Here’s our updated power rankings based on games played as of December 22, 2013.
Note: Division ranking in parenthesis. National rankings are courtesy of KenPom.com. Arrows denote movement in overall Power Rankings. since previous power rankings.
1. (1st North) Radford 7-4 #226 no change
Radford remains #1 and not so much on their own merit, but more as a result of a weak performance throughout the Big South this week. The Highlanders spent all week out West where they lost to Santa Clara and UNLV before rebounding with a 94-78 victory over Sacred Heart. In the win, Radford was led by RJ Price’s 30 points.
2. (1st South) Winthrop 6-4 #216 no change
The Eagles dropped both of their games this week against North Carolina Central and Wofford, but they remain 2nd in this week’s power rankings. Honestly, there’s no one below them that merits the #2 ranking either. Maybe next week we’ll start the power rankings with #4.
3. (2nd S) Charleston Southern 4-6 #191 no change
The Buccaneers lost to Western Carolina 92-84 and needed two overtimes to beat Central Arkansas who is rated 333rd by KenPom. Charleston Southern is just 2-6 against Division I competition this season with a good road win against Delaware and this win over UCA. I’m not sure how much we really know about CSU at this point, and we likely won’t find anything out about them until they get into conference play as their next 3 games include two games against sub-DI opponents and Florida State.
4. (3rd S) Gardner-Webb 7-7 #251 2
The Runnin’ Bulldogs move up 2 spots this week even though they went just 1-2 with their win coming against Hiwassee College. GWU’s 2 losses were to Duke and Georgia.
5. (2nd N) VMI 6-5 #250 no change
In VMI’s lone contest this week they fell 103-94 to East Carolina as the Keydets continue their road woes. VMI is 0-5 on the road this season.
6. (4th S) Coastal Carolina 6-6 #228 2
The Chanticleers fell to one of the worst teams in all of Division I when they lost 83-78 to South Carolina State. Coastal rebounded with a solid win over Central Connecticut State.
7. (5th S) UNC-Asheville 4-7 #227 1
The Bulldogs defeated Virginia Intermont 83-58 in their only game this week. The Bulldogs have now won 3 in a row as they look to heat up moving into conference play.
8. (3rd N) Liberty 5-7 #241 1
Liberty was 1-1 this week with a dominating home performance over Howard, but a questionable performance on the road against Furman. The Flames trailed most of the game against the Paladins and their late rally came up short. Reserve guard Joe Retic showed well as he scored a career high 16 points and 3 assists. Furman’s Stephen Croone scored 40 points on just 16 field goal attempts.
9. (4th N) Longwood 5-8 #326 1
Longwood defeated Virginia Intermont by 19 points and lost to Dartmouth by 20 this week. Tristan Carey has scored 20 or more points in 5 consecutive games, the Lancers are 3-2 in those games.
10. (5th N) High Point 3-7 #255 1
The Panthers continue to struggle as their losing streak moves to 5 straight. This week High Point lost to Morgan State and Syracuse as they continue to find their identity without Allan Chaney on the floor.
11. (6th N) Campbell 5-7 #302 no change
The Camels lost to Robert Morris 72-61, but rebounded with a 95-64 win over Johnson & Wales.
12. (6th S) Presbyterian 4-9 #341 no change
The Blue Hose keep trying to dig their way out of the basement, but keep losing to 300+ rated KenPom teams. Presby lost to Tennessee-Martin before they defeated Appalachian State this week.
