Auburn is new No. 1 in latest men’s basketball Power 37

One month down. And the first of five months didn’t disappoint. In this edition of the Weekly Word, look below for the Power 37, the player and team of the week, the games to watch and a breakdown of where the top leagues stand.

But first a soapbox moment about Feast Week tournaments.

I love them. And I want the three-game tournaments to survive. But I’m not naive. I know coaches and administrators are shying away from the format. Well, at least for the elite schools. Most schools in Division I struggle to get peer-to-peer high-level non-conference home games. So, going to a neutral site to guarantee two games, let alone three, can dramatically help out a schedule. Getting opportunities to pick up Quad 1 games on a neutral court shouldn’t be dismissed.

Sure, the North Carolina at Kansas game and the series between Duke and Arizona among others are fantastic for the sport. But a slew of teams don’t get those type of home-and-home chances.

Let’s take Maui, Atlantis and Players Era as examples.

What did we find out in Maui? 

Auburn is a title contender. Memphis should be the best team in the American and is a top-25 team. Dayton should be the top team in the A-10. Iowa State will challenge Kansas in the Big 12. Michigan State and North Carolina could go either way in the coming weeks and UConn found out that they need to improve defensively and learn how to close out games. Playing soft games may not provide those answers.

MAUI RESULTS: Scores from the 2024 Maui Invitational

In the Bahamas, Oklahoma and Louisville have completely changed the narrative of their seasons with their run to the title game. West Virginia’s win over Gonzaga was a season-changing win for new coach Darren DeVries. Like UConn, Indiana discovered that it must defend at a higher level if it’s going to contend and the same was true of Arizona.

In Las Vegas, Oregon proved to the country that it’s a Final Four contender and Alabama continued to prove it belongs in that same discussion. Houston and Creighton — a pair of preseason top-15 teams — aren’t ready to make that step yet. San Diego State picked up a much-needed win over Houston after losing at home to Gonzaga and Texas A&M re-established itself as a NCAA-bound team. Rutgers’ inability to close out games means the Scarlet Knights will have a slew of pressure to win big in the Big Ten.

And let’s be clear here: Rutgers isn’t getting Houston and Alabama to play in Piscataway. Memphis can’t get UConn anymore, let alone Michigan State. A game against Auburn could happen since they are regional teams, but that’s an outlier.

The two-game format is the new trend, but life as a men’s and women’s college basketball player should also be about experiences. And getting to play in a well-run event in Maui, the Bahamas and/or Las Vegas for four days is hard to duplicate. I get it that the finances will get tighter as more money is distributed. But let’s not lose the importance of these early-season tournaments that can give the sport the meaning it needs before New Year’s.

The 12 games at the Lahaina Civic Center I witnessed were some of the best non-conference games I’ve seen in years. I’ve been doing this for 30-plus years and the atmosphere of the Maui Invitational is such a unique part of the season that it must/should be preserved. I had a number of fans come up to me throughout the week and say how much they look forward to the event. Going to the Maui Invitational is akin for a number of diehard fans as a bucket list event, similar to going to a March Madness first-weekend event.

This year held a special meaning as it was the first time the event was back since the tragically deadly wildfires of August 2023. The community is still healing, let alone rebuilding. And it is/was critical to maintain a balance of having tourists return — a must due to the reliance in the economy of visitors — and being respectful of the local residents who lived through the trauma.

The event itself did pay the proper respect to what occurred. This was only the second time since 2019 that the event was in Maui due to Covid as well. The event was played in Asheville, N.C., and Las Vegas, in 2020 and 2021, respectively. It was back in Maui in 2022 but had to be relocated to Honolulu in 2023 due to the fires.

Most events have two sessions of two games each, which means there can be empty sections when one group of fans emptys out. But since the Civic Center is so the turn of the arena happens after each game, ensuring that there is a raucous atmosphere for each team. The fans travel to cheer on their team and pack the few seats behind each team’s bench while also taking over one end zone and the opposite side of the benches. No other event has this kind of intimacy. My hope is that the format won’t get altered in the future and if it does only with some minor tweaks.

The latest Power 37 rankings after a top 25 was turned upside down with over half of the teams losing last week (five teams lost twice and one of those five lost three times). 

