Florida Atlantic surges, blue bloods move up in latest men's basketball Power 36 rankings

Some Christmas-time chaos caused the biggest movement in krikya18.com correspondent Andy Katz's Power 36 rankings, as FAU outlasted Arizona in Las Vegas and moved up 12 places. 

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Check out how the entire college basketball landscape comes together for the final Power 36 reveal of 2023:

1. Purdue (1): Holding steady for two weeks in a row. 
2. Kansas (2): The Jayhawks have a few All-Americans in their starting lineup. 
3. Houston (5): The Cougars are putting together a No. 1 seed resume. 
4. Kentucky (8): The Wildcats are back to being the team to beat in the SEC.
5. North Carolina (10): The Tar Heels and RJ Davis are playing their best basketball of the season after taking down Oklahoma. 
6. UConn (3): The Huskies are without Donovan Clingan but survived against St. John’s to split the Big East week. 
7. Marquette (6): The Golden Eagles played their worst game of the season in the loss at Providence. 
8. Memphis (14): The Tigers just keep winning, including an easy win over Virginia. Penny Hardaway has his best chance for a Final Four run. 
9. Oklahoma (7): The Sooners suffered their first loss of the season, to UNC in Charlotte. 
10. Florida Atlantic (22): The Owls are back in the top 10 after the double OT thriller over Arizona in Las Vegas. 
11. Arizona (4): The Wildcats have challenged themselves more than any other team and split the week with a win over Alabama before the loss to FAU. 
12. Duke (17): The Blue Devils took care of Baylor in Cameron North at MSG. 
13. Tennessee (11): The Vols have cured their late November/early December issues. 
14. Illinois (12): The Illini got the win over struggling Missouri. 
15. Auburn (16): The Tigers are rolling this month. 
16. Wisconsin (18): The Badgers haven’t slipped one bit since the Arizona loss. 
17. Clemson (15): The Tigers are going to be in the thick of the ACC race. 
18. Ole Miss (13): I know the Rebels are undefeated, but the schedule hasn’t been as strong as the teams ahead of them. 
19. Villanova (NR): The Wildcats continue to have a wild season with plenty of swings. The latest is a few road Big East wins, including at Creighton. 
20. Creighton (9): Big drop for the Bluejays. They need to figure out how to win close games. 
21. Colorado State (19): The Rams are waiting for the next test to come in the MWC.
22. Colorado (20): The Buffs remain the second-best team in the Pac-12. 
23. Ohio State (23): The Buckeyes are going to be a threat near the top of the Big Ten. 
24. Arkansas (24): Still think the Hogs are in the SEC title chase. 
25. Providence (NR): The Friars had a monster week with the wins over Marquette and Butler at home. 
26. Nebraska (25): The Huskers are now dealing with injury issues, but I’m still driving this bus. 
27. James Madison (21): I can hear the argument about dropping them without a loss. But the competition/wins of those teams above is too good to ignore. 
28. Michigan State (26): The Spartans continue to just win. The next test against Indiana State will be a good barometer.
29. New Mexico (32): The Lobos continue to win and are entering the holidays with one loss with 10 wins in a row.
30. Texas (28): The Longhorns are one of the more intriguing teams in these rankings. The ceiling is very high. 
31. Baylor (29): Still think the Bears will be in the thick of the Big 12 race, but the losses to MSU and Duke stung. 
32. South Carolina (29): The Gamecocks are holding their spot in the rankings with only one loss. 
33. Utah (30): The Utes may be the third-best Pac-12 team. 
34. BYU (33): The Cougars are primed for their Big 12 debut. 
35. Northwestern (NR): The Wildcats are back in with a dominating win over Arizona State in Phoenix.  
36. Grand Canyon (35): The Lopes have won seven in a row. 

🦉 FAU STUNS No. 4 ARIZONA: How the Owls came out ahead in one of the best games of the year

March Madness Team of the Week

Florida Atlantic: The Owls beat Arizona in an epic contest, 96-95 in double overtime in Las Vegas. Johnell Davis scored 35 points and grabbed nine boards in the win. FAU enters the holiday break at 10-2 with the only losses to Illinois in New York and an outlier in Bryant at home. The Owls have wins over Butler, Texas A&M and Virginia Tech in Orlando and over Charleston and St. Bonaventure. FAU has proven it could make another deep March run.

March Madness Player of the Week 

David Jones, Memphis: Jones scored 26 in a 23-point win over Virginia and then 28 in a two-point win over Vanderbilt for the 10-2 Tigers. The 6-6 senior is averaging 20 points and six boards for Memphis. Jones is flourishing in his third spot with his scoring averages nearly rising each season at DePaul to St. John’s to Memphis going from 5 to 14 to 13 to 20 points a game.

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Top 10 games to watch for the week of Dec. 25

1. San Diego State at Gonzaga, Friday: The Aztecs are no longer a lock to win the MWC with the play of Colorado State, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah State. They haven’t been 100 percent healthy and a road win over the Zags would go a long way toward beefing up the resume. The Zags could use some momentum going into the WCC. They have one more big-time non-conference game — at Kentucky this winter. 

2. Creighton at Marquette, Saturday: The Bluejays lost a home game to Villanova, adding to the importance of this road game in Milwaukee. This should be a high-scoring affair. 

3. Washington at Colorado, Friday: The Buffaloes appear to be the second-best team in the Pac-12. Washington’s win over the Zags has helped them build a possible NCAA resume. A road win in Boulder would boost it even more. 

4. Wichita State vs Kansas, Saturday, Kansas City: Love that they are playing this in-state game and the T-Mobile Center should be rocking with the two passionate fan bases. 

5. USC at Oregon, Thursday: These two teams were NCAA tournament projected teams in the preseason but haven’t performed at that level yet. This would help. 

6. Pitt at Syracuse, Saturday: The Orange have found a rhythm and are on a path to a possible bid. The Panthers have the goods to do the same and this game could be telling for both teams. 

7. Ohio State vs West Virginia, Saturday, Cleveland: Kerr Kriisa is eligible and playing for the Mountaineers, setting up a good matchup with Bruce Thornton. The Buckeyes have met the moment in the non-conference all but once this season. 

8. Indiana State at Michigan State, Saturday: The Sycamores entered the holiday week at 11-1 and are a threat to win the Valley. This will be another major test for the Spartans, who can’t afford many more slip-ups. 

9. Washington at Utah, Sunday: The Huskies should know a lot more about their team by the end of this week. The Utes should also be considered a possible NCAA team and a sweep of the Washington schools would help. 

10. Virginia Tech at Wake Forest, Saturday: Both teams have a chance to be on the bubble come March. Games like this could be difference makers.