as they rank seventh in effective field goal percentage defense. Freshman V.J. King led a balanced offensive effort Saturday with 18 points off the bench, and in total six Cardinals scored in double figures. That’s how Louisville will get things done offensively, and that’s not a bad formula to use given the number of skilled options on Rick Pitino’s roster.
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