Tennessee, Arizona lead first men's college basketball Power 36 of the regular season (2024)

After one week of play, a handful of teams have established themselves with key wins. NCAA.com's Andy Katz delivers his first in-season Power 36, as well as his player of the week, team of the week and the top-10 games to watch for the upcoming week.

Power 36:

1. Tennessee: The Volunteers were incredibly impressive in a road win at Wisconsin. I’m all in on this squad as a potential title team.
2. Arizona: The Wildcats won at Duke and are sending notice that they are going to be in contention for a Pac-12 title.
3. Purdue: The Boilermakers are ready to mount a redemption campaign.
4. Kansas: The Jayhawks lost an exhibition game to Illinois and while they won their regular-season games, they will be tested over the next few weeks to prove they are No. 1 worthy.
5. UConn: The Huskies have restocked for another run to a title.
6. Marquette: The Golden Eagles were the pick to win the Big East. But it’s hard not to lean the Huskies way.
7. Creighton: The Bluejays are a scoring machine. The three-way race atop the Big East could be the best in the country.
8. Miami: The ‘Canes don’t look like they have missed a step from the Final Four.
9. Baylor: The Bears are going to be in lock-step with Kansas in the Big 12.
10. Duke: No shame in losing to Arizona, but it was a wake-up call for the Blue Devils, who will be tested again against Michigan State.
11. Southern Cal: The Trojans beat Kansas State and have one of the best backcourts in the country in Boogie Ellis and Isaiah Collier.
12. Florida Atlantic: The Owls are in mid-season form here in the first few weeks of the season.
13. Houston: The tests won’t come for a few weeks, but the Cougars are defending like they do in March.
14. Texas A&M: The Aggies had a resume-building true road win at Ohio State.
15. Arkansas: The Hogs are going to be one of the most entertaining teams to watch this season.
16. Alabama: Grant Nelson made a splash in his debut for the Tide with 24 points.
17. James Madison: The Dukes won at Michigan State, beat Kent State in double OT on the road and are 3-0.
18. Clemson: The Tigers won the Asheville tournament and are off to a strong start.
19. Kentucky: The Wildcats haven’t been truly tested yet but will be this week against Kansas.
20. Illinois: The Terrence Shannon Jr.,Coleman Hawkins 1-2 pop should keep the Illini in the chase in every game.
21. Memphis: The Tigers had a sneaky resume win that didn’t get national attention. Jahvon Quinerly scored 18 in a true road win at Missouri.
22. Gonzaga: The Zags are still a work in progress with a lot of new pieces. We will know a lot more about this squad in Hawaii.
23. Villanova: The Wildcats are lurking in the Big East as a squad that could be trouble this winter.
24. UCLA: The Bruins are a bit under the radar but that could change with a strong performance in Hawaii.
25. Texas: The Longhorns won’t get tested much in November but the defense has been strong so far.
26. Virginia: The Cavaliers had a gut-check win over Florida in Charlotte but held on for the W.
27. Northwestern: The Wildcats held off the A-10’s best in Dayton. The Flyers will be NCAA tournament good.
28. North Carolina: The Tar Heels have the core back and should be back in the Dance come March.
29. BYU: The Cougars are off to a great start with a home win over San Diego State.
30. Wisconsin: The Badgers lost at home to Tennessee, but held their own down to the final minutes.
31. Michigan State: The Spartans will need to prove their first-week funk is behind them with Duke and Butler on tap this week.
32. TCU: The Horned Frogs never get their due, but this crew is a top-five Big 12 team.
33. Michigan: The Wolverines are off to a fantastic start, especially Dug McDaniel.
34. St. John’s: Joel Soriano is going to be a Big East star.
35. Oregon: N’Faly Dante had 21 boards in a win over Georgia in Las Vegas. The Ducks should be back.
36. Pittsburgh: Carlton Carrington had a triple-double in his Pitt debut and the Panthers haven't missed a step after a two-win NCAA tournament run last March.

Under consideration: Davidson, Providence, Syracuse, Boise State, Dayton, Saint Mary's, Mississippi State, Xavier, San Diego State, Colorado State, Colorado.

MORE HOOPS: Caleb Love, Arizona stun Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium

Team of the week:

Arizona: The Wildcats picked up what could end up being arguably the best true non-conference road win of the season at Duke. Arizona won 78-73, continuously holding off the Blue Devils. Transfers Keshad Johnson (San Diego State) and Caleb Love (North Carolina) led the Wildcats.

Player of the week:

Terrence Edwards Jr., James Madison: Edwards was on fire in JMU’s tremendous start. Edwards scored 24 in the season-opening win at Michigan State, poured in 25 in a crazy double OT win at Kent State and 14 in a win over Howard. The Sun Belt favorites are meeting the moment!

Top 10 Games to watch this week

1. Michigan vs. St. John’s, Monday, New York, Gavitt Tipoff Games: Rick Pitino makes a huge splash at the Garden against a suddenly improved Wolverines.
2. Xavier at Purdue, Monday, Gavitt Games: The Boilermakers looked the part of a top-three team in week one while the Musketeers will find out where they stand.
3. Wisconsin at Providence, Tuesday, Gavitt Games: The Badgers couldn’t handle the inside presence of Tennessee. Providence’s Bryce Hopkins will provide another major challenge.
4. Duke vs. Michigan State, Tuesday, Champions Classic, Chicago: The Blue Devils and Spartans both lost home games last week, albeit Arizona and James Madison, respectively aren’t equal. Crazy to think one of these two will have two losses two weeks into the season.
5. Kentucky vs. Kansas, Tuesday, Champions Classic, Chicago: The Wildcats need to get a barometer on where they are this early in the season. The Jayhawks will provide the challenge.
6. Marquette at Illinois, Tuesday, Gavitt Games: Wowza. This is major game for the Illini. The Golden Eagles will be tested in a loaded Maui Invitational the following week. Tyler Kolek and Terrence Shannon Jr., are your stars in this one.
7. Iowa at Creighton, Tuesday, Gavitt Games: This could easily be a combined plus 200 points. Both teams love to run and have the green light.
8. Maryland at Villanova, Friday, Gavitt Games: The Terps had a disappointing run in Asheville and need to rebound against the restocked Wildcats.
9. Saint Mary’s vs. San Diego State, Las Vegas: The Gaels have been on fire early. The Aztecs got upset by BYU.
10. Indiana vs. UConn, Sunday, New York: The Hoosiers will need to find some interior presence to deal Donovan Clingan and company.

Andy Katz is an NCAA.com correspondent. Katz worked at ESPN for 18 years as a college basketball reporter, host and anchor. He's covered every Final Four since 1992, and the sport since 1986 as a freshman at Wisconsin. He is a former president of the United States Basketball Writers Association. Katz can also be seen covering college basketball on Big Ten Network, Fox and FS1.Follow him on Twitter at@theandykatz. Follow hisMarch Madness 365 weekly podcast here.

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