College Basketball Power Rankings – January 24

1 – Auburn Tigers

The clear No. 1 team in the country is and should be Auburn, which just beat Kentucky to take a two-game lead over the rest of the SEC. Auburn already has wins over Kentucky, Alabama, LSU, and Florida, meaning that it owns head-to-head tiebreakers over various SEC teams in addition to having the multi-game lead in the standings. It would take a big injury or an unexpected slide for Auburn to not win the SEC championship at this point. Auburn still has only one loss on the season and is in great position to get a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Coach Bruce Pearl has also done this with some players, such as Allen Flanigan, missing several games. Auburn hasn’t had a full strength roster for a good chunk of its season. The Tigers with everyone on board are deep, energetic, fearless, balanced, versatile, and generally hard for opponents to figure out. This is the best team in the country. It can win an ugly game or a beautiful game, a slow grind or a track meet. Auburn’s ultimate strength is that it has so many different ways to win games.

2 – Gonzaga Bulldogs

The Gonzaga offense has roared to life with a number of high-scoring games. The Zags took care of San Francisco despite the fact that the Dons raced out to an early 15-4 lead. Gonzaga won the game comfortably because this team doesn’t panic. Like Auburn, it has a lot of different options at both ends of the floor. Chet Holmgren has lived up to the hype as the best freshman in the country. He is growing into his role and gaining even more comfort on the court, which is exactly what the program and head coach Mark Few needed to see in the month of January. Gonzaga might be crushing weaker teams in the West Coast Conference, but this offense is humming at a level which recalls last year’s Gonzaga squad. GU is reaching the standard set by the 2021 team. The one lingering question: Last year’s team played in front of fans in the NCAA Tournament. Did that help this team play with less pressure? This year’s team might have to deal with a greater emotional roller-coaster in March, but it seems to have the necessary weapons to handle anything thrown its way.

3 – Baylor Bears

The Bears have been without James Akinjo and Jeremy Sochan, two very important role players, for the past few games. This is why they lost to Texas Tech and Oklahoma State two weeks ago, but this past week Baylor won two road games without Akinjo and Sochan. The Bears had more than enough team defense and enough situational offense to beat West Virginia and Oklahoma on the road. That’s a big statement from a team which – when it gets everyone back healthy – should be a beast. Baylor is hoping that it will have everyone back in its lineup when it plays Kansas in the Big 12 game of the year. Speaking of Kansas:

4 – Kansas Jayhawks

The Jayhawks have to be in the top five after they beat Oklahoma and Kansas State on the road. Both games were extremely close and went down to the final seconds of regulation. KU had the answers in both games. Coach Bill Self got balanced contributions and big buckets from multiple players. Kansas got the perimeter and wing production to give big man David McCormack needed help. The more balance the Jayhawks can display, the better off they will be in a ruthless Big 12. Getting a road sweep anywhere in the Big 12 this year is a huge feat, especially when one realizes that the Big 12 might get nine of its 10 teams into the NCAA Tournament, and at least eight.

5 – Arizona Wildcats

The Wildcats play UCLA Tuesday night. We will learn a lot more about them. However, they crushed Stanford and California on the road. They didn’t slightly win. They blew out the Cardinal and Golden Bears away from home. That’s what a top team does. However, UCLA will be a true test, and we’ll see what happens then.

6 – UCLA Bruins

The UCLA Bruins prepare for Arizona. It’s the big Pac-12 game of the year, a major proving ground for a Bruin roster which made the Final Four a year ago. Is UCLA ready to get back to the Final Four? It needs to play well against Arizona to offer the right answer to that question. The Bruins were shaky last week at Utah and Colorado, but they still won two road games. They might have been looking ahead to Arizona. Now we’ll find out.

7 – Kentucky Wildcats

The Wildcats lost to Auburn, but TyTy Washington got injured in the game. Kentucky has had rotten injury luck this season, with C.J. Fredrick being out for the year with an injury. Washington is just the latest in a series of UK players to be sidelined with an injury. Kentucky won’t be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but if the Cats get their players healthy, they can go toe to toe with any team. They outplayed Auburn for most of the game before the injuries caught up with them down the stretch. This is still a team with national championship potential.

8 – Michigan State Spartans

The Spartans went into Madison and hammered the Wisconsin Badgers on the road. Wisconsin was, for many people, the new Big Ten favorite after beating Purdue on the road and then taking care of Iowa and Ohio State at home, but Michigan State had other ideas. The decisiveness of the win sent shockwaves through the rest of the Big Ten. The Spartans and Tom Izzo are clearly rounding into form. That’s scary news for the competition in the Big Ten.

9 – Duke Blue Devils

The Blue Devils lost by one point at Florida State. Florida State then won at Miami. The Seminoles are a much better team than they were three weeks ago. Accordingly, that’s not a bad loss for Duke. The Blue Devils are still a highly skilled team which beat Gonzaga and has a very lofty ceiling of potential. Paolo Banchero will be a top-five NBA draft pick.

10 – Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Red Raiders keep this spot because of previous wins over Baylor and Kansas. Not Wisconsin here; the Badgers were hammered at home by Michigan State. Not Villanova here; the Wildcats lost at home to Marquette and look shaky. Texas Tech plays championship-level defense. The Red Raiders will be a very tough out in March.