1.

W-L (vs. D1): 9-1
NET: 56
RPI: 3
KenPom: 98
Sagarin: 79
Power Ranking on 11/28: 1
D1 Results since 11/28: W/W/W (vs. ODU; @ The Citadel; @ Presbyterian)

The Cougars haven't lost since November 11 (@ UNC) and have racked up 8 straight wins against D-I foes. The Citadel and Presbyterian College aren't having good seasons, but you take road wins against anyone at any time. In addition, Charleston pretty much dominated a good ODU squad at home. Thus, they keep the top spot without controversy.

Ryan Larson led the way for the Cougars against ODU and PC. Against the Monarchs, in a 75-60 win, Larson racked up 17 points and 7 assists with 3 steals. He was 6-9 from the field and 3-4 from the perimeter. And against PC he posted 15 points and 6 boards. As a team, the Cougars went to the line 16 times against the Monarchs and 31 times against the Blue Hose. Against The Citadel, sophomore forward Ante Brzovic had a big game off the bench, posting a 16/11 double-double while blocking 3 shots. The 6-10 Croatian will certainly be an additional player to watch for an already loaded Charleston squad. In the 79-57 victory, the Cougars outrebounded the clearly undersized and outmatched Bulldogs, 54-34.



2.

W-L (vs. D1): 6-3
NET: 72
RPI: 21
KenPom: 128
Sagarin: 114
Power Ranking on 11/28: 4
D1 Results since 11/28: W/W/W (@ Coastal; vs. ECU; vs. Jacksonville)

An emphatic 81-53 win over a very good Jacksonville squad punctuated a strong pair of weeks for the Hawks and kept their win streak, now at 7 (6 against D-I teams), going. Thus, the Hawks jump 2 spots in the rankings. And given the Hawks' propensity to avoid turnovers, lock down opposing shooters, get to the free throw line and grab offensive boards despite smaller lineups, this team's success is highly sustainable.



3.

W-L (vs. D1): 8-3
NET: 118
RPI: 132
KenPom: 105
Sagarin: 126
Power Ranking on 11/28: 2
D1 Results since 11/28: W/L/L (@ Long Island; @ Clemson; vs. Navy)

A home win over Navy might have kept the Tigers in the # 2 slot, but instead they dropped a close 71-69 overtime contest to the Midshipmen, thus concluding a 1-2 record since November 28th's power rankings and making the decision much easier.

In their lone victory of the 3 contests, Towson took a 74-64 road victory over a sub-300 NET Long Island squad. Charles Thompson posted a 13/15 double-double and added 3 blocked shots. Cam Holden, meanwhile, led all scorers with 22 on 9-15 shooting. As usual against weaker competition, Towson dominated on the glass to the tune of a +13 margin. They also put up 38 of their points in the paint. In their close loss to Clemson, four players scored in double-figures and Towson was +6 in the turnover department. But Clemson was highly efficient, shooting 53.8 % from the field and over 60 % from the perimeter. And in the close loss to Navy, Nicolas Timberlake led in scoring, with 17, while adding 4 assists, 1 block and 1 steal. Towson was 17-24 from the line in the game, but finishing -4 in the turnover made the difference and contributed to the Tigers blowing an 8-point halftime lead.


4.

W-L (vs. D1): 6-5
NET: 97
RPI: 12
KenPom: 134
Sagarin: 140
Power Ranking on 11/28: 3
D1 Results since 11/28: L/L/L (@ George Mason; @ Purdue; vs. UMASS)

It is a credit to Hofstra's overall body of work that a 3-game losing streak only drops the Pride one spot in this week's rankings. It also doesn't hurt that all of their losses were to above average or better D1 teams.

In an 81-77 OT road loss against George Mason, Aaron Estrada poured in 31 points on 10-18 shooting, 4-7 from 3, and added 5 rebounds and 1 steal. Aside from Estrada, however, the Pride struggled from the field, shooting just 42.9 % from the field and 30.8 % from deep. Next, against # 4 Purdue, the Pride were far less competitive in an 85-66 defeat, largely due to Estrada missing the contest with an ankle injury. Redshirt freshman Amar'e Marshall did, however, step up his game in Estrada's absence to the tune of 24 points on 10-17 shooting, with 4 assists and 4 rebounds. But Purdue was +23 on the glass in the blowout victory. Estrada was also absent for Hostra's loss to UMASS at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Darlinstone Dubar was the top performer for the Pride with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals. However, finishing -5 in Turnover Margin and a poor shooting night for Hofstra did them in in the 71-56 loss.



5.

W-L (vs. D1): 5-4
NET: 210
RPI: 180
KenPom: 194
Sagarin: 186
Power Ranking on 11/28: 5
D1 Results since 11/28: L/W/W/W (vs. Cornell; vs. Davidson; vs. Delaware St.; vs. Siena)

A 3-1 record over the last 2 weeks does enough to keep Delaware in the # 5 spot this week, but they still lag far behind the top 4 and have a lot of work to do. Still, a solid win over Davidson represents the kind of victory that will easily keep the Blue Hens in the top 6 of the league.

