College Basketball Rankings: Casey Jacobsen Has Vanderbilt, Alabama on the Move

The men's college basketball season is a wild ride, and I’m here to sort it out every Sunday.

With so many big games each week — plus emerging stars carrying their teams toward March — the men's college hoops schedule and many storylines is a lot to keep track of. I'm here to make sense of the big picture. 

My top 25 rewards toughness, experience and identity — not preseason hype or brand names. I'll be bold, I may surprise you, but I'll also have receipts. Most of all, expect a ranking built for the long haul. Each week, I’ll reset the landscape, cut through the noise and tell you what actually matters as the season evolves.

With that, here’s the fourth edition of my men's college basketball rankings, as of Dec. 28:

25. Iowa Hawkeyes (10-2)

Previously ranked: 25

(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

Maybe this is too low? Iowa's only two losses this season have come on the road against then-No. 7 Michigan State and then-No. 4 Iowa State. KenPom has the Hawkeyes at No. 18. They have a nice test against UCLA (10-3) at home on Saturday (6 p.m. ET).

24. Georgia Bulldogs (11-1)

Previously ranked: 24

A top-25 offense that plays at a breakneck speed (third in tempo nationally) is a lot of fun to watch. Coming up, Georgia has an intriguing home game against an inconsistent Auburn (8-4) team on Saturday (1 p.m. ET).

23. Florida Gators (8-4)

Previously ranked: 23

Florida didn't play last week. It has four losses on the season, but those were to then-No. 13 Arizona, TCU, then-No. 4 Duke and then-No. 5 UConn. Most solid teams outside the top 10 would have a similar record given this schedule.

22. Virginia Cavaliers (11-1)

Previously ranked: 22

The Cavaliers went from having the 103rd-best offense in the country last year to the 12th-best over Christmas break. That’s big time. Virginia's ACC play starts on the road against Virginia Tech (11-2) on New Year's Eve (2 p.m. ET).

21. Kentucky Wildcats (9-4)

Previously ranked: 21

I welcomed Kentucky back to my top 25 last week, and it beat Bellarmine (5-7) by double digits last Wednesday, 99-85. The Wildcats will continue to use the break to get healthy and prep for a monster game at Alabama (9-3) on Saturday (noon ET). This group had a disappointing first six weeks, but there's a lot of time left to turn things around.

20. Arkansas Razorbacks (12-0)

Previously ranked: 20

(Photo by Ed Mulholland/Getty Images)

Arkansas has one last tune-up game against James Madison (7-6) on Monday (8 p.m. ET) before SEC play starts Saturday. The Razorbacks' three losses (Houston, Duke and Michigan State) don’t bother me much and will be valuable late in the year.  

19. Tennessee Volunteers (9-3)

Previously ranked: 19

Tennessee has one last tune-up game against South Carolina State (1-13) before its interesting matchup at Arkansas on Saturday to start SEC play.

18. Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-3)

Previously ranked: 18

Texas Tech beat Winthrop (8-6) on Sunday by 30 points, 87-57, and will have a few days to breathe before the gauntlet that is the Big 12 begins against Oklahoma State (11-1) on Saturday (1 p.m. ET).

17. Louisville Cardinals (10-2) 

Previously ranked: 17

Louisville finished a good non-conference season at 10-2 with its only two losses coming on the road to Arkansas and Tennessee. One of those losses was without star guard Mikel Brown Jr. The Cardinals are legit ACC contenders.

16. Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-0)

Previously ranked: 16

Nebraska's 16-game winning streak is the longest in the nation. The Huskers also have a massive road win against Illinois (9-3) under their belt. They face New Hampshire (4-8) next before Big Ten play starts against Michigan State.

15. Illinois Illini (9-3)

Previously ranked: 15

(Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)

Illinois absolutely destroyed Missouri (10-3) by 43 points last Monday night, 91-48. I was on the sideline for the call on FS1, and it was impressive. The Illini have one more non-conference game against Southern University (4-8) before Big Ten play starts at Penn State (8-4) on Saturday (7 p.m. ET).

14. Kansas Jayhawks (10-3)

Previously ranked: 14

Kansas is here because of what it has done with and without standout guard Darryn Peterson (quadriceps), and the Jayhawks will have to navigate the Big 12 without him for the foreseeable future. They have the seventh-best defense in the country, according to KenPom, and that will keep them in every game.

13. North Carolina Tar Heels (12-1) 

Previously ranked: 13

North Carolina finished a nice non-conference run with a dominant 99-51 victory over East Carolina (5-8) last Monday. With wins over then-No. 19 Kansas, then-No. 18 Kentucky, and Ohio State, North Carolina has me believing this team can absolutely win the ACC and gain a top-three seed in the NCAA Tournament.

