2025-26 College Basketball Defensive Rankings: Team Defense Ratings and Efficiency Stats

2025-26 College Basketball Defensive Rankings: Team Defense Ratings and Efficiency Stats

Updated Jan. 17, 2026 11:19 a.m. ET
Data Skrive

What college basketball squads have been the best on defense this season, as of Saturday? See below, because rankings across several stats are available for you.

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College Basketball Team Defense Rankings

Scoring Defense

# Team Points Allowed Avg. Points Allowed per 100 Poss.
1 Houston Cougars 59.3 78.2
2 Northern Iowa Panthers 60.1 84.3
3 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 60.3 80.8
4 Marist Red Foxes 61.7 80.9
5 Iowa Hawkeyes 62.7 87.4
6 Seton Hall Pirates 63.1 82.7
7 West Virginia Mountaineers 63.2 86.2
8 UConn Huskies 63.3 82.6
9 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 63.6 79.4
9 Navy Midshipmen 63.6 85.3
11 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 63.9 82.4
12 Michigan State Spartans 64.2 83.4
12 Iowa State Cyclones 64.2 81.5
12 UT Arlington Mavericks 64.2 83.0
15 UT Martin Skyhawks 64.7 81.8
15 Fordham Rams 64.7 85.4
17 Clemson Tigers 64.8 86.9
18 North Texas Mean Green 64.9 85.7
19 Saint Mary's Gaels 65.1 86.3
20 Siena Saints 65.4 89.1
21 Brown Bears 65.5 84.6
22 UNC Wilmington Seahawks 65.7 85.2
23 Nebraska Cornhuskers 65.8 84.9
24 Cincinnati Bearcats 65.9 82.9
24 Duke Blue Devils 65.9 82.7

Field Goal % Defense

# Team Opp. Field Goal % Opp. FG Made Per Game Opp. FG Att. Per Game
1 Saint Louis Billikens 35.7 21.9 61.4
1 Michigan Wolverines 35.7 23.6 66.3
3 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 37.7 20.6 54.6
4 Virginia Cavaliers 37.9 22.5 59.4
4 South Alabama Jaguars 37.9 23.8 62.7
4 UC Irvine Anteaters 37.9 23.9 63.1
7 Kansas Jayhawks 38.2 24.1 63.1
8 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 38.3 22.8 59.5
9 Marist Red Foxes 38.5 20.8 54.0
9 Belmont Bruins 38.5 23.8 61.8
11 Michigan State Spartans 38.6 21.9 56.7
11 Nebraska Cornhuskers 38.6 23.1 59.9
13 UConn Huskies 38.7 21.2 54.9
13 Tennessee Volunteers 38.7 22.8 58.9
15 UT Martin Skyhawks 38.8 22.3 57.4
16 Gonzaga Bulldogs 39.1 23.3 59.6
16 Houston Cougars 39.1 19.9 51.1
18 UNC Wilmington Seahawks 39.2 23.3 59.3
18 Seton Hall Pirates 39.2 20.5 52.2
20 Hofstra Pride 39.3 22.8 58.2
20 San Diego State Aztecs 39.3 23.3 59.3
20 Louisville Cardinals 39.3 23.5 59.6
20 North Carolina Tar Heels 39.3 25.0 63.6
24 New Mexico State Aggies 39.4 21.6 54.9
24 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 39.4 24.5 62.1

Three-Point Defense

# Team Opp. 3PT % Opp. 3PT Made Per Game Opp. 3PT Att. Per Game
1 UT Arlington Mavericks 24.8 4.1 16.4
2 Northern Iowa Panthers 25.5 5.5 21.6
3 Saint Louis Billikens 26.8 6.5 24.4
4 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 26.9 5.2 19.3
5 Weber State Wildcats 27.0 6.4 23.7
6 UConn Huskies 27.1 5.1 18.8
7 Marist Red Foxes 27.2 5.6 20.7
8 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 27.5 4.9 17.9
9 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 27.7 5.4 19.5
10 Fresno State Bulldogs 27.8 7.1 25.4
11 UT Martin Skyhawks 28.0 6.7 23.8
12 Vanderbilt Commodores 28.3 6.6 23.5
12 New Mexico Lobos 28.3 8.1 28.7
14 Northern Colorado Bears 28.6 5.8 20.2
14 Virginia Cavaliers 28.6 6.5 22.6
16 North Texas Mean Green 28.7 5.4 18.9
16 Dartmouth Big Green 28.7 7.3 25.3
18 Kansas Jayhawks 28.8 7.9 27.4
19 UMass Minutemen 28.9 6.8 23.4
20 Virginia Tech Hokies 29.0 7.4 25.5
20 Lindenwood Lions 29.0 6.3 21.8
20 Texas A&M-CC Islanders 29.0 5.7 19.7
23 Navy Midshipmen 29.2 7.1 24.3
23 Clemson Tigers 29.2 6.6 22.6
23 Tennessee Volunteers 29.2 8.0 27.4