In their lone loss of this period, a 74-67 defeat to a good Cornell team closing in on the top 100 of the NET rankings, Christian Ray provided a 12/11 double-double while adding 3 assists, 1 block and 1 steal. In the victory over Davidson, it was Jyare Davis who led the way, with 25 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks and 3 steals. The Hens outrebounded the Wildcats, 39-32, which helped them overcome a rough perimeter shooting contest (6-21). Next, against intra-state rival Delaware St., Ray again posted a double-double (11/10), while Jameer Nelson Jr. poured in 27 points, 12 of which came from the charity stripe. UMBC grad transfer LJ Owens, meanwhile, knocked down 5 of 7 threes en route to 21 points. The Hens were +7 in turnover margin in this one. Lastly, in a Sunday 75-64 victory over Siena, Nelson once again dominated, this time to the tune of a 30-point afternoon on 10-17 shooting and 10-11 from the line.



6.

W-L (vs. D1): 4-5
NET: 197
RPI: 204
KenPom: 197
Sagarin: 184
Power Ranking on 11/28: 6
D1 Results since 11/28: W/L/W (vs. Lafayette; vs. Princeton; @ La Salle)

A solid 2-1 week, capped off by an Overtime victory over intra-city rival La Salle, solidifies Drexel's # 6 spot in the rankings this week.

3 different Drexel players led the way in their 3 games of the last 2 weeks. Amari Williams was the top standout in Drexel's 64-56 victory over Lafayette. He totaled 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 4 steals in just 25 minutes of action. The Dragons were next blown out by 20 against Princeton, but Lamar Oden had a nice day from the perimeter, knocking down 4 of 7 threes en route to 16 points. Lastly, in the 65-58 OT victory over La Salle, Coletrane Washington led all scorers with 21. Williams also added a double-double, with 14 points and 11 rebounds.




7.

W-L (vs. D1): 3-6
NET: 296
RPI: 268
KenPom: 263
Sagarin: 250
Power Ranking on 11/28: 8
D1 Results since 11/28: L/W/W (@ Georgia Tech; vs. Georgia St.; vs. Holy Cross)

There are perhaps some signs of life up in Boston, as the Huskies picked up back-to-back wins over Georgia St. and Holy Cross. Neither opponent was a quality one (both are outside of the top 300 in both the NET and RPI) but beggars can't be choosers when the Huskies only had one D-1 win in the first month of the season. Still, there's a pretty massive gap at the moment between the top 6 in the league and the bottom 7 in terms of quality of play.

The Huskies were terrible from the field in their 81-63 loss to Georgia Tech, shooting just 35.5 % from the field and 20 % (5-25) from 3. Their shooting improved dramatically against Georgia St., however, as they shot 43.1 % from the field and 41.2 % (5-12) from 3. Jahmyl Telfort led the team in scoring with 20 points, while Alexander Nwagha stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal. Finally, in a nail-biter against Holy Cross, Chris Doherty led the way with 14 points and 9 boards. He was a perfect 6-6 from the field. Interior play carried the day in this one, as NU struggled to shoot from the perimeter (4-21). The Huskies outrebounded the Crusaders, 34-26, and blocked 4 shots.



8.

W-L (vs. D1): 3-7
NET: 274
RPI: 227
KenPom: 298
Sagarin: 270
Power Ranking on 11/28: 7
D1 Results since 11/28: L/W/L/L (@ NC State; vs. Richmond; @ ODU; vs. Norfolk St.)

A nice victory over an in-state rival in Richmond was sandwiched around 3 losses for the Tribe since the last set of rankings. And while NC State and ODU were tough opponents, Norfolk State was an imminently winnable game at home that the Tribe lost on Saturday by double-digits. Result: NU moves up a slot, W&M drops one.

Against the Wolfpack, Noah Collier posted a 12/11 double-double and added 2 blocks and 2 steals. In the 58-57 win over Richmond, it was Anders Nelson who carried the day, with 13 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. The game was as evenly matched as possible, with only a slight rebounding edge for the tribe (30-27) making the difference. Nelson again was the top dog in the losing efforts against ODU and Norfolk St., posting 21 points and 7 assists against the Monarchs and 17 points and 2 steals against the Spartans.



9.

W-L (vs. D1): 1-4
NET: 299
RPI: 317
KenPom: 270
Sagarin: 287
Power Ranking on 11/28: 9
D1 Results since 11/28: W (vs. UNCG)

NC A&T picked up their first D-I win of the season since the last rankings, and it was a big one. Fellow Greensboro rival UNCG is certainly having a down season (currently outside the top 200 of both the NET and RPI), but a 17-point beatdown in front of a raucous crowd was much-needed for the Aggies.

