College Basketball Power Rankings – January 31

The college basketball season has arrived at the month of February, which means March Madness isn’t too far away. Let’s look at the top 10 teams in the country, with the No. 1 team remaining in place from last week.

1 – Auburn Tigers

The clear No. 1 team in the country is still Auburn, which had beaten Kentucky over a week ago and then won two more games at Missouri and against Oklahoma to maintain its position atop the leaderboard. 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 built this roster with some players, such as Allen Flanigan, missing several games. Auburn hasn’t had a full strength roster for much of its season. That reality helped other guys to step up and get more fully integrated into the lineup, which has created a team with more depth, more answers in crunch time, and more options for Pearl’s lineup combinations. He can manipulate his rotation more because he had to make do with less in the early weeks of the season. The Tigers with everyone on board are a boatload for opponents to handle. This team is so scary because it has so many different ways to win games, and it is fresh (because of its depth) in the final five to six minutes of games. If you don’t beat Auburn in the first 35, you’re probably not going to beat the Tigers when 40 minutes are over.

2 – Gonzaga Bulldogs

The Gonzaga offense is in a great groove right now, and moreover, the other teams in the West Coast Conference show no signs of being able to challenge the Zags’ supremacy in the league. Gonzaga will likely lose no more than one game in the next six weeks before the NCAA Tournament begins. That will ensure the Zags get the No. 1 seed in the West Region and will be a favorite to make the Final Four once again. Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren has ripened into the freshman star everyone thought he would be. As long as the supporting cast plays at a reasonably solid level, with no one having a particularly bad game in March, this group should get back to the Final Four with a chance to chase down the first national championship in school history.

3 – Baylor Bears

The Bears were without James Akinjo and Jeremy Sochan for awhile, but they have gotten healthier. Baylor still isn’t firing on all cylinders, having lost to Alabama on the road, but the Bears don’t look nearly as bad as they did a few weeks ago. With Kansas losing to Kentucky, Baylor is still the Big 12 team with the highest ceiling. If the Bears are the best team in the best conference in the country (which is what the Big 12 is), they are still a frontline Final Four contender and therefore belong in the top four. There is no clear-cut No. 3 team to take their place.

4 – UCLA Bruins

The Bruins hammered Arizona this past week to move up to the No. 4 spot. UCLA and Arizona are both likely to be high seeds in the NCAA Tournament, and the Bruins demolished the Wildcats in a game which was never close. UCLA and Arizona have a rematch this Thursday in Tucson, and the Bruins are going to be missing at least one player (Jaylen Clark) if not more. They might lose, but their win over Arizona will keep them in the top 10 for the rest of the season, barring some significant, long-term injury development.

5 – Kentucky Wildcats

The Wildcats thrashed Kansas on the road in a stunning blowout. Kentucky got TyTy Washington back into the lineup after he had been injured. That one change in the lineup meant everything for the Wildcats. When everyone is healthy and playing well, this team has a national championship ceiling and the ability to play with anyone. Oscar Tshiebwe is an elite big man who registered a 20-20 game (20 or more points and rebounds) against Mississippi State last week. He is the team’s best player, but with Washington out, the pieces of the puzzle don’t fit nearly as well. With Washington on the floor, though, Kentucky can beat anyone. This is a top-five team right now. Keep in mind that Kentucky was leading Auburn on the road before Washington left the game with an injury.

6 – Kansas Jayhawks

The Jayhawks were thrashed by Kentucky, but they have still beaten Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Iowa State, and a lot of other good teams in the Big 12, plus Iona and Michigan State in nonconference play. KU is not as good as Baylor or Kentucky, and it is not a top-five team, but it certainly still belongs in the top 10 and will likely get a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament in March.

7 – Arizona Wildcats

The Wildcats lost to UCLA last week but have a rematch with the Bruins at home on Thursday. If they win that game, they stay in the top 10 for another week. If they lose that game, especially since UCLA will not have its full roster healthy, they will drop out of the top 10.

8 – Purdue Boilermakers

The Boilermakers won at Iowa and then at home against Ohio State. They have a lot of talent and certainly the capability to make the Final Four, but they blew a 20-point lead against Ohio State before winning at the buzzer. This team blows hot and cold, which does not inspire supreme confidence for March. The Boilermakers are probably still the favorite in the Big Ten, however.

9 – Duke Blue Devils

The Blue Devils are the best team in the ACC, but the ACC isn’t very good. The Blue Devils beat Gonzaga earlier in the season but have not retained that standard of performance in the subsequent months of the season. They need to regain that level of excellence in the coming weeks to be a true Final Four threat.

10 – Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Red Raiders led Kansas by five in Lawrence in overtime before losing narrowly. Yet, they are still a very tough team in an elite conference and are going to be a tough out in March because of their relentless, high-level defense.