This week is when I begin to realize that, at times, advanced analytics can be the thief of joy. When I was younger, I would look at a team like Miami (Ohio) and put them in the top-10 of these rankings. They’re unbeaten! How could they not be top-10? But, now that I know more about advanced metrics, I can’t possibly argue to put them there. They’ve played the 336th-toughest schedule in the nation, haven’t beaten a team in the KenPom top-100, and themselves check in at 90. Sigh. I just can’t objectively argue that a team with that profile belongs in the top-25. So I’m not ranking them.
Latest Top 25 College Basketball Rankings
1. Michigan
The Wolverines faced their toughest test of the season this past week, and they passed it with flying colors. They knocked off unbeaten Nebraska, then made the short road trip to East Lansing to beat Michigan State. Elliott Cadeau really stepped up, and if he continues to play like this, they will be very tough to beat. Can the Wolverines be the team to break the Big Ten’s National Championship drought ?
2. Arizona
This team just keeps on winning. They survived a tough road test at BYU. But the last month of the season will be an absolute gauntlet – 6 of the remaining 9 games are against top-25 KenPom teams, with road trips for Allen Fieldhouse and the Fertitta Center on the docket. Going unbeaten would be an insanely tough accomplishment.
3. Duke
The ACC is back this year, but it is clear that no one else in the league is on the same level as the Blue Devils. Louisville is potentially the 2nd-best team in the league, and Duke blasted them by 30 points last week. Cameron Boozer gets all of the headlines, but the length and versatility of the supporting cast has been key in keeping Duke unbeaten in ACC play.
4. Illinois
Keaton Wagler. Keaton Wagler. Keaton Wagler. By now, we all know the name, and we know that it’s pronounced “Wogg-ler.” He has been on an absolute tear since the injury to Kylan Boswell, and is showing no signs of slowing down. With Boswell’s shooting slump this season, you could make a compelling argument that Illinois’ offense is better with him off the floor.
5. UConn
Dan Hurley’s Huskies finally blew out an inferior Big East opponent this weekend, as they walloped Creighton 85-58. If not for a narrow loss to Arizona in November, we could very easily be talking about this team completing an undefeated regular season. They certainly should finish Big East play unbeaten.
6. Houston
I’ve been lower than most on Kelvin Sampson’s Houston teams (I picked Gonzaga to beat them in the Round of 32 last season, and was almost right), but I am a true believer in this year’s squad. The difference: they have two legitimate NBA players in Kingston Flemings and Chris Cenac.
7. Gonzaga
Much was made over the strange formatting of the Players’ Era Festival bracket in November. Here’s an unintended consequence – if it were formatted differently, and Gonzaga didn’t play Michigan, we could be talking about this Zags team entering the NCAA Tournament undefeated. They got Graham Ike back and beat the 2nd-best WCC team (St. Mary’s) this past weekend.
8. Florida
The Gators are looking like the class of the SEC for the 2nd straight season after dropping a 100-bomb on Alabama. It’s going to take a lot more than Charles Bediako to defend this Florida frontcourt of Haugh, Condon, and Chinyelu, who are certainly in the top-2 frontcourts alongside Michigan.
9. Kansas
This is a simple one for me – when Darryn Peterson is on the floor (which isn’t all the time), Kansas looks like a true National Championship contender. This could be one of those 3 or 4-seeds in the NCAA Tournament that is underseeded for what their ceiling is and could easily go on a run.
10. Iowa State
The Cyclones got back on track last week, doing what they do. What I mean by that is that they completely steam-rolled two bottom-half Big 12 teams with a massive margin of victory that helps their computer metrics. The TJ Otzelberger special.
11. Michigan State
The Spartans’ double-big lineup looks big until it goes up against Michigan’s triple-big lineup. The frontcourt didn’t play all that well, and Michigan State dropped a potentially huge win over Michigan. It’s hard to feel too confident in a team that is reliant on Jeremy Fears to be their primary scorer. The frontcourt has to be better.
12. Purdue
I can forgive a loss on the West Coast road trip. I can forgive a loss to a red-hot Illinois. But I gotta knock the Boilermakers down for their loss to Indiana, a team that by all accounts they should match up well with, and Trey Kaufman-Renn should dominate inside.
13. Nebraska
Fred Hoiberg’s Cornhuskers had a prime opportunity to show that they were a true National Championship contender this past week, and they fell flat. But still, they’re sitting at 20-2, and their two losses are to Michigan and Illinois. That’s not a bad place to be at.
14. Tennessee
Don’t look now – the Vols are on a little bit of a win streak. They’ve beaten Alabama, Georgia, and Auburn in consecutive games. And the win over Auburn was without Felix Okpara in the lineup. This team has the scoring with Gillespie and Ament, and is an outstanding rebounding team.
15. North Carolina
The Tar Heels are peaking at the right time. Henri Veesaar is playing the best basketball of his career, looking truly dominant in this win streak. If not for a horrible West Coast road trip, the Tar Heels would be sitting at 18-2. They just need to figure out how to travel.
16. Vanderbilt
The Commodores have settled back in after their 3-game slide in the middle of January. It was no Duke Miles, no problem against both Kentucky and Ole Miss this week. The Miles injury has meant more minutes for one of the best names in college basketball – Chandler Bing. Could the SEC BE any tougher?
17. Kentucky
The Wildcats notched one of the biggest wins of the Mark Pope era this past Saturday, going into Bud Walton Arena and beating the Razorbacks in a game that had seemingly had a technical foul awarded every 2 minutes. It has to feel good for Pope to beat the man he replaced in Lexington.
18. Saint Louis
There is a very clear pantheon of the best Atlantic 10 teams of all-time – there’s 2004 St Joseph’s, and 2020 Dayton. They may have to make room for one more. The Saint Louis Billikens look like a complete buzzsaw in the 2026 A10. Enjoy Josh Schertz while you have him, because he won’t be here for very long.
19. BYU
AJ Dybantsa is obviously great. But why doesn’t he play great against top competition? It’s going to become a bit of a problem in the NCAA tournament, when the only teams left to play are top competition.
20. St. John’s
Rick Pitino’s Red Storm is just very quietly getting things done in a below-average Big East. This team definitely has more offense than last season, and flamethrower Ian Jackson could be a huge difference-maker down the stretch of the season.
21. Texas Tech
The Red Raiders are a tough one to figure out. JT Toppin is virtually unstoppable, yet they sometimes go minutes without him touching the ball. The back to back losses to UCF and Kansas are not a good sign for a team that we know is capable of beating anyone on any given night.
22. Iowa
Ben McCollum’s Iowa team is just ruthlessly efficient, led by a ruthless point guard in Bennett Stirtz. The Hawkeyes are in the middle of their West Coast road trip, and will be doing well to come out of it without another loss.
23. NC State
Will Wade’s Wolfpack are hitting their stride. They’re not just winning – they’re winning big! They’ve finally figured out the best way to deploy their two best playmakers in Quadir Copeland and Derrion Williams.
24. Alabama
The addition of Charles Bediako, if you can call it that, should certainly help this team’s primary issue right now – defending the paint and rebounding. Oh wait, that was two issues. Bediako’s going to have to be a quick study because the more minutes he can play, the more he can help this team out.
25. Texas A&M
I’ve got to give some credit where it’s due – Bucky McMillan’s “BuckyBall” has been an immediate success, and the Aggies are in the lead in the SEC. However, they have currently faced the weakest SEC schedule to this point. It kind of feels a lot like what happened with Texas A&M this past football season!
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