Around the Top 25 In College Basketball: Feb. 26

Story posted February 26, 2022 in CommRadio, Sports by Thomas English

As the month of March draws near and college basketball approaches the postseason, teams are battling for seeding in their respective conference tournaments.

Here’s a look into the way the Top 25 is shaping up as we turn the corner and head towards March.

Gonzaga Bulldogs Stay No. 1

Mark Few and his guys have been stellar up to this point in the season as they boast a 24-2 record. They have dominated the West Coast Conference and remain undefeated with a perfect 13-0 conference record.

The Zags also won their 10th consecutive WCC regular-season title with a win over Santa Clara and were able to secure the top spot in the country after an unanimous vote by the panel.

The dynamic duo of Chet Holmgren and Drew Timme will lead this team against No. 23 Saint Mary’s to close out the regular season.

Reigning Champs Falling

It has been a difficult season for the Baylor Bears as they have battled injuries to their top-two players in Adam Flagler and LJ Cryer. Nonetheless, the Bears carry an impressive 23-5 record.

Lately, it has been a bit of a struggle for the reigning champs as they took a tough loss to No. 9 ranked Texas Tech and barely pulled out wins against TCU and Oklahoma State.

Their schedule does not get any easier, either. In their next two games, Baylor will take on No. 5 Kansas and No. 20 Texas before hosting a sneaky Iowa State team to close out the regular season.

Baylor fell three spots in this week’s rankings and they need to get two big wins if they want to avoid dropping even more heading into conference tournament play.

Razorbacks Climb Five Spots

Here come the Hogs! Arkansas was able to jump up five spots to capture the No. 18 spot in this week’s rankings.

The Razorbacks are riding a three-game winning streak in which they defeated No. 17 Tennessee 58-48. They have three games remaining on their schedule including No. 6 Kentucky and a rematch with Tennessee.

Arkansas is led by JD Notae who averages 18.7 points, 3.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game, all of which lead the team. The Hogs will need to get a big performance out of him if they want to knock off highly-talented Kentucky and get another win against the Volunteers.  

Big Ten Teams Swap Spots

Two Big Ten teams are trending in opposite directions heading into March as the Iowa Hawkeyes jumped into the rankings as the No. 25 team in the country while the Michigan State Spartans fell out.

The Spartans are ice cold as they have lost three straight including losses to Penn State, Illinois and the Hawkeyes themselves. They face No. 4 Purdue and No. 22 Ohio State in two of their last four games to end the season.

On the other hand, the Hawkeyes were able to capture key wins over Ohio State and Michigan State. Keegan Murray has done it all for the Hawkeyes this year as he produces numbers of 23.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game.

With the Big Ten standings being super tight, both teams will look to make strong pushes to close the regular season and secure the best possible seeding for the tournament.

College basketball fans should keep an eye on these five teams and more as we approach the end of the regular season and the start of postseason play.

 

Thomas English is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email tfe5082@psu.edu.