Auburn defends its crown on the road against Alabama and remains the top seed in this week’s college basketball rankings. Some other changes in the top five include Alabama falling to No. 4 and Florida going up to No. 2. I disagree with Alabama falling to No. 4, but that’s how it must be with Duke only having one loss in conference play and going 2-0 this past week. Alabama will face ranked teams the rest of the way and can pick up some key wins to move back up. 

Texas A&M, Iowa State, and Texas Tech come in at Nos. 7, 8, and 9, and I view them all as relatively equal to each other. Texas Tech is the big riser out of the three, going from No. 12 to No. 9 after their double-overtime win against Arizona State. I think this is the right order at the end of the day, as Texas A&M is the most complete team out of the three and has the best player in Wade Taylor.

Behind these teams are some high risers and fallers within the Big 10. Wisconsin moves up five spots to No. 11 and Michigan moves up eight spots to No. 12. Purdue fell six spots to No. 13 and Michigan State fell four spots to No. 14. Wisconsin is a Final Four contender and can score 80-90 points on any given day, which isn’t the brand of basketball they played in past years. Michigan is at the top of the Big 10 and captured some big wins this week against Purdue and Ohio State.

Purdue lost to both Michigan and Wisconsin, and Michigan State lost to Indiana. These rankings are fair based on this past week, and I think the Big 10 is the hardest conference to pick a clear best team. All of the mentioned teams (and Maryland at No. 20) can beat each other on any given day. Michigan and Michigan State still play twice this year, and those games can possibly be deciders in who wins the conference.

Missouri, Clemson, and Maryland are the high risers in the bottom half of the poll. Missouri went up six spots and continued to impress me after I continued to doubt them. The Tigers seem to thrive in the second half and can put teams away. Tamar Bates and Mark Mitchell lead the charge for this team, and I think you have to keep ranking the Tigers this high with 19 wins while playing in the SEC.

Clemson continues to thrive following their big win against Duke, taking down North Carolina and Florida State in dominant fashion. The Tigers have played close to perfect basketball and are the top team in the ACC next to Duke. This is a deserved spot for them.

Lastly, Maryland is a great team that can be the best in the Big 10 at their full potential. I have been big on the Terps all year, and they could have a case to be even higher. They could be as high as No. 16 ahead of Arizona, Clemson, Kentucky, and Marquette. They have one of the best-starting fives in the country, and freshman phenom Derik Queen has reached his full potential and dropped 29 points and 15 rebounds last week against Rutgers.

A couple of teams I think should have been dropped or even out of the rankings this week are Marquette, Kansas, and Ole Miss. Marquette is at No. 16 and has struggled the past two weeks, where their best win came against an 11-14 DePaul team. Like I said before, they should be in Maryland’s spot at No. 20.

Kansas, where do I start? The Jayhawks have been disappointing this year after being the preseason No. 1 team and going all-in on the transfer portal. It’s a hard watch, and they have struggled against unranked teams now, having lost to Utah, Kansas State, West Virginia, and Baylor. They also don’t pass the eye test and struggle when trailing. It’s beyond the point where you can make an argument to keep Kansas ranked.

Ole Miss is holding on to wins against Alabama and Kentucky, besides that, they have struggled in SEC play. On the season, they are 2-7 against currently ranked teams. Despite the conference you are in, that record isn’t good enough to still be in the top 25. They still play Auburn, Tennessee, and Florida and can pick up another marquee win or two.

There are a few teams that could fill in the spots of the teams that I think should be dropped out, but the one I want to point out is New Mexico. The Lobos have done nothing but exceed expectations this year, as after losing JT Toppin to the transfer portal, Jalen House and Jamal Mashburn Jr. are playing better than they did last year. That’s a credit to the guys on the team and coach Richard Pitino, who should be at the top of the list for Coach of the Year. The Lobos are at the top of the Mountain West at 14-1 in the conference and 22-4 overall on the season. They have taken down Utah State twice as well as San Diego State, who have both been in the rankings this year. I just don’t know what else they need to do. The Lobos have one game this week against Boise State, which they should win, and if they do, they need to be in the rankings.

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