12. Alabama Crimson Tide (9-3) 

Previously ranked: 11

I don't care about losses if they're against awesome teams. Alabama’s only three setbacks this season are to top-10 teams in then-No. 2 Purdue, then-No. 12 Gonzaga and top-ranked Arizona. This team is flawed (inside, mostly), but still extremely dangerous, and it has a real chance to win the SEC. Alabama plays a solid Yale (11-1) team before its monster matchup against Kentucky this weekend. The Crimson Tide can’t look ahead.

11. Vanderbilt Commodores (12-0)

Previously ranked: 12

Undefeated Vanderbilt remains a top-10 offense in the nation, which gets you extra bonus points on my rankings (at least I’m transparent!). Its defense is ranked 14th, too. The Commodores have one more non-conference game against New Haven (5-7) before SEC play starts against South Carolina (8-4) on Saturday (2 p.m. ET).

10. Michigan State Spartans (11-1)

Previously ranked: 10

(Photo by Adam Ruff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Once again, Michigan State boasts one of the nation's top-10 defenses. Its offense is up and down, but the Spartans do have two of the sport's most improved players in guard Jeremy Fears Jr. and forward Jaxon Kohler. Michigan State plays Cornell (6-5) on Monday before a huge road game against undefeated Nebraska on Friday night (9 p.m. ET).

9. Houston Cougars (11-1)

Previously ranked: 9

I still feel I have underestimated Houston after only one loss (by three points to a solid Tennessee squad). Its offense is coming along, and after one more non-conference game against Middle Tennessee (7-4), it’s Big 12 time.

8. BYU Cougars (12-1)

Previously ranked: 8

Star BYU forward AJ Dybantsa had a 33-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist performance last Monday against Eastern Washington (2-11). He’s amazing, and this team is legit. The Cougars ranked in the top 20 in both offense and defense in the sport. They can certainly win the Big 12 this season.

7. Duke Blue Devils (11-1)

Previously ranked: 7

Duke still hasn't played since its lone loss of the season against Texas Tech on Dec 20. That's a lot of practice time. The Blue Devils' ACC play begins at home against Georgia Tech (8-4) on Wednesday (4 p.m. ET).

6. Purdue Boilermakers (11-1)

Previously ranked: 6

Purdue also hasn't played since Dec 20. The Boilermakers' top-ranked offense will face one more non-conference opponent in Kent State (10-2) before starting Big Ten play on the road against Wisconsin (8-4) on Saturday night (8 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).

5. Gonzaga Bulldogs (13-1) 

Previously ranked: 5

(Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)

Gonzaga opened West Coast play with a 96-56 win over Pepperdine on Sunday. The Bulldogs are favored by double digits in all of their conference games except for their last of the season — a road tilt against Saint Mary’s on Jan. 31. Gonzaga is a near lock for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

4. Iowa State Cyclones (12-0) 

Previously ranked: 4

This is the best team coach T.J. Otzelberger has had during his time in Ames. I love watching the Cyclones' defense devour opposing backcourts on a weekly basis. Big 12 play starts for Iowa State on Friday, and it appears to be a four-team race between Arizona, Iowa State, Houston and BYU. Get your popcorn!

3. UConn Huskies (12-1)

Previously ranked: 3

UConn is almost as good as Arizona and Michigan — but not quite yet. The Big East is not even close to the quality of the Big 12 or the Big Ten, so it shouldn't surprise any of us if the Huskies rip off eight or nine consecutive wins during conference play. I predict that they will stay inside the top five of the AP poll all season, get a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and position themselves to have a great chance at winning a third title in the past four years.  

2. Arizona Wildcats (12-0)

Previously ranked: 2

Undefeated Arizona has everything you need to win a national championship. The only thing the Wildcats don’t do is shoot a lot of threes — only 28.5% of their total shots are from distance, which ranks 358th nationally. When they do, however, they go in nearly 38% of the time.

1. Michigan Wolverines (11-0)

Previously ranked: 1

(Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)

Michigan has left little doubt in my mind over the past month and a half that it is the best team in the country. Last Sunday, the Wolverines scored at least 100 points for the fifth time in their past six games. What's more, they own the best defense in the country.

Casey Jacobsen is a national college basketball reporter and analyst for FOX Sports. He was a three-time All-Pac-10 selection at Stanford and a First-Team All-American as a sophomore. Follow him at @cjacobsen23.

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