The March Madness Power 37

1. Auburn (Prev. 4, 7-0): The Tigers won the Maui Invitational by beating Iowa State and then North Carolina and crushing Memphis. They played well enough and looked the part to be the best team in the country. 
2. Kansas (Prev. 1, 7-0): This may not be popular to drop the Jayhawks behind Auburn after Kansas beat Duke in Las Vegas but the Tigers’ week was so impressive. 
3. Tennessee (Prev. 11, 7-0): The Vols are gearing up for another potential SEC title chase. 
4. Marquette (Prev. 9, 8-0): The Golden Eagles are starting to show some separation as the best team in the Big East. 
5. Kentucky (Prev. 5, 7-0): The Wildcats continue to roll offensively and have scored over 100 points four times. 
6. Iowa State (Prev. 7, 5-1): The Cyclones had one hiccup against Auburn, but played well late against Dayton and Colorado in Maui. 
7. Oregon (Prev. 16, 8-0): The Ducks are starting to look like the best team in the Big Ten after winning the Players Era Event by beating Alabama on a tip-in. 
8. Duke (Prev. 6, 5-2): The Blue Devils are close to finishing off elite teams and will get another test this week against Auburn. 
9. Florida (Prev. 17, 8-0): The Gators won the ESPN Events tournament in Orlando by taking down Wake Forest and Wichita State. 
10. Purdue (Prev. 14, 7-1): The Boilermakers won the tournament in San Diego by knocking off NC State and beating Ole Miss at the buzzer. 
11. Alabama (Prev. 8, 6-2): The Tide have the toughest schedule and beat Houston and Rutgers in Las Vegas before losing to Oregon on a tip-in. The Tide have already beaten Illinois in Birmingham and lost at Purdue. 
12. Wisconsin (Prev. 15, 8-0): The Badgers are rolling and John Tonje is in the pole position for Big Ten Player of the Year. 
13. Gonzaga (Prev. 2, 7-1): The Zags redeemed themselves after losing to West Virginia in OT by knocking off Indiana and Davidson in Atlantis.
14. Cincinnati (Prev. 18, 6-0): The Bearcats haven’t played a strong slate yet but their defense has been stellar. 
15. Illinois (Prev. 20, 6-1): The Illini got a shelf win over Arkansas in Kansas City that will last the season. 
16. Michigan (NR, 6-1): The Wolverines are the surprise in the Big Ten and are fresh off a Fort Myers tournament title by beating Virginia Tech and Xavier. 
17. Memphis (NR, 6-1): The Tigers are no joke. They would be a top-25 team for most of the season behind the guard play of Tyrese Hunger and PJ Haggerty and a strong post game that was all on display in Maui. 
18. Baylor (Prev. 19, 5-2): The Bears got beaten by Tennessee handily and will have another barometer game against UConn this week. 
19. Oklahoma (Prev. NR, 7-0): Porter Moser’s crew won the Battle 4 Atlantis by knocking off Providence, Arizona and Louisville. 
20. Ole Miss (Prev. 27, 6-1): The Rebels beat BYU and then lost to Purdue on a final possession in San Diego. 
21. Arizona State (Prev. NR, 7-1): The Sun Devils beat Saint Mary’s and New Mexico en route to a tournament title in Palm Springs. 
22. San Diego State (Prev. NR, 4-2): Welcome back to the top 25. The Aztecs left Las Vegas with a 2-1 mark by sandwiching a loss to Oregon by beating Creighton and Houston. 
23. Drake (Prev. 24, 7-0): The Bulldogs continue to roll under Ben McCollum. 
24. Texas A&M (Prev. 21, 6-2): The Aggies lost to Oregon in Las Vegas but left with two quality wins over Creighton and Rutgers. 
25. Pitt (Prev. 33, 7-1): The Panthers beat Ohio State in Columbus on a buzzer-beater after losing to Wisconsin the previous week in West Virginia. 
26. Michigan State (Prev. 30, 6-2): The Spartans left Maui with a 2-1 record after a much-needed win over North Carolina. 
27. Texas (Prev. 29, 6-1): The Longhorns haven’t lost since opening night against Ohio State in Las Vegas. 
28. Maryland (NR, 7-1): The Terps only have one loss, by four to Marquette at home and are quietly looking like a top-half Big Ten squad. 
29. Utah State (NR, 7-0): Craig Smith, Ryan Odom, Danny Sprinkle and now Jerrod Calhoun. The Aggies have had great success in the Mountain West of late, regardless of who was the head coach. 
30. Dayton (NR, 6-2): The Flyers pass the eye test. They had leads against North Carolina and Iowa State but couldn’t close out in Maui. But they did do so against UConn to end the trip. 
31. Louisville (NR, 5-2): Pat Kelsey has the Cardinals relevant through one month with a 2-1 Atlantis mark by beating Indiana and West Virginia before losing to Oklahoma. 
32. West Virginia (NR, 5-2): The Mountaineers shocked Gonzaga in round one in Atlantis and after losing to Louisville came back and beat Arizona. 
33. Saint Mary’s (Prev. 35, 7-1): The Gaels embarrassed USC, beating the Trojans 71-36 and then lost to surging Arizona State.  
34. Xavier (Prev. 23, 6-1): Dropped its first game of the season to upstart Michigan, but should be in the top five in the Big East. 
35. Butler (NR, 6-1): The Bulldogs beat Northwestern and Mississippi State in Tempe and could be a factor in the chase for a bid. 
36. Georgia (Prev. 36, 7-1): Mike White should have a contending squad for an NCAA Tournament bid. 
37. Clemson (NR, 7-1): The Tigers have one blemish, thus far, at Boise State. 

