Michigan didn’t need a buzzer-beater or an overtime escape this past week. The Wolverines just kept winning, rolling Ohio State 82-61 on Sunday behind Aday Mara’s career-high 24 points, and that methodical dominance is exactly why they sit atop PFSN’s Men’s CBB Power Rankings for the first time this season.
With Kansas surging on a seven-game win streak and the rest of the top 10 reshuffling after a chaotic Saturday, here’s where every team in our top 25 lands heading into the second full week of February.
1) Michigan
No real notes here, not yet anyway. Michigan has avoided real game pressure for the majority of this season, and that’s allowed them to mask an unimpressive free-throw percentage.
They have dates with Purdue, Duke, Illinois, and Michigan State over the next month: that flaw is either going to get exposed or prove not to be a concern. This is an elite profile, and we should get insight as to whether or not they have the makeup of a true champion before this regular season wraps.
2) Purdue
As you’d expect, this is a strong assist-to-turnover team, and that naturally fuels a high eFG%. Nebraska this week and both Michigan teams before February ends will give us more breadcrumbs when it comes to the upside of this team.
They were preseason No. 1, and while they were finally knocked off the top spot for us this week, six straight wins in late March isn’t out of the question.
3) Duke
You get nothing easy against this team, and they own a top-25 eFG%. The loss in Chapel Hill hurts the pride a bit. Seth Trimble’s buzzer-beating three on Saturday was an all-timer, but it’s not a bad result, and this team is as capable as any of cutting down the nets in April.
Cameron Boozer dropped 24 and 11 in the loss, and Jon Scheyer’s squad still dominated the glass by 12. Duke will be fine.
4) Arizona
There’s no better combination of rebounding and defense in the nation than the Wildcats. They have some upward mobility, and they are going to have a chance to prove it: they play one unranked team over the next three weeks, and it’s at Baylor, a squad that just pushed Iowa State.
This is a Tier 1 resume that can get even better before conference tournament action. They are in the mix for the top overall seed without question.
5) Nebraska
The four teams ahead of the Cornhuskers in these ranks have stars that can win games. Nebraska can get those performances, but this profile is more of a team that refuses to beat itself.
Rienk Mast’s 26-point effort in Saturday’s bounce-back win over Rutgers was encouraging after the back-to-back losses to Michigan and Illinois. Depending on how the bracket falls, that discipline is a great trait to have. But can they hang with the Tier 1 teams? It’ll be awfully interesting should we get to that point.
6) Illinois
Against the 14th-toughest schedule, this is a profile that looks elite, except for a little too much self-creation. That can work in spurts, but if you’re trying to win six straight in late March, I want more savvy on the distribution end.
Keaton Wagler’s 2-for-19 shooting night in Saturday’s overtime loss at Michigan State was an outlier, but it exposed what happens when the offense gets too reliant on one guy. With back-to-back games against ranked teams in two weeks, we have a chance to get a glimpse of that balance before it’s too late.
7) Louisville
This Louisville team has won five of six (the loss was a 31-point disaster at Duke, but still) and has a well-rounded profile. To me, that makes them a great bet to win a few games in March, but a long shot to string four or more together.
8) Iowa State
I will go to war with this Iowa State defense and Joshua Jefferson and live with the results. They had a nice rally over the weekend against Baylor and can certainly boost their resume even further with a tough three weeks ahead.
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There is still room on this bandwagon, but jump on quickly; the ticket price could jump over the next 10 days.
9) Kansas
I see the Lakers when I see Kansas. Some star power and a huge edge at the free-throw line. I’m not picking LA to win the NBA title and probably don’t land on KU in the college game, but that combination gives them the upside to take anyone down.
Darryn Peterson keeps flashing lottery-pick talent, and his 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting against BYU last week were another reminder. When the supporting cast shows up the way Bryson Tiller did with 21 and seven, this team can beat anyone in the country.
10) Arkansas
John Calipari has been a story all season long, and a top-40 pace team with a low turnover rate has his fingerprints all over it. This team can score against just about anyone, and if they string stops together, the deficit can get overwhelming in a hurry.
11) North Carolina
The Tar Heels are going to be a tough evaluation come tourney time. They can’t make free throws, but they never send their opponents there, thus helping mask the flaw. Duke shot just 5-of-6 from the line on Saturday because UNC committed a mere seven fouls.
