Patriot League Power Rankings Jan. 6: BU Rises, Colgate Falls

Nobody is anybody...yet. The Patriot League's first week gave us some intriguing matchups, a pair of overtime games, a record-setting performance, and more that we will get to in a bit. But the biggest thing to take away from everyone's first two games is that this might be the most wide-open league in the country.

Since there's no use in predicting these games, let's let the numbers do the ranking. As always, please check the sidebar to see how I get the numbers I use.

1. Boston University Terriers (9-6, 2-0; Rating Average 1)

That's right, folks: We have our first unanimous No. 1 this season in Joe Jones' Terriers. After a convincing win over Holy Cross in its first game, BU held off a late push by Lehigh to improve to a perfect 2-0 on the season. For my money, Maurice Watson Jr. has looked like a first-team Patriot League player -- but he may not even be the best point guard on his own team. That distinction might belong to D.J. Irving. Good luck turning this team over.

Last Week's Ranking: 2
Schedule: 1/7 vs. Navy, 7:00 p.m.; 1/11 at Lafayette, 2:00 p.m.

2. American University Eagles (6-7, 2-0; Rating Average 3.6)

Tony Wroblicky put up one ridiculous box score in his first game and then a slightly less ridiculous, but still impressive, stat line in his second. The result: two wins for American. What has been an up-and-down year for the Eagles was definitely up this week and Wroblicky was a huge part of that. If they are going to hang on at the top, they will need him to keep stuffing the stat sheet.

Last Week's Ranking: 8
Schedule: 1/8 vs. Loyola, 7:30 p.m.; 1/11 at Colgate, 2:00 p.m.

3. Lehigh Mountain Hawks (8-7, 1-1; Rating Average 3.6)

Lehigh played two strong opponents this week and pushed both of them to the brink. The Mountain Hawks' Patriot League opener saw them go into Colgate's gym, force two overtimes, and emerge victorious. Their second effort saw them almost knock off BU, but poor execution down the stretch on defense saw D.J. Irving put them away. Mackey McKnight isn't C.J. McCollum, but he's good enough to carry this offense.

Last Week's Ranking: 3
Schedule: 1/8 vs. Army, 7:00 p.m.; 1/11 at Loyola, 4:00 p.m.

4. Bucknell Bison (6-7, 1-1; Rating Average 4)

The Bison will rise again. After ending up on the wrong side of a Tony Wroblicky all-timer, Bucknell rebounded to get its first conference win against Colgate on Saturday. Chris Haas is averaging 22 points per game through two games and if he can keep scoring at that rate, Bucknell is going to be very tough to handle.

Last Week's Ranking: 4
Schedule: 1/8 at Lafayette, 7:00 p.m.; 1/11 vs. Holy Cross, 2:00 p.m.

5. Colgate Raiders (6-7, 0-2; Rating Average 5.2)

Colgate sat at the top of these rankings just a week ago, but plummeted to the midpoint after dropping back-to-back games to Lehigh and Bucknell. In fairness, Matt Langel's team has faced two of the best teams in the Patriot League and when the schedule softens up, the Raiders will see everything even out.

Last Week's Ranking: 1
Schedule: 1/8 at Holy Cross, 7:00 p.m.; 1/11 vs. American, 2:00 p.m.

6. Army Black Knights (6-7, 2-0; Rating Average 6.4)

My, how things have changed for the Black Knights of the Hudson this week. After being a bottom dweller for the first half of the season, Army came out and impressed everyone with back-to-back wins over Lafayette and Loyola. Led by Kyle Wilson's 42 combined points, Army scored 85 and 91 points, respectively, in its games this week. Things will get tougher as the weeks go by, but don't expect to see Army drop much further next week.

Last Week's Ranking: 10
Schedule: 1/8 at Lehigh, 7:00 p.m.; 1/11 at Navy 4:00 p.m.

7. Holy Cross Crusaders (6-8, 0-2; Rating Average 7)

Milan Brown's team ran into two teams at the top of our power rankings this week, dropping games at BU and at home to American. Teams have caught on to Dave Dudzinski and unless players around him step up, it will be tough sledding for Holy Cross in the Patriot League. Stud freshman Malachi Alexander has had two down games and getting him going could be one way HC starts moving up the ranks again.

Last Week's Ranking: 5
Schedule: 1/8 vs. Colgate, 7:00 p.m.; 1/11 at Bucknell, 2:00 p.m.

8. Loyola-Maryland Greyhounds (6-7, 1-1; Rating Average 7.2)

Dylon Cormier can flat-out score the basketball, guys. Loyola's volume-scoring guard put up 20 and 27 points, respectively, in the Greyhounds' two games this week and currently ranks seventh in the country in scoring average. Unfortunately, they ran into the Army buzzsaw in their second game, giving up 91 points to lose their first Patriot League game.

Last Week's Ranking: 7
Schedule: 1/8 at American, 7:30 p.m.; 1/11 vs. Lehigh, 4:00 p.m.

9. Navy Midshipmen (6-7, 1-1; Rating Average 8.2)

Brandon Venturini hit 8-of-9 from three to give Navy its first win in conference play and the Midshipmen still only beat Lafayette by eight. Navy ranks at the bottom in two of the five categories used, tied with the Leopards for last in the league. The Midshipmen have thus far played No. 8 and 10 on this list, and came out 1-1. Sounds about right.

Last Week's Ranking: 9
Schedule: 1/7 at BU, 7:00 p.m.; 1/11 vs. Army, 4:00 p.m.

10. Lafayette Leopards (4-9, 0-2; Rating Average 8.8)

Lafayette came out on the wrong end of both games it played this week as they continue to struggle without Seth Hinrichs. The Leopards did finally top the 70-point mark, but gave up 79 to Navy after allowing Brandon Venturini's career night. Here's hoping they can pick themselves up and get a few wins, but right now things are looking dire for Lafayette.

Last Week's Ranking: 6
Schedule: 1/8 vs. Bucknell, 7:00 p.m.; 1/11 vs. BU, 2:00 p.m.