Power rankings are based on games played through January 1st.
Note: National rankings are courtesy of KenPom.com. Arrows denote movement in power rankings since last ranking.
1. Lipscomb 9-4 #60
no change
The defending tournament champ continues to be the toast of the league. They own wins over SMU and TCU, and also knocked off a good mid-major program in Vermont by 25 points. Lipscomb’s 4 losses have all come against top 100 programs in Belmont (x2), Louisville, and Clemson.
This week: 1/5 @ Jacksonville, 1/9 vs North Florida
2. Liberty 11-4 #77
no change
The Flames’ picked up a marquee non-conference league win it had been looking for all season by knocking off UCLA, who promptly fired Steve Alford about 24 hours later. It offset the squad’s only loss to a non-power conference opponent when Liberty fell to Austin Peay as part of the St. Pete Shootout. Go ahead and mark Tuesday, January 29th on your calendar now. That’s when the two LUs face off in the Vines Center.
This week: 1/5 @ FGCU, 1/9 @ Stetson
3. NJIT 12-3 #172
no change
The Highlanders continue to stake their claim that the ASUN will be a 3-team race this season. NJIT has won 5 out of 6 games with their only loss coming at Houston. Head Coach Brian Kennedy’s team is also coming off their best win of the season, a 78-67 win at Duquesne.
This week: 1/5 vs Kennesaw St
4. North Florida 5-9 #196
1
The Ospreys have played a challenging non-conference schedule as they are better than their record shows. UNF has losses to Dayton, Penn State, Florida, Minnesota, Florida State, and Auburn. Matt Driscoll’s team has a couple of solid non-conference wins against Southern Miss and Charleston Southern (x2).
This week: 1/2 vs Florida National, 1/5 vs North Alabama, 1/9 @ Lipscomb
5. FGCU 5-10 #227
1
It’s been a rough start to the Michael Fly tenure in Fort Myers. After opening the season at 2-8, it looked like the young coach had his team turning the corner with consecutive double digit wins over Oral Roberts and UMBC. However, leading scorer and Marquette transfer Haanif Cheatham has succumbed to a shoulder injury and will miss the rest of the season.
This week: 1/5 vs Liberty, 1/8 @ North Alabama
6. Jacksonville 7-8 #299
2
After winning 4 straight, Jacksonville has now lost 3 in a row including a home loss to Presbyterian on Sunday. It will be a challenging start to conference play as the Dolphins face the top two teams in 2 of its first 3 games of ASUN play.
This week: 1/5 vs Lipscomb, 1/9 @ Kennesaw St
7. Kennesaw State 3-11 #336
1
The Owls have one more non-conference game on Wednesday at Yale before beginning ASUN play this weekend at NJIT. KSU picked up their only Division I win against Tennessee Tech a couple weeks ago.
This week: 1/2 @ Yale, 1/5 @ NJIT, 1/9 vs Jacksonville
8. Stetson 3-11 #341
1
The Hatters split a pair of Big South games, beating UNC Asheville and losing at Longwood this past week. Like KSU, Stetson also has one more out of conference game before starting ASUN play next Wednesday against the newest member of the league.
This week: 1/3 vs Edward Waters, 1/9 vs Liberty
9. North Alabama 3-12 #326
no change
The newest member of the Division I ranks is still seeking its first win over a Division I program. The Lions have had a challenging non-conference schedule, playing 5 top 100 teams and only having 1 Division I opponent at home.
This week: 1/5 @ North Florida, 1/8 vs FGCU