The trio of Kam Woods, Demetric Horton and Marcus Watson were the standouts in the victory over UNCG. Woods led all scorers with 23 points, adding 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Horton posted 13 points, 7 assists and 3 steals. Watson, meanwhile, added 13 points and 9 rebounds. The Aggies were +6 in rebounding margin and also managed to fare better against the Spartans in the foul trouble department in a tightly called game; 39 fouls were called but UNCG had 2 players foul out while none were disqualified for NC A&T.



10.

W-L (vs. D1): 2-7
NET: 334
RPI: 316
KenPom: 337
Sagarin: 331
Power Ranking on 11/28: 11
D1 Results since 11/28: L/W/W/L (@ Georgia; vs. Howard; vs. Loyola-Maryland; vs. Bowling Green)

Hampton picked up their first two D1 wins of the season over a pair of sub-300 NET teams in Hampton, sandwiched around by an expected loss to Georgia and a winnable game against Bowling Green that the Pirates dropped by 14. But the victories were enough improvement to bump Hampton up a spot this week.

Against UGA, Jordan Nesbitt posted a 15/11 double-double while adding 2 steals, but received little support from his other teammates. The Pirates were -9 in the rebounding department while shooting a paltry 12.5 % (2-16) from three. In their 74-65 win over fellow HBCU Howard, Nesbitt again led the team in scoring, with 23, but this time received support from Russell "Deuce" Dean, who added 20. The duo combined for 8-14 from the perimeter in this one to carry the day. Nesbitt added a back-to-back 20+ point effort against Loyola-Maryland, doing most of his damage from the line (8-12). Hampton was +10 in rebounding margin against the Greyhounds. Finally, in their 86-72 loss to Bowling Green, Nesbitt again starred in the losing effort with a 17/11 double-double. Hampton was once again dominated on the glass, 49-38.



11.

W-L (vs. D1): 1-9
NET: 344
RPI: 296
KenPom: 327
Sagarin: 328
Power Ranking on 11/28: 10
D1 Results since 11/28: L/W/L (@ Rider; @ Manhattan; @ Princeton)

Monmouth picked up their first D1 win of the season against a bad Manhattan team, but was also smoked by Rider and Princeton by a combined 53 points. Thus, they drop a spot behind Hampton this week.

Myles Foster nearly posted a double-double in the losing effort against Rider, with 12 points and 9 rebounds. The Hawks allowed the Broncs to shoot a gaudy 57.7 % from the field and 44.4 % from the field in the contest. In the victory over Manhattan, Myles Ruth was a perfect 3-3 from the perimeter en route to 21 points. The Hawks shot 50 % from three (7-14) while the Jaspers were held to 30.4 % shooting (7-23) from deep, which made a big difference in the end result. Finally, in the blowout loss to Princeton, Slovenian big man Klemen Vuga was the lone bright spot, with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. The Hawks again allowed their opponent to shoot at a high clip, as the Tigers were 53.4 % from the field.



12.

W-L (vs. D1): 0-7
NET: 357
RPI: 358
KenPom: 344
Sagarin: 326
Power Ranking on 11/28: 13
D1 Results since 11/28: L/L (vs. Yale; @ Bryant)

Much like Elon, it was the same old results for the Seawolves, who continue to lack a D-I victory this season.

Tyler Stephenson-Moore and Aaron Clarke were the top performers for Stony Brook in a 77-72 loss to Yale. Stephenson-Moore was 9-9 from the line en route to 21 points, while also adding 7 rebounds. Clarke, who was 3-5 from the perimeter, added 20 points in just 22 minutes of action. The Bulldogs committed just 5 turnovers compared to 12 for the Seawolves, which allowed Yale to take the win despite Stony Brook shooting 11-20 from three in the contest. Against Bryant, Stephenson-Moore once again led the team in scoring, with 21 points. But it was Frankie Policelli who was the top performer, with an 18/15 double-double, plus 6 assists. Defense did the Seawolves in this contest, as they allowed the Bulldogs to shoot 45.9 % from the field as well as 45.9 % (17-37) from the perimeter.



13.

W-L (vs. D1): 0-8
NET: 353
RPI: 360
KenPom: 343
Sagarin: 337
Power Ranking on 11/28: 12
D1 Results since 11/28: L/L (@ High Point; @ UNCG)

Elon came oh so close to defeating UNCG at home back on December 3rd, but the 4-point defeat kept them winless in D-I games this season. Their performances in the losses were less impressive than Stony Brook's this week, which drops the Phoenix to the bottom of the league.

Max McKinnon posted a monster line against High Point, with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists. But 17 team turnovers and poor perimeter shooting (4-26) did the Phoenix in in this one. Against UNCG, it was Sean Halloran's turn to put up big numbers, with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal. Zac Ervin added 18 points and 2 assists. Halloran and Ervin combined for 6 threes, but the rest of the team only managed 1, and thus it was overall another poor perimeter shooting day (7-24). UNCG was no better (5-20), but the Spartans were +5 in turnovers and +4 on the glass. These extra possessions helped UNCG win an otherwise poorly-played game.