This will be the penultimate top-25 of the season for us. Next week, we’re opting to go the route of a more of a power rankings format for the NCAA Tournament, and then we will have the final top-25 after all the dust has settled in the NCAA Tournament. Conference tournament week is going to be a lot of fun – it’s the perfect appetizer for March Madness! Every season, I look forward to someone pulling off a 2024 NC State-like run where they win 5 games in 5 games to win a Conference tournament, but in the days of bloated power conferences and super teams at the top, I doubt we get one this year.
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College Basketball Top 25 Rankings
1. Duke
The Blue Devils rolled over North Carolina and are heading into the ACC Tournament on a 7-game win streak, but it came with a cost. Starters Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba have sustained injuries, and their status is unknown moving forward. We’ll see how it impacts them (and their future ranking) this week in Charlotte.
2. Michigan
The longer the season goes on, the harder this team looks to beat. You either have to match their size and physicality (like Duke did), or go nuclear hot from 3 (like Wisconsin did). The injury to LJ Cason does hurt the depth of this team, but Roddy Gayle Jr has stepped up and filled the void nicely to this point.
3. Arizona
Only Kansas, who doesn’t lose on Big Monday at Allen Fieldhouse, has beaten this Arizona team while fully healthy. If they can maintain the health of Koa Peat and company. Throughout the Big 12 tournament, you have to feel pretty good about their chances of winning the whole thing. Of the top-4 teams, I do worry about an upset the most for this group because of their lack of 3-point shooting if they run into an opponent who gets hot.
4. Florida
The Gators have lost only one game since January 4, and just completely ran roughshod over the best that the SEC had to throw at them. The development of Thomas Haugh into one of the biggest wing mismatches in the sport has been fun to watch, and they have a chance to give us a pair of back-to-back champions in the last four seasons.
5. Illinois
The Illini head into postseason play boasting the most efficient offense that the KenPom database has ever seen. However, will they be able to get enough stops to truly contend for a national championship? Their defense sits at only 26th nationally in defensive efficiency. Either way, I will be watching, as Keaton Wagler is one of the most entertaining players in the sport.
