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It's hard to believe that we're more than a month into the college basketball season. One thing to keep an eye on is that with non-conference schedules starting to wind down, we'll inevitably see even more power conference contenders assert themselves and rise to the forefront of the POY discussion.
Not like they weren't already there leading the charge, of course. But for guys like Doug McDermott, Scott Machado and Damian Lillard, it's going to be significantly more difficult to garner national attention when league play starts up around the country. That's not to say the Missouri Valley, Big Sky and MAAC are second-rate conferences, but truth be told, that's how they are largely perceived when it comes to doling out individual awards. Jimmer Fredette proved it was possible to stand out among peers from power conferences, but that only happened because of a nationwide JimmerMania movement, in addition to Fredette's superhuman ability to drain clutch shots. In a nutshell, it's going to take a hell of a lot for the little guys to keep up with the big dogs pretty soon.
This week's big board saw a good deal of movement in the top 10, and a complete reshuffling in the 11-20 range. Ohio State's Jared Sullinger claimed the top spot for the sixth consecutive week, but back spasms might threaten to keep him on the shelf longer than we expected and open the door for a new No. 1 in next week's rankings.
Week six the jump...
| Rank | Change | Player-School | Notes |
| 1 | -- |
Jared Sullinger-OSU | Back spasms can be tricky. Needs to play this wk. to keep No. 1 spot. |
| 2 | -- | Tu Holloway-XAV |
Posted 33 pts, 9 rebs, 9 asts, 7 stls, & 20-22 FTs in last two games. |
| 3 | -- |
Harrison Barnes-UNC |
Interesting: His 107.4 ORating only ranks fifth on the Heels. |
| 4 | +3 |
Thomas Robinson-KAN |
Looks like he'll pace the Big-12 statistically much like Durant, Griffin did. |
| 5 | +1 |
Jeremy Lamb-CON |
Doubling his steal% from a year ago (1.8% to 3.6%) |
| 6 | -1 | Jordan Taylor-WIS | Ten games in: 11.6 pts, 4.4 rebs, 5.7 asts, 1.5 TOs, 36% FGs |
| 7 | -3 |
Terrence Jones-UK |
Here comes that inconsistency thing again. Rough performance vs. IU. |
| 8 | -- |
Anthony Davis-UK |
4.2 BPG, but foul trouble remains an issue. Lank Factor: 0.971 |
| 9 | -- |
Draymond Green-MSU |
Do you believe the POY hype now? 34 pts (11-13 FGs) in W over Gonzaga. |
| 10 | +1 |
Marcus Denmon -MIZ |
Crazy that his 66.2 eFG% & 70.0 TS% are each topped by teammate English |
| 11 | -1 |
Perry Jones-BAY |
No games last week. Travels to BYU on Saturday. Big #'s to follow? |
| 12 | +2 |
John Henson-UNC |
Blocks and rebounds keep flowing in. Should remain steady at 15-10-3. |
| 13 | +5 |
Doug McDermott-CRE |
Wake up, people. Last six games: 26.3 pts, 10.2 rebs, 18 of 28 3P's. |
| 14 | -2 |
John Jenkins-VAN |
Shooting distribution (all): 47.68% 3P / 32.45% 2P / 19.86% FT |
| 15 | +2 |
Kendall Marshall-UNC |
We won't lie - That 16-assist, 2-turnover game vs. LBSU was impressive. |
| 16 | -3 | Ashton Gibbs-PITT |
Hasn't yet established himself on the national scene. Lots of time for that. |
| 17 | UNR | Kevin Jones-WVU | Simply remarkable. Going stat-crazy & only using 23.4% of possessions. |
| 18 | -2 | Scott Machado-ION |
Is he pressing a bit? Last two weeks: 5.0 turnovers per game. |
| 19 | -4 |
J'Covan Brown-TEX |
Fading very quickly. We probably bought in too early on his hot start. |
| 20 | -- | D. Johnson-Odom-MAR |
Forcing his way in the discussion despite his table-stretchingly-long name. |
Five who just missed: Damian Lillard-Weber State, Herb Pope-Seton Hall, Dee Bost-Mississippi State, Mike Moser-UNLV, JaMychal Green-Alabama