College Basketball Power Rankings: Oklahoma, Illinois use big wins to vault into top 12
Oklahoma beat Texas in a thriller and defeated a red-hot Alabama team to rocket up the Power Rankings.

























Oklahoma beat Texas in a thriller and defeated a red-hot Alabama team to rocket up the Power Rankings.
— Marcus Zegarowski scored 19 points and No. 17 Creighton beat DePaul 69-62 on Saturday night.
— Mitch Ballock hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 41 seconds to play to cap a season-high 29-point performance and No. 17 Creighton overcame a 16-point second-half deficit to beat Seton Hall 85-81 on Wednesday night.
Houston, Alabama, Virginia and Florida State are climbing the rankings, but Gonzaga and Baylor are still in another echelon.
— Denzel Mahoney scored 20 points and 11th-ranked Creighton broke open a close game in the last 10 minutes to beat No. 23 Connecticut 74-66 Saturday.
— Nate Watson scored a career-high 29 points and Providence turned back Creighton each time it pulled close to beat the 11th-ranked Bluejays 74-70 on Wednesday night.
Gonzaga and Baylor are in their own tiers atop men's college basketball. Everyone else, it seems, is fighting for No. 3.
— Aaron Thompson scored 17 points and found Bryce Nze for the go-ahead layup with 68 seconds left in overtime Saturday to complete a remarkable second-half comeback with a 70-66 upset of No. 8 Creighton.
Juwan Howard and the Wolverines are carrying the banner for the rugged Big Ten, while USC and UCLA had big weeks out west.
— Damien Jefferson scored 16 of his season-high 19 points in the first half and No. 7 Creighton got off to a fast start on its way to an 89-53 victory over Seton Hall on Wednesday night.
Texas handed Kansas a historic loss at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday. What kind of leap does the Longhorns' blowout merit?
— Christian Bishop had a go-ahead dunk with 0.8 seconds left and the 11th-ranked Creighton Bluejays held off a late rally to beat the Providence Friars 67-65 on Saturday.
Iowa and Michigan State are struggling. Northwestern and Minnesota are ascending. Will the new Big Ten balance of power hold?
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Villanova | 6-0 | - | 11-1 |
| Creighton | 9-3 | - | 13-4 |
| Xavier | 4-2 | 2 | 11-2 |
| UConn | 5-3 | 2 | 8-3 |
| Seton Hall | 6-5 | 2.5 | 9-8 |
| St. John's | 5-6 | 3.5 | 11-7 |
| Providence | 5-6 | 3.5 | 9-8 |
| Marquette | 4-7 | 4.5 | 8-9 |
| Butler | 4-7 | 4.5 | 5-9 |
| Georgetown | 2-5 | 4.5 | 4-8 |
| DePaul | 1-7 | 6 | 3-7 |
| AP | COACHES |
|---|---|
| 15 | 14 |
| NAME | POS | STATUS | GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
| TyTy Washington | PG | Committed | 86 |
| Mason Miller | PF | Committed | 82 |
| Ryan Nembhard | PG | Signed | 81 |
| John Christofilis | SG | Signed | 77 |
| Final Fours | 0 |
| Tournament Record | 12-22 |
| Championship Seasons | None |
| Tournament Appearances | 21 |