Conference play produced a number of intense games between ranked teams this week, from Colorado-UCLA out West to Duke–Virginia Tech on the opposite coast, and several Big Ten and Big 12 battles in the middle. One team that started last week at the top of their league — Ohio State — proceeded to lose three in a row, while another — Oklahoma — dropped a pair of games. Most of the power conferences have ties atop their standings.
But not every top 25 team faces such stiff competition within its league, and as a result, some of them fall off the radar at this time of the year as they cruise through conference play. This week’s power rankings will start with a check-in on those teams whose dominance has become almost routine with one month left before the postseason.
Notes on the votes
• The gold standard of dominance in the NCAA this season is obviously South Carolina, but this week, we’ll focus on another unbeaten in the SEC: LSU. The Tigers and Gamecocks are the only remaining undefeated teams in the country, and LSU is easily the more surprising inclusion on that list. With three freshmen (Flau’jae Johnson, Sa’Myah Smith and Last-Tear Poa) in the top eight of the rotation along with four transfers (Angel Reese, Jasmine Carson, LaDazhia Williams and Kateri…
