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Player of the Year Power Rankings: There’s a new leader this week

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NEWARK, NJ - DECEMBER 10: Josh Hart #3 of the Villanova Wildcats attempts a shot as he is defended by Bonzie Colson #35 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first half of a college basketball game at Prudential Center on December 10, 2016 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

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1. Josh Hart, Villanova: Hart vaulted past Frank Mason III into the National Player of the Year lead after his dominating, 37-point performance in Villanova’s come-from-behind win to beat Notre Dame. It was as good of a performance as we’ve seen this season, and it’s worth noting that, in Villanova’s other great win this season - a Purdue - Hart was again the best player on the floor.

2. Frank Mason III, Kansas: I had to drop Mason out of the top spot this week, although it’s through no fault of his own. He’s been sensational this season. Look at this stat line: 20.5 points, 5.5 assists, 4.5 boards and 1.3 steals while shooting 58.7 percent from the floor and 54.8 percent from three. He made the game-winning jumper in Madison Square Garden to give Kansas the non-conference win they needed over Duke to cement themselves in the No. 1 overall seed discussion. He had 30 points and nine assists and was the sole reason Kansas was able to get their season-opening loss to Indiana to overtime.

The reason Hart is ahead of him? It’s simple: Hart led his team to a win over Notre Dame while Mason couldn’t quite get Kansas over the hump against Indiana. That’s how close the margins are.

3. Lonzo Ball, UCLA: There’s not really much to say about Ball that we didn’t say last week. I will make this note, however: UCLA is on pace to become the best three-point shooting team since 1997, which is as far back as I can find data. They’re currently making 47.1 percent of their threes. The best season I found? Northern Colorado in 2011-12, who shot 45.1 percent from three while attempting eight fewer threes per game.

Ball is the facilitator for a lot of those open looks, there’s no question about that. But he’s also shooting 45.3 percent from three on more than five attempts per game. The knock on him entering the season was his shooting ability. His form is funky and may need to be tweaked at the next level, but it goes in, there’s no denying that.

4. Luke Kennard, Duke: As of today, Kennard is averaging 20.0 points, 6.1 boards and 3.3 assists for a consensus top five team that is currently ranked No. 1 in the NBC Sports Top 25. He’s been Duke’s best player in their four biggest games of the season, culminating in a dominating 29-point performance to lead Duke to a win over Florida in the Jimmy V Classic. He’s not Duke’s best draft prospect and, I’d argue, he’s not even one of the two best players currently playing for Duke.

And yet, he absolutely deserves to be a first-team all-american as of today. Impressive, that.

5. De’Aaron Fox, Kentucky: Fox dropped from fourth to fifth in our rankings this week for one simple reason: He hasn’t yet had a huge game in a big win for the Wildcats. In fact, I’d make the argument that Kentucky hasn’t yet had a big win, having lost the only real chance they’ve had so far this season. What the Wildcats do in the coming week - with games against North Carolina in Las Vegas and at Louisville - will tell us a lot about where this team is headed.

6. Mo Watson, Creighton: Watson is now leading the country in assists, averaging 9.1 per game, just sneaking in front of UCLA’s Lonzo Ball. The Bluejays have one of the nation’s most high-powered offenses - they’re second nationally in three-point shooting and effective field goal percentage (to UCLA) - and Watson is the engine. Here’s a nice little graphic on where those 91 assists have gone this season:

7. Joel Berry II, North Carolina: Berry’s numbers alone are impressive. He’s averaging 14.8 points and 4.7 assists while shooting 41.9 percent from three, an important number for a team that doesn’t have a ton of perimeter scorers this season. He’s had his best games in UNC’s biggest wins, lighting up Wisconsin and Oklahoma State in Maui. But the thing about Berry is that we didn’t truly see his importance to Carolina until this week, when he was forced to miss two games due to an ankle injury. Davidson kept things closer with the Heels than they probably should have while Tennessee pulled off the near-upset. Things just run smoother for the Tar Heels when Berry is on the floor.

8. Amile Jefferson, Duke: Jefferson is a newcomer to this list, and he unquestionably deserves to be there. Let’s go beyond the fact that he’s averaging 15.1 points, 10.5 boards, 2.2 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.0 steals: His presence is what’s keeping Marques Bolden, a potential lottery pick, glued to the bench even though he’s now healthy. Jefferson Isn’t the biggest player in the country, but he’s developed into a terrific low-post scorer - he’s got what you might describe as old-man game - and he’s the maestro of that defense. Always in the right position, always directing traffic, always clearing the defensive glass. He’s turned into a terrific basketball player.

9. Jawun Evans, Oklahoma State: There’s not much to add on Evans here, as he’s dealing with a shoulder injury that kept him out of the lineup against Tulsa.

10. Markelle Fultz, Washington: The numbers that Fultz is putting up this season are ridiculous. He’s averaging 22.8 points, 6.9 assists and 6.1 boards this season in addition to 2.1 steals and 1.2 blocks. As I wrote in this space last week, what Fultz is doing has not happened since 1993, and it may never have happened before; the statistical database I have access to only has data dating back to ’93.

But Washington is terrible. They lost twice last week, falling to 4-5 on the season. It seems unlikely that the Huskies will get it together and get to the tournament, and it could cost Lorenzo Romar his job.

JUST MISSED THE CUT

Caleb Swanigan, Purdue
Melo Trimble, Maryland
Malik Monk, Kentucky
Alec Peters, Valparaiso
Marcus Foster, Creighton
Bonzie Colson, Notre Dame
Yante Maten, Georgia
Johnathan Motley, Baylor
Jock Landale, Saint Mary’s