Dropped out: UConn (3), North Carolina (10), Indiana (12), Houston (13), Ohio State (22), Arkansas (25), Mississippi State (26), Creighton (28), Penn State (31), Texas Tech (32), BYU (34), Vanderbilt (37).

The March Madness National Team of the Week

Auburn: The Tigers are loaded. Johni Broome was the MVP of the Maui Invitational and could be considered the favorite for the Naismith Award. The Tigers beat Iowa State on a Broome tip-in and then handled North Carolina and Memphis to win the title. The big men tandem of Broome and Dylan Cardwell is imposing and the new backcourt trio of Chad Baker-Mazara, Miles Kelly and Denver Jones are more than capable of causing fits for every opponent. This team has depth at every position. They push the tempo, play hard and control both backboards. Look out for the Tigers this season.

The March Madness National Player of the Week

TJ Bamba, Oregon: The two-time transfer (Washington State/Villanova) was the MVP of the Players Era Event in Las Vegas. He averaged 17.3 points over the three games. Nate Bittle was consistent throughout the week and had the tip-in to beat Alabama. Keeshawn Barthelemy was also stellar throughout the week. But Bamba had the best overall numbers, with 18 against Texas A&M, 22 against San Diego State and 12 against Alabama. He made five threes over the week, 16 of 39 shots and 15 of 21 free throws with 7 rebounds, 11 assists, three blocks and five steals.

The March Madness Games to Watch

Auburn at Duke, Wednesday: Wowza. This is a mammoth game. Johni Broome, the latest frontrunner for the player of the year, against the top freshman in Cooper Flagg.

Marquette at Iowa State, Wednesday: This is going to be one of the most physical games of the month. Both teams play HARD and defend. This could be an Elite Eight preview.

Alabama at North Carolina, Wednesday: The Tide were within a whisker of winning the Players Era Event while the Tar Heels limped out of Maui 1-2.

Baylor at UConn, Wednesday: The Huskies desperately need something positive to happen after the debacle in Maui. Yes, they beat Maryland-Eastern Shore, but this is a real test.

Kentucky vs. Gonzaga, Saturday: Kentucky has quite a week with this game in Seattle after going to Clemson. The Zags will look to nab another elite W.

Wisconsin at Marquette, Saturday: This is one of the top non-conference rivalries and with both teams entering this week undefeated the stakes are even higher — especially since they both have tough games earlier in the week.

Michigan at Wisconsin, Tuesday: This is a matchup between two of the most surprising teams in the Big Ten, thus far.

Kentucky at Clemson, Tuesday: This is the Wildcats’ first test since taking down Duke in Atlanta in early November.

Kansas at Creighton, Wednesday: Massive test for the Blue Jays to show that they are legit. The matchup of Hunter Dickinson and Ryan Kalkbrenner should be one of the best big man matchups of the season.

Pitt at Mississippi State, Wednesday: This is a sleeper of a good game after Pitt went in and beat Ohio State at the buzzer.

My top conference contenders through one month:

In the the ACC: Duke, Pitt, Clemson, North Carolina

Sleeper: Louisville, Wake Forest

Hard to figure: NC State, Cal

In the Big 12: Kansas, Iowa State, Baylor, Cincinnati, Arizona State, Houston, Arizona

Sleepers: West Virginia, Texas Tech

Hard to figure: BYU, Colorado

In the Big East: Marquette, Xavier, Creighton, UConn, St. John’s

Sleepers: Butler, DePaul

Hard to figure: Villanova

In the Big Ten: Oregon, Purdue, Wisconsin, Illinois

Sleepers: Maryland, Michigan State, Penn State

Hard to figure: Indiana, Ohio State, UCLA

In the SEC: Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida

Sleepers: Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas

Hard to figure: Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Georgia, Vanderbilt.