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College Basketball Talk’s Player of the Year Power Rankings

Doug McDermott, James Bell

AP Photo

AP

Doug McDermott, James Bell

AP Photo

AP

1. Doug McDermott, Creighton: This is really all you need to know about McDermott: He averaged 27.5 points in wins at Marquette and over Seton Hall at home, and no one even batted an eye. How good do you have to be for 55 points over the course of two games in the Big East to barely move the needle?

2. Jabari Parker, Duke: Ironically enough, Parker found his three-point stroke against in Saturday’s win over Syracuse in the same game that he proved why he is so much more valuable than simply being a jump-shooter. In three games, he averaged 17.3 points and 11.7 boards last week, but he also committed 13 turnovers.

3. Shabazz Napier, UConn: Napier struggled the last two games, shooting 8-for-27 from the floor, 1-for-6 from three and committing nine turnovers in a closer-than-it-should’ve-been win over Temple and a loss to SMU at home. He’ll have a chance to get back on track at South Florida, who the Huskies play next.

4. Russ Smith, Louisville: The difference between Russ Smith today and Russ Smith of a year ago can be seen in two minutes of basketball at the end of Louisville’s win over Cincinnati. He erased a three-point Cincinnati lead with back-to-back assists to Montrezl Harrell, passes he wouldn’t have made last season. On the final possession, he hit the game-winner, but it came after he gave the ball up to Terry Rozier instead of forcing the shot on his initial touch:

5. Sean Kilpatrick, Cincinnati: Kilpatrick is still carrying a massive load offensively for a team that simply doesn’t have other scoring options. His offensive rating is 121.6, higher than anyone in the top ten not named Doug McDermott, and he’s doing in on a team that ranks 105th nationally in offensive efficiency with a usage rate of 28.9% and a shot percentage of 32.0%. For those that aren’t statistically-inclined, that means Kilpatrick is having a very efficient season despite playing a massive role offensively on a team that can’t score.

t-6. Tyler Ennis, Syracuse, and Nick Johnson, Arizona: Everyone goes through lulls. Jabari Parker had his in December. Julius Randle struggled a bit in January. Shabazz Napier had a couple of bad games at the start of AAC play. It’s part of being an athlete. Not every day is going to be your best day.

Both Ennis and Johnson hit their lulls in the last two weeks. Ennis was 2-for-13 from the floor in the loss at Duke and struggled in the loss to BC and the win over Maryland. Johnson had a four-game stretch where he shot 25.0% (15-60) from the floor and 1-for-18 from three, or 5.6%, after Brandon Ashley got injured.

The question now becomes how they will bounce back. Ennis had 20 points, five boards, three assists and two steals in Monday’s win over Maryland. Johnson had 20 points, five boards and six assists in Saturday’s blowout win over Colorado.

7. Julius Randle, Kentucky: Randle had 25 points and 13 boards in a win over Ole Miss on Tuesday and followed that up with eight points and 15 boards, including the game-winning bucket, in the overtime win over LSU. He’s not trying to be liked, he’s trying to win a championship.

8. Cameron Bairstow, New Mexico: It’s time to ride for Bairstow. He needs more attention nationally, and here’s the latest example: that San Diego State front line that shutdown Joel Embiid and PErry Ellis in the Aztec win at Phog Allen Fieldhouse? Bairstow went for 26 points and nine boards on 11-for-18 shooting against them. BEAR-stow.

9. Xavier Thames, San Diego State: Thames is having a similar season to Kilpatrick in that he’s putting up ridiculous efficiency numbers for a Final Four contender that doesn’t score well. He’s dropped this week thanks to a couple of off-nights in a row and said rout at New Mexico.

10. Kyle Anderson, UCLA: Anderson struggled in UCLA’s loss at Stanford -- the Bruins are generally awful in the second-game of their Pac-12 road weekends -- but he’s still averaging 14.9 points, 8.6 boards and 6.9 assists while shooting 49.8% from the floor and 50.0% from three.

Others: Jordan Adams, Billy Baron, Jabari Brown, Bryce Cotton, Cleanthony Early, Joel Embiid, C.J. Fair, Marcus Foster, Aaron Gordon, Gary Harris, Rodney Hood, Frank Kaminsky, Deandre Kane, Kevin Pangos, Lamar Patterson, Adreian Payne, Elfrid Payton, Marcus Smart, Juwan Staten, Nik Stauskas, Fred Van Vleet, T.J. Warren, Andrew Wiggins, Scottie Wilbekin, Chaz Williams