Men’s College Basketball Rankings: Purdue, Kansas, UNC Moving Up in Top 25

The men’s college basketball season keeps on delivering. A thriller between Duke and North Carolina, a Gonzaga loss to a WCC team not named Saint Mary’s, and Arizona continues to demolish everything in its path: It’s been a wild week in men’s college hoops. February is the month when players and coaches realize they are running out of time to pick up those signature wins needed to boost their résumé. Some teams are rising to the occasion, while others are struggling. Without further ado, here’s the latest edition of my men’s college basketball rankings, as of Feb. 8. *Note: Miami (Ohio) is 24-0, but its strength of schedule is 332nd in the country. The RedHawks are a great story, but I’m not sure that I’ll rank them at all this year. Being undefeated is cool and all, but you have to put it into context. If you thought I was going to rank Miami (Ohio) for the first time, I want you to imagine the RedHawks playing Alabama on a neutral floor. Who do you think wins that game? The Vols had their four-game winning streak snapped against Kentucky despite freshman forward Nate Ament’s 29 points and eight rebounds. Tennessee shot just 37% from inside the arc in the game. The Hogs only had one game this week, a dominant 20-point road win against Mississippi State. Freshman point guard Darius Acuff Jr. put up 24 points, eight assists and five rebounds, which is just another example of why he is a top-10 player in college basketball. Four straight losses for the Cougars isn’t great, but take a closer look, and you’ll see that their schedule has been rough. I’m confident BYU is still a top-25 team, but it’s also clear that the Cougars’ defense isn’t good enough to put them among the elite. Clemson swept Stanford and Cal this past week in California. The Tigers own the 13th-ranked defense in the country and that travels. However, this team’s offense is hit or miss. Saint Louis keeps winning, but it’s hard to move this team up because of the quality of its opponents in the A-10. The Billikens are 23-1 with their lone loss coming at the buzzer to Stanford. It has been a wild ride for this Kentucky team, but get ready for the dark-horse conversation. The Wildcats have won eight of their last nine games, including a three-point win over Tennessee on Saturday. What a fun Friday night at the Garden! St. John’s finally secured its signature win of the year, beating UConn convincingly. Senior forward Zuby Ejifor locked down the Big East Player of the Year award a month early, and senior forward Dillon Mitchell looked like the best athlete in the sport. The Commodores haven’t looked great (6-4) in a very balanced SEC, and they were controlled for most of the game in a home loss to Oklahoma. Their résumé is still excellent, though, and they rank in the top 20 on offense and defense. Since their loss to North Carolina, the Cavaliers have won four straight against ACC opponents that they should beat. Head Coach Ryan Odum has a true nine-man rotation, and Virginia’s offense is very balanced. Wins against Maryland and Oregon barely move the needle, especially when the Boilermakers struggled for 37 minutes against the Ducks. However, Purdue guard Fletcher Loyer broke out of a slump and has hit 10 triples in his last two games. [MEN’S HOOPS SPOTLIGHT: The 5-Team Big Ten Title Race] Texas Tech couldn’t close out a game against Kansas at home, but it was without guard Christian Anderson due to illness. He returned on Sunday, and the Red Raiders beat a pesky West Virginia squad in Morgantown. North Carolina guard Seth Trimble made “the perfect shot by the perfect player,” according to Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis, to beat Duke. A four-year senior helped Carolina get another massive win that has me forgetting its California road trip last month. I did feel that the absence of second leading scorer forward Braden Huff (knee injury) would bite the Bulldogs at some point, but not against a Portland team that ranks 183 in KenPom. The Zags are 23-2 with losses to Michigan and Portland. Strange résumé. If you are still concerned about the Gators’ six total losses (against good teams), I don’t know what to tell you. This team looks like the 11th-best team in the land and absolutely destroyed Texas A&M on the road on Saturday. They have a top-three front line in the nation, along with Arizona and Michigan. What a wild week for point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. He was criticized (justifiably) for his “immature” antics against Michigan and Minnesota, but he responded with 26 points and 15 assists in an overtime win against Illinois on Saturday. Big Time. The Jayhawks are not a deep team, but their starting five is getting better every week. Freshman guard Darryn Peterson’s dunk against Utah was great, but center Flory Bidunga’s defense (seven blocks) is the reason they are top 10 in the nation on that end. Nebraska only played one game this past week and beat a struggling Rutgers team on the road by 12 points. The most important thing is the Cornhuskers’ senior leader, forward Rienk Mast, has finally shaken off an illness and had 26 points. Next up: Purdue at home on Tuesday. The Illini are staying put this week at No. 7 after losing in overtime at Michigan State. Guard Keaton Wagler looked pedestrian (2-of-16 from the field), but Illinois hung in there with toughness and timely shot-making. The Blue Devils lost an epic battle against their rivals, the North Carolina Tar Heels, on Saturday, but we all benefited from watching one of the best games of the season. The Blue Devils are still a top-five team by nearly every metric. [NCAA BRACKET PROJECTIONS: Can the Big Ten Get 10 Teams In?] After 18 straight wins, UConn fell to St. John’s in an entertaining battle Friday night at MSG. The Huskies shot 55% from the field, but 15 turnovers and just 5-for-12 from the free-throw line weren’t enough. The rematch with the Red Storm on February 25 will decide the Big East regular-season title. I will be courtside for the Iowa State’s game at TCU on Tuesday. I’m excited to see the Cyclones in person. Forward Milan Momcilovic is the best shooter in the land, making 90 triples on a 53% clip. The Cougars have what it takes to win it all, even if they are the second-best team in the Big 12. They picked up a massive road win at BYU this weekend, and their only losses are to Tennessee on a neutral court and Texas Tech on the road. The Wolverines’ performance on Sunday at Ohio State was a great example of what this team can do. Their big trio of center Aday Mara, forward Yaxel Lendeborg and forward Morez Johnson Jr. combined for 49 points and 30 rebounds. This is the best front line in the nation. This is the most fascinating team in the country. On Saturday, Arizona went 2-of-14 from the 3-point line, and BLEW OUT a good Oklahoma State team by 37 points. The Wildcats are the most physical team in the nation.