FAU, Arizona plummet in latest men's basketball Power 36

Florida Atlantic and Arizona were both plagued by dreaded winter-break upsets this holiday season, plummeting in krikya18.com correspondent Andy Katz's latest Power 36 rankings after unsightly losses to Florida Gulf Coast and Stanford respectively.

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Check out how the entire college basketball landscape comes together for the first Power 36 reveal of the new year:

1. Purdue (1): The Boilermakers restart the Big Ten this week at 1-1, ready to win the title again. 
2. Kansas (2): The Jayhawks are the team to beat in the Big 12 and Hunter Dickinson is coming off a 22/13 performance in a win over Wichita State. 
3. Houston (3): The Cougars will be the toughest challenger to Kansas in the Big 12. 
4. Kentucky (4): The Wildcats have emerged as the team to beat in the SEC.
5. North Carolina (5): RJ Davis has entered the ACC player of the year discussion after his 20-point, 10-board and five-steal game against Charleston Southern. 
6. UConn (6): The Huskies are still the team to beat in the Big East, despite the loss at Seton Hall and the temporary absence of Donovan Clingan. 
7. Marquette (7): The Golden Eagles have now won two Big East games in a row since losing to Providence, including dispatching Creighton.
8. Memphis (8): The Tigers are rolling into the American as a legit Final Four contender.
9. Oklahoma (9): The Sooners are heading into the Big 12 at 12-1 and a legit top-three contender in the league.
10. Duke (12): Jared McCain is leading the young Blue Devils into the re-start of the ACC. 
11. Tennessee (13): The Vols seemed to have found their groove again and were ready to live up to the preseason hype. 
12. Auburn (15): Bruce Pearl seems to have the Tigers’ offense clicking like it did when they went to the Final Four in 2019.
13. Wisconsin (16): The Badgers are ready to assume the role of Purdue challenger with Illinois suspending its best player in Terrence Shannon Jr.
14. Clemson (17): The Tigers have a showdown with North Carolina to re-start the ACC.
15. Ole Miss (18): Chris Beard has the Rebels undefeated in his first season heading into the SEC. 
16. Villanova (19): The Wildcats will have an odd resume come March, but it will be filled with enough quad-one wins and earn Kyle Neptune a bid and ultimately a decent seed. 
17. Colorado State (21): The Rams have a showdown with New Mexico to tip off the loaded Mountain West. 
18. Colorado (22): The Buffaloes got a weekend sweep of the Washington schools behind our March Madness player of the week KJ Simpson. 
19. Illinois (14): The Illini beat FDU without suspended Terrence Shannon Jr., but the re-start of the Big Ten will prove the real test.  
20. Michigan State (28): The Spartans are back in the top 25 after a win over Indiana State that will have lasting value. 
21. Ohio State (23): The Buckeyes have one of the best backcourts in the country with Bruce Thornton and Roddy Gayle leading them. 
22. Arkansas (24): The Hogs have won three in a row since the loss to Oklahoma and are primed for a decent run in the SEC.
23. Providence (25): The Friars survived against Butler and are off to a great start under Kim English. 
24. San Diego State (NR): Welcome back Aztecs. The steady climb continues after knocking off Gonzaga in Spokane. They have rebounded quite well since the road loss at Grand Canyon. 
25. Nebraska (26): The Huskers are off to an 11-2 start and get back into the Big Ten against Indiana this week. 
26. New Mexico (29): The Lobos head to Fort Collins with a stellar 12-1 mark. 
27. Baylor (29): The real Baylor will likely emerge in the Big 12 after a few stumbles pre-Christmas. 
28. James Madison (27): The Dukes have won 13 in a row to start the season. 
29. FAU (10): Not sure what to make of the Owls. FAU knocked off Arizona in thrilling fashion in Las Vegas, only to lose to Florida Gulf Coast. They’ve also lost to Bryant. 
30. Arizona (11): The Wildcats have now lost three of their last five after falling at Stanford Sunday. Hard to figure them out, scoring 100 points at Cal and giving up 100 at Stanford.
31. Texas (30): The Longhorns have quite the backcourt with Max Abmas and Tyrese Hunter that will cause problems in the Big 12. 
32. Utah (33): The Utes are looking like the third-best team in the Pac-12 after the sweep of the Washington schools. 
33. BYU (34): The Cougars have won four in a row since the loss at Utah as they head into their first Big 12 game.  
34. South Carolina (32): The Gamecocks are 12-1 heading into the SEC opener against Mississippi State. 
35. Northwestern (35): The Wildcats will learn a lot about their Big Ten top three chances against a depleted Illinois on Tuesday. The Wildcats still own the only win over Purdue this season. 
36. Nevada (NR): The Wolf Pack are 13-1, winners of the Diamond Head Classic and a legit title contender in the MWC.

