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Brian Dunleavy's top 10 NCAA college basketball (CBB) rankings, from a fantasy basketball perspective, as of 01/17/18. His fantasy CBB rankings are updated weekly.
We doubt Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. cared much about college basketball--not that that tarnishes his legacy with us in any way.
But as the nation observed his life and legacy this week, we saw a number of games that provided evidence of the sport's appeal for the rest of us--and that led to some changes in our rankings.
Here are the Rotoballer college hoops rankings as of January 17, 2018 (won-loss records in parentheses).
NCAA College Basketball (CBB) Rankings
1. Villanova, (16-1)
Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry donated $1 million to his alma mater this week; who says big-time basketball doesn't pay? Donte DiVincenzo (13.1 PPG) is called the "Michael Jordan of Delaware." He won't make Jordan money--or donate it to 'Nova--but in shooting 49.7% from the field, he is certainly paying dividends.
2. West Virginia, (15-3)
Yeah, the Mountaineers split this week, and threw more punches after the final horn at Texas Tech than they did during the game (before losing again at Kansas), but we like Bob Huggins' team and could see them making a deep run in March. Lamont West (11.9 PPG/5.4 RPG) is emerging as a post presence.
3. Virginia, (16-1)
The Cavs have now won eight in a row, but we're still not sure about them. From a fantasy perspective, they don't have a lot of players who jump off the page--or, um, screen. Though, for a guy averaging just 9.6 minutes per contest, freshman Jay Huff (3.7 PPG/2.2 RPG/1.1 BPG) sure is productive--and worth a look if he gets more PT.
4. Purdue, (18-2)
Like UVA, the Boilermakers just keep winning, and forcing us to take notice. And when they play, it's hard not to notice Dakota Mathias (12.7 PPG/4.0 RPG/4.6 APG/1.4 SPG), who does a little bit of everything.
5. Duke, (16-2)
We're sick of writing about Duke, okay? So we won't say much about our No. 5 team. Except we remember Gary Trent Jr.'s father as a player, and if the son is half as good, the Blue Devils will be in good shape (14.3 PPG/4.3 RPG/1.2 SPG).
6. Michigan State, (16-3)
Sparty is smarting. They've lost two of their last three, and struggled against Rutgers--Rutgers!--at home in their lone recent win. But we're taking the long view--like guard Joshua Langford (13.5 PPG), who looks like a shooter (48.3%).
7. Wichita State, (15-2)
We like mid-majors here at Rotoballer College Hoops HQ, so we never really jumped off the Shockers' bandwagon. Landry Shamet (15.8 PPG/5.0 APG) is as good a guard is there in the country.
8. Texas Tech, (15-2)
We also like the Big 12, so we're happy the Red Raiders' recent success gives us an excuse to tout Keenan Evans (17.5 PPG/3.2 RPG/3.4 APG/1.4 SPG) who does everything well while shooting 49.7%.
9. Xavier, (16-3)
The Musketeers rebounded from two tough losses (one of which was to 'Nova) with a big win over Creighton to barely stay in our rankings. Trevon Bluiett (19.2 PPG/5.5 RPG) is that good.
10. Cincinnati, (16-2)
We'll stay in Cincy to celebrate another "mid-major" and junior guard Cane Broome, who is averaging a respectable 8.7 PPG and 3.2 APG in just 19.9 minutes per contest.
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