Defensive Rebounds

# Team Def. Reb. Per Game Opp. 2nd Chance Points Avg. Reb. Per Game
1 Michigan Wolverines 30.3 13.1 40.3
2 Saint Louis Billikens 30.0 8.9 39.9
3 Charleston Southern Buccaneers 29.0 13.4 39.2
4 Florida Gators 28.2 7.5 43.2
4 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 28.2 10.9 37.1
4 Arizona Wildcats 28.2 8.8 40.9
7 Alabama Crimson Tide 27.9 14.5 38.9
8 Kansas Jayhawks 27.8 10.8 36.1
9 UC Irvine Anteaters 27.7 10.2 37.6
10 Louisville Cardinals 27.5 10.5 39.2
11 North Carolina Tar Heels 27.4 8.9 37.5
12 Michigan State Spartans 27.3 6.4 39.5
13 Columbia Lions 27.2 8.4 37.8
13 Gonzaga Bulldogs 27.2 9.1 38.7
15 Georgia Bulldogs 27.1 13.2 39.6
15 Miami (OH) RedHawks 27.1 8.0 34.1
17 Montana Grizzlies 27.0 11.0 33.3
18 Tennessee Volunteers 26.9 10.4 40.5
18 Duke Blue Devils 26.9 8.1 37.5
18 LSU Tigers 26.9 9.5 36.9
21 Providence Friars 26.8 13.4 35.9
22 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 26.7 9.1 36.3
22 BYU Cougars 26.7 13.0 37.1
22 Illinois Fighting Illini 26.7 10.6 38.7
22 Mississippi State Bulldogs 26.7 13.8 37.6

Opponent Assists and Turnovers

# Team Opp. Assists Per Game Opp. Turnovers Per Game Opp. Assist/Turnover Ratio
1 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 8.4 12.1 0.70
2 UConn Huskies 9.2 12.6 0.73
3 Wyoming Cowboys 9.4 12.3 0.77
4 Marist Red Foxes 9.6 13.9 0.69
4 Michigan Wolverines 9.6 12.5 0.77
6 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 9.7 11.1 0.88
6 Clemson Tigers 9.7 11.1 0.87
6 Northern Colorado Bears 9.7 9.6 1.01
9 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 9.9 9.0 1.10
10 Houston Cougars 10.1 14.9 0.68
11 North Texas Mean Green 10.2 15.2 0.67
11 Indiana Hoosiers 10.2 11.2 0.91
13 Saint Louis Billikens 10.4 10.7 0.97
14 Charleston Southern Buccaneers 10.6 8.4 1.26
14 Stanford Cardinal 10.6 13.6 0.78
14 Howard Bison 10.6 15.0 0.71
14 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks 10.6 13.8 0.76
14 Tennessee Volunteers 10.6 12.2 0.87
14 Utah State Aggies 10.6 14.6 0.72
20 Cal Baptist Lancers 10.7 11.1 0.97
21 UT Arlington Mavericks 10.8 12.6 0.86
21 Kennesaw State Owls 10.8 12.1 0.89
21 New Mexico State Aggies 10.8 11.9 0.90
21 SIU-Edwardsville Cougars 10.8 12.6 0.85
21 Vanderbilt Commodores 10.8 13.5 0.80

Points in the Paint Defense

# Team Points in the Paint Per Game
1 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 20.8
2 South Alabama Jaguars 21.1
3 McNeese Cowboys 22.4
4 Belmont Bruins 22.5
4 Nebraska Cornhuskers 22.5
6 Michigan Wolverines 23.3
6 Houston Cougars 23.3
8 Missouri Tigers 24.0
9 Michigan State Spartans 24.1
10 Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers 24.2
11 Marist Red Foxes 24.4
12 Seton Hall Pirates 24.5
12 New Mexico Lobos 24.5
12 San Diego State Aztecs 24.5
15 Cincinnati Bearcats 24.7
15 UNC Wilmington Seahawks 24.7
15 Navy Midshipmen 24.7
18 SIU-Edwardsville Cougars 24.8
19 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 24.9
20 Hofstra Pride 25.2
21 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 25.3
22 Saint Louis Billikens 25.4
23 Tennessee Volunteers 25.5
23 Jacksonville State Gamecocks 25.5
25 Pacific Tigers 25.7

Defensive Team Statistics

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FOX Sports created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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