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March Madness Team of the Week

San Diego State: The Aztecs got the win they needed heading into a highly competitive and NCAA Tournament-bid-heavy Mountain West. San Diego State beat Gonzaga at the Kennel in Spokane, 84-74. Reese Waters (22) and Jaedon LeDee (20) were the 1-2 punch to knockout the Zags. San Diego State has won four in a row after their stunning defeat at Grand Canyon. The Aztecs enter the MWC with an 11-2 record, The road win at Gonzaga was much needed after road losses to BYU and GCU. The MWC will still go through San Diego even though Colorado State, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah State are all playing well enough to win the league. 

March Madness Player of the Week 

KJ Simpson, Colorado: Simpson led Colorado to a weekend sweep of Washington and Washington State to clearly establish the Buffaloes as one of the top two teams in the Pac-12. The 6'2" junior guard scored 21 points and grabbed 10 boards and seven assists with three steals and just one turnover in the 73-69 win over Washington. He followed that up with a 34-point, two-rebound, two-assist and one-steal performance in a 74-67 win over Washington State. The 11-2 Buffaloes are rolling into the Thursday showdown at Arizona. 

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Top 10 games to watch for the week of Jan. 1

1. North Carolina at Clemson, Saturday: The Tar Heels and Tigers are two of the top four teams in the ACC. This game could matter in March for breaking a potential log jam atop the conference heading into the ACC tournament. 
2. New Mexico at Colorado State, Tuesday: The Lobos and Rams are legit Mountain West title contenders with two of the best backcourts in the West. 
3. Ole Miss at Tennessee, Saturday: Who had this as a big game the first week of January? No one outside of Oxford. This is a pretender/contender game for the Rebels. We know what to expect from the Vols. 
4. Kentucky at Florida, Saturday: The Gators are playing like an NCAA Tournament team, but they need a significant win. This would qualify. 
5. Auburn at Arkansas, Saturday: This will be a high-flying, highly entertaining game between of the SEC title contenders. The SEC is proving to be very, very deep. 
6. Colorado at Arizona, Thursday: The clear favorite in the Pac-12 is Arizona. The second-best team in the league appears to be the Buffaloes. Let’s see if they can rise to the challenge. 
7. UConn at Butler, Friday: The Bulldogs had Providence beat but couldn’t close them out on the road. This is the Bulldogs’ chance to get a season-changing win. 
8. Purdue at Maryland, Tuesday: The No. 1 Boilermakers lost a year ago at Maryland. The Terps aren’t the same team but they seem to have shed their early-season woes. This would alter the narrative for Maryland if the Terps could pull off the upset. 
9. Northwestern at Illinois, Tuesday: The Wildcats have bounced back after the Chicago State debacle. Illinois beat FDU without Terrence Shannon Jr., but this will be more of a barometer of where this team stands without their suspended star. 
10. Marquette at Seton Hall, Saturday: The Pirates beat UConn. If they beat the Golden Eagles, too, then it will be time to seriously track them this winter.