College Basketball

College Basketball Power Rankings: Purdue remains No. 1, but Texas is on rise

Updated Feb. 6, 2023 4:59 p.m. ET

College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter

You know at least one guy who has to fill out multiple brackets every March Madness. In the past, it may have produced an eye roll from you. Why can't he just have one bracket that he's committed to? Why does he have Duke losing in the second round in one projection, and winning it all in another?

This year, though, I can't fault someone for penciling in multiple brackets, because the chance of at least one of them being burned by the end of the first day of the NCAA Tournament is strong.

We are still five weeks away from Selection Sunday, but I can confidently say that this is as wide open of a field in college basketball that I can remember. We are in for epic levels of unpredictability, and there's no truly dominant team. Over the last week, 15 of the 25 teams in the AP poll lost at least once. The fact is, the gap is as close as it's ever been from the perceived top of the sport to the middle of it.

This was the most complicated batch of power rankings that we've done, and we're opening up with a rarity this week — no movement at the top despite a loss!

1. Purdue (22-2)

No, I am not hitting the Boilermakers for losing a rivalry game in one of college basketball's most hostile atmospheres, Assembly Hall. Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith shot a combined 5-for-20, and Purdue gave up 50 in the first half, yet rallied to cut Indiana's lead to one before eventually losing by just five in Bloomington. To be within one with two minutes left after being down by 15 at the break was impressive. We learned as much, if not more, about Purdue in this loss as we have in several of its wins.

2. Alabama (20-3)

The Crimson Tide responded in major fashion from the blowout loss to Oklahoma last Saturday, beating Vanderbilt 101-44 (sorry Commodores) on Tuesday before winning at LSU on Saturday, 79-69. Nate Oats' team is 10-0 in SEC play. Nine of those wins have come by double figures.

3. Houston (22-2)

The Cougars got revenge on Temple on Sunday night in Philadelphia, making up for a one-point loss to the Owls 14 nights ago with an 81-65 rout. Five-star freshman Jarace Walker led four in double-figures with 23 points and six rebounds. The potential NBA Draft lottery pick is averaging 20 points per game in his last four contests.

4. Arizona (21-3)

The Wildcats have the player of the week and a first-team All-American candidate in Azuolas Tubelis. The 6-foot-11 big man from Lithuania had 40 points and nine rebounds in Thursday's win over Oregon. He shot 16-for-21 from the floor. He followed that up with a modest 19-and-8 in a 32-point drubbing over Oregon State on Saturday.

5. Texas (19-4)

To follow up a five-point win over a Baylor team that's really coming on with a 69-66 victory at Kansas State on Saturday makes the Longhorns my team of the week. Credit to Rodney Terry, who deserves to get a strong look at having his interim tag removed after this season for the job he's done after the Chris Beard fallout. In the road win over the Wildcats, a top-15 KenPom offense had five players in double-figures with leading scorers Christian Bishop and Sir'Jabari Rice both coming in off the bench.

6. UCLA (19-4)

Jaime Jaquez performed like an All-American on Saturday. The senior wing went for 24 points and 15 rebounds while the Bruins held Washington State to just over 30% shooting from the floor in a 76-52 win. The Bruins have won 21 straight games at Pauley Pavilion, the longest active streak in America.

7. Virginia (17-4)

The Cavaliers' seven-game winning streak ended on Saturday with a 74-68 loss at Virginia Tech. Armaan Franklin had an off day, with his streak of 10 consecutive games in double-figures coming to an end. UVA struggled defensively as well, and the Hokies were a step ahead in making the finishing plays at home.

8. Marquette (19-5)

The Golden Eagles have won five straight behind one of the best point guards in America and a front-runner for national player of the year, Tyler Kolek. He's totaled 189 assists to just 57 turnovers in 24 games, running one of the nation's best offenses. The Golden Eagles are 10-1 in their last 11 games with the only loss coming to a top-15 Xavier team. Shaka Smart deserves national coach of the year consideration for what he's done with player development.

9. Iowa State (16-6)

The Cyclones exposed Kansas' weaknesses on Saturday, blowing out the Jayhawks 68-53 in Ames. Yes, Iowa State lost earlier in the week to lowly Texas Tech, but I'll chalk it up to an outlier result. This team is nails defensively, Jaren Holmes and Osun Osunniyi have transferred in from St. Bonaventure and have been fantastic, while Caleb Grill and Gabe Kalscheur provide spurts from deep. I am all in on T.J. Otzelberger's team making a second straight Sweet 16 trip.

10. Baylor (17-6)

The Bears have won seven of their last eight games and emotions were high in Waco on Saturday as Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua made his return to the court for the first time in 357 days after a terrible knee injury set him back last February. Jalen Bridges went for 18 points and Keyonte George scored 17, while Adam Flagler had 13 points and eight assists in the 89-62 win over Texas Tech.

11. Kansas (18-5)

Yes, the Big 12 is the best conference in college basketball, but the Jayhawks have lost four of their last six games. Jalen Wilson needs help. His 159 points over the last six games are the most by a Kansas player since at least 1996-97, but Bill Self wants to see more complementary offense. Gradey Dick and Kevin McCullar can't go a combined 3-for-10 from the field for the Jayhawks to win games like Saturday at Hilton Coliseum.

12. