Michigan Beats Duke, Kansas and Virginia

The rankings are a weekly feature for CBS Sports that will publish every Thursday throughout the season and sort out the most impressive teams in a contemporary sense. This is a ranking of the teams that are both strongest and most impressive in college basketball at this time. This is a platform where the most notably successful teams in college hoops are in a given week.

But yes these rankings fluctuate and it is seen every Thursday. It also writes about what teams have been beaten and how and how it has been tracking across multiple metrics. Michigan has been ranked as the No. 1-ranked defense in America and has won away from home against Villanova, Providence and Northwestern. It also owns victories against North Carolina and Purdue. It's also made a habit of holding opponents to 10, 15, 20, even 30 points below their scoring average. This team already looks better than the group that made last season's national title game. The Blue Devils (9-1) are ranked at No. 2 because they are trending as one of the most dominant statistical teams of the past decade. At this point, Duke would be favored over every team in college basketball on a neutral court. The Kansas (8-0) are in the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll, but however it has not met the expectations till now. Tony Bennett's team is 9-0 but is not without its issues. Starting point guard Kihei Clark, who has been an unexpected impact guy almost immediately, is out indefinitely due to a wrist injury. The Wahoos are averaging 72.8 points, which is tracking as the most under Bennett (who took the job in 2009). Remains to be seen if Virginia can stay above 70 once ACC play gets humming. Michigan State owns wins over UCLA, Texas, Iowa and Florida, all four of which rank as top-50 quality across many metrics. Not a lot of teams can claim four Ws in quad-one territory at this stage of the season. One surprise of the rankings is Ohio State that would crack into the Nineteen somewhere around 11. OSU has also won at Cincinnati, at Creighton and beat Illinois in Chicago. Though UW fans will no doubt be clenching their fists after the lost opportunity against Marquette last weekend.  

By: Anuja Arora

Content: https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/college-basketball-power-rankings-why-michigan-beats-out-duke-kansas-virginia-for-no-1/