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Week 1 College Basketball Power Rankings
By Josh Herwitt Posted: 12 hours ago
The preseason hype is over and now it's time to let the 2009-10 campaign unfold as we enter the first month of the new season. While some teams have only played one game up to this point, there's been enough action to shake up our Power Rankings. And though Mississippi State has been the only ranked team to fall in the first two weeks of the season, there's sure to be more close calls and upsets in the coming weeks ahead.
| CBK Power Rankings Week Of 11/18/2009 | |||||
| Rk | Team | Last Wk | Rise/Fall | High/Low | Comment |
| 1 |  Kansas |
1 | - | 1/1 | The Jayhawks were lucky to escape vs. Memphis, but if freshman wing Xavier Henry can score like he did against Hofstra (27 points), they'll be tough to beat in any environment. Team: Home | Stats |
| 2 |  Texas |
4 | (+2) | 2/4 | As they showed against UC Irvine, the Longhorns' inside tandem of Damion James and Dexter Pittman will give opponents nightmares from November to March. Team: Home | Stats |
| 3 |  Michigan State |
3 | - | 3/3 | After a stellar NCAA tournament last season, junior point guard Kalin Lucas appears to be picking up where he left off after willing the Spartans to a tough win over Gonzaga. Team: Home | Stats |
| 4 |  Villanova |
6 | (+2) | 4/6 | While Jay Wright continues to work on developing his frontcourt, the Wildcats' vaunted backcourt will be counted on to win games in the early going. Team: Home | Stats |
| 5 |  Purdue |
7 | (+2) | 5/7 | Robbie Hummel's back is healthy again, and that means Matt Painter's Boilermakers should be fighting for Big Ten supremacy with Michigan State. Team: Home | Stats |
| 6 |  Kentucky |
2 | (-4) | 2/6 | John Wall's heroics may have saved the 'Cats from another early-season embarrassment, but it's clear that John Calipari's team has yet to find its identity. Team: Home | Stats |
| 7 |  West Virginia |
8 | (+1) | 7/8 | Da'Sean Butler showed against Loyola (Md.) why he'll be playing in the NBA next year, and just wait until the Mountaineers get Devin Ebanks back in the lineup. Team: Home | Stats |
| 8 |  North Carolina |
5 | (-3) | 5/8 | The Tar Heels may be 3-0, but UNC's apparent perimeter problems were on display in a too-close-for-comfort win over Valpo last weekend. Team: Home | Stats |
| 9 |  Washington |
11 | (+2) | 9/11 | With the Huskies rather thin up front, Quincy Pondexter's strong start (18.5 ppg in two games) should bode well for Lorenzo Romar later in the season. Team: Home | Stats |
| 10 |  Ohio State |
14 | (+4) | 10/14 | Looks like Evan Turner isn't having any trouble adjusting to the point guard position. Team: Home | Stats |
| 11 |  Tennessee |
10 | (-1) | 10/11 | With the way the Volunteers are putting up points, opposing teams better be ready for a track meet this year. Team: Home | Stats |
| 12 |  Connecticut |
13 | (+1) | 12/13 | Jim Calhoun is sure glad Jerome Dyson came back to Storrs after the Huskies' latest scare against Hofstra. Team: Home | Stats |
| 13 |  Duke |
12 | (-1) | 12/13 | The Blue Devils look like a totally different team with junior guard Nolan Smith back in the starting lineup. Team: Home | Stats |
| 14 |  California |
9 | (-5) | 9/14 | The Pac-10 favorite got a quick reality check in its season opener against Murray State. We'll see if the Bears learn from it this week in the Big Apple. Team: Home | Stats |
| 15 |  Butler |
15 | - | 15/15 | Gordon Hayward is quickly making a name for himself after the Bulldogs fended off Davidson in their season opener. Team: Home | Stats |
| 16 |  Georgia Tech |
16 | - | 16/16 | We'll see if highly touted freshman Derrick Favors explodes in the coming weeks after a middling 10-point, eight-rebound performance in a win over Florida A&M. Team: Home | Stats |
| 17 |  Illinois |
17 | - | 17/17 | The Fighting Illini haven't missed a beat with true freshmen D.J. Richardson and Brandon Paul leading the charge. Team: Home | Stats |
| 18 |  Oklahoma |
18 | - | 18/18 | We knew Willie Warren could score, but his 11 assists against Mount St. Mary's would make any coach, particularly Jeff Capel, smile. Team: Home | Stats |
| 19 |  Michigan |
19 | - | 19/19 | Manny Harris just proved to NBA scouts that he can do a lot more than just score after his triple-double in the Wolverines' season-opening win. Team: Home | Stats |
| 20 |  Georgetown |
20 | - | 20/20 | Thanks to sophomore big man Greg Monroe and his clutch play vs. Temple, the Hoyas are holding a spot in the power rankings for another week. Team: Home | Stats |
| 21 |  Minnesota |
21 | - | 21/21 | With freshman Rodney Williams getting into the fold early on, Tubby Smith will have a team that has the weapons to push Big Ten rivals Michigan State and Purdue. Team: Home | Stats |
| 22 |  Vanderbilt |
22 | - | 22/22 | The Commodores won't shoot 64.3 percent from the field like they did against Lipscomb, but they'll be a player in this year's SEC race. Team: Home | Stats |
| 23 |  Siena |
23 | - | 23/23 | Edwin Ubiles made sure the Saints prevailed in a dogfight with pesky Northeastern, and he'll be a big reason why Fran McCaffery's team will be dancing again in March. Team: Home | Stats |
| 24 |  Dayton |
24 | - | 24/24 | The Chris Johnson-Chris Wright connection helped the Flyers answer a tough test against a hard-nosed Creighton squad. Team: Home | Stats |
| 25 |  Syracuse |
- | - | /25 | Jim Boeheim's team recovered quickly from its exhibition loss with easy wins over Albany and Robert Morris, but a lot will be determined about the Orange this week in NYC. Team: Home | Stats |