Obviously, a huge win against the Blue Devils over the weekend, with Trimble’s corner three instantly becoming part of the rivalry’s permanent highlight reel. I want to see if they can carry over the high level of play for the remainder of this month or if there’s a natural letdown.
12) Gonzaga
There are more exciting teams everywhere you look, but if you excel at rebounding and rarely give the ball away, you’re going to grade well. If you’re curious, no, I’m not worried about the goofy defeat at Portland on Wednesday.
13) Michigan State
This is the team with the best combination of rebounding and passing in the country, and it’s not close. Tom Izzo got his team to run through the tape on Saturday against Illinois in overtime, giving us one more gritty data point for a team that never gives in.
Jeremy Fears Jr. answered every question (on the court, at least) with 26 points and 15 assists in 42 minutes. That’s the kind of performance that sticks with a team heading into March.
14) NC State
This is a so-so profile that is elevated thanks to the steady nature of their passing metrics, but with six straight wins, who am I to complain?
Quadir Copeland has been a revelation since following Will Wade from McNeese, and Saturday’s 82-73 win over Virginia Tech was another example. With four ranked opponents left on the schedule, we will learn plenty about the March viability of this team before we are forced to pick games on a bracket.
15) Iowa
Behind one of the best point guards in the country, this Iowa team always gets good shots, and they are actually a plus-defensive team thus far. My numbers have liked them more than the polls every step of the way, but you won’t need to blindly trust those predictive metrics: there are four massive tests left on the Hawkeye schedule.
16) SMU
The Mustangs righted the ship over the weekend with a 19-point win over Pittsburgh, and I remain sold on the offensive profile. This is a top-50 assist-to-turnover team that makes its free throws. If the defense can be a tick above average, two tourney wins are very much something I’m looking for.
17) UConn
This is a good example of buying a profile, not results. UConn lost for the first time in nearly three months this past week, with an 81-72 defeat at St. John’s at MSG, and moved up in the rankings. Their assist rates and defensive metrics are stellar: there might be a minor buying window here after the nine-point loss to the Red Storm.
18) Saint Louis
Basketball is a simple game. Saint Louis makes the shots they work hard to get, doesn’t let you get high-percentage looks, and excels at closing out possessions. This team isn’t fading, and they’ll be a tough out for literally anyone next month.
19) BYU
With four straight losses that include three to top-15 teams and Saturday’s 77-66 home defeat to Houston, making it four of six, your trust in BYU relies on their raw offensive talent. There’s plenty of it with AJ Dybantsa leading the way, but this team is a wild card every night, and the defense hasn’t progressed as hoped.
Their season-long numbers still look OK, but this is a team looking for answers before they get Arizona and Iowa State in a four-day window later this month.
20) Vanderbilt
Tyler Tanner can fill it up (he dropped 37 in Saturday’s loss), but there’s no denying that this team is taking on water after losing 92-91 to Oklahoma. They are a top-70 defense, but they foul far too often. Iron that out, and there is still hope that this team can regain the early-season form that saw them beat Alabama. The absence of Duke Miles continues to loom large.
21) Texas Tech
It’s possible I’m just making excuses for this Texas Tech team, but they’ve played a top-five schedule in terms of difficulty, and the offensive metrics still check out. The results over the past five weeks have been spotty, but they’ve kept every loss tight since the blowout against Purdue in November, and their star power can close games.
22) Indiana
There are three major tests left on Indiana’s regular-season schedule, but the overtime win over Wisconsin on Saturday showed guts. Lamar Wilkerson’s eight clutch free throws down the stretch (four to force OT, two more to win it with 2.8 seconds left) were the performance of a guy who wants to play in April.
This team has proven to be one of, if not the, best passing team in the country. Ironic for a school with the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, no?
23) Tulsa
This is an elite shooting profile that finally breaks through our PFSN Men’s CBB Power Rankings top 25. They are a little top-heavy with three players scoring over 14 points per game, but they all have some range, and two of them rarely miss free throws. Sexy profile? No. One that could surprise due to a high game-to-game floor? I think so.
24) Miami (FL)
This Miami (FL) team is as good as any on the glass, and they are going to be put to the test this week against the Tar Heels. They entered this week having won three of four after consecutive losses, and Malik Reneau is the type that can take over a game at a moment’s notice.
25) Utah State
Utah State is a team with the attributes of a multi-win tournament team on both sides of the ball that has rebounded with five straight wins. Their starting backcourt pours in 35 points a night with under three turnovers per game, a lethal combination come March Madness.
