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Andy Katz | krikya18.com Correspondent | November 22, 2021

Purdue climbs into the top 5 of Andy Katz's latest Power 36 men's basketball rankings

College basketball rankings: Purdue rises in Power 36 after big week

Here is March Madness correspondent Andy Katz's latest men's basketball Power 36 rankings, which reflect games played through Sunday, Nov. 21.

  1. UCLA (1): The Bruins are taking care of business, beating the teams they are supposed to beat en route to the showdown with Gonzaga on Tuesday night.
  2. Gonzaga (2): The Zags are doing the same. The showdown is set for the AP No. 1 team (Gonzaga) vs. No. 2 (UCLA). The same two teams in our rankings but in a different order. 
  3. Kansas (3): The Jayhawks aren’t slipping and neither is Ochai Agbaji as he continues to produce. 
  4. Purdue (6): The Boilermakers were named my Team of the Week after knocking off North Carolina and Villanova to win the Hall of Fame Classic at the Mohegan Sun.
  5. Duke (5): The Blue Devils are getting production from Wendell Moore Jr., the kind of veteran help that will help them compete for a title.
  6. Villanova (4): Yes, I know the Wildcats have lost two games. But both losses were late to two top-5 teams. The Wildcats deserve to be a top-10 team. They are still too good to drop.
  7. Baylor (10): LJ Cryer has been stuffing the stat sheet for the reigning champs, who are playing extremely well early.
  8. Kentucky (9): The Wildcats have one loss — to Duke — and are getting dominant play from Oscar Tshiebwe on the backboard.
  9. Houston (15): The Cougars dominated Virginia at home. Marcus Sasser is playing like a conference player of the year candidate.
  10. Memphis (11): Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren haven’t disappointed so far — at all.
  11. Seton Hall (32): The Pirates get the biggest jump of any team in the Power 36 after winning at Michigan.
  12. BYU (28): The Cougars had the second-best win of the season, behind Seton Hall's win over Michigan, with the crushing victory over Oregon in Portland. Alex Barcello is a lock to be a first-team all-WCC pick and he will compete for conference player of the year honors.
  13. Arizona (NR): The Wildcats were as impressive as any team in the past week with a dominating tournament win in Las Vegas, capped off by a dismantling of Michigan.
  14. Illinois (8): The Illini get Kofi Cockburn back for Monday’s game against Cincinnati in Kansas City. That should push the Illini higher in a week.
  15. St. Bonaventure (25): The Bonnies took home the Charleston Classic title by knocking off Marquette. The Bonnies have the look of a team that can make a deep run March team.
  16. Tennessee (20): The Vols lost to Purdue but then turned around and blew out North Carolina in the third place game at the Mohegan Sun.
  17. Alabama (14): The Tide drop a few spots only because it hasn’t played the tougher part of its schedule yet as opposed to the teams above them.
  18. UConn (21): The Huskies have the potential to be a top 10 to 15 team once Jordan Hawkins gets even more involved. They head to the Battle 4 Atlantis with plenty of momentum.
  19. Auburn (18): The Tigers had a shaky game at USF but they still pulled out the win in advance of Atlantis matchup with the Huskies.
  20. Florida (19): The Gators are getting solid post play out of Colin Castleton, which will help them stay near the top of the SEC.
  21. Texas (12): The Longhorns are figuring out who they are in these first few weeks. They will be in the top 10 again this season.
  22. Xavier (36): The Musketeers had a win that will have long-lasting shelf life on campus and this season after beating Ohio State at home.
  23. Indiana (30): The Hoosiers passed their first test by knocking off St. John’s at home before a rocking Assembly Hall.
  24. USC (23): The Trojans have the two true road wins. They are looking like the second-best team in the Pac-12 right now.
  25. Arkansas (16): The Hogs will find out where they stand nationally this week in Kansas City, especially if they meet Illinois on Tuesday.
  26. Virginia Tech (26): The Hokies are going to challenge for the top of the ACC.
  27. Ohio State (22): The Buckeyes lost a late-possession game at Xavier. No shame in that.
  28. Michigan State (29): The Spartans got the road win they needed at Butler to start to build the necessary momentum.
  29. Colorado State (31): Remember the name David Roddy. He’s a stud. The Rams beat back Creighton in the Paradise Jam Sunday behind Roddy’s 36 points.
  30. Washington State (34): The Cougars are the one preseason Pac-12 bubble team that hasn’t faltered yet.
  31. Marquette (NR): The Golden Eagles had quite a week, beating Illinois at home in the Gavitt Games, knocking off West Virginia and then falling to the Bonnies in the Charleston Classic title.
  32. Providence (NR): The Friars were impressive in a road win at Wisconsin.
  33. Loyola Chicago (35): The Ramblers will end up being one of the toughest outs this week in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
  34. Texas Tech (NR): The Red Raiders will probably start to climb higher now that Terrence Shannon was cleared to rejoin the team.
  35. Florida State (NR): The Seminoles have gotten back to locking teams down since the second-half collapse in Gainesville.
  36. San Francisco (NR): San Francisco is a sleeper team in the WCC that's off to a 5-0 start with wins over Davidson and Nevada.

Dropped out: Michigan (7), Oregon (13), Maryland (17), North Carolina (24), Syracuse (27), Rutgers (33)

Also under consideration: DePaul, Drake, Chattanooga, Mississippi State, LSU

UPSET ALERT: How Marquette rallied to surprise No. 11 Illinois

Player of the week

Kyle Lofton, St. Bonaventure: The senior guard led the Bonnies to the Charleston Classic title with wins over Boise State, Clemson and Marquette. Lofton scored 17, 22 and 12 points, respectively, and was the leader the Bonnies were banking on heading into this season.

Team of the Week

Purdue: The Boilermakers won the Hall of Fame tournament at the Mohegan Sun with wins over North Carolina and Villanova, with the latter being a comeback win. Purdue has so many winning pieces, led by Jaden Ivey on the perimeter and the tandem of Trevion Williams and Zach Edey inside. The experience of Sasha Stefanovic has come in handy so far this season with his timely shooting. The Boilermakers ended a rough week for the Big Ten, which lost the Gavitt Games to the Big East for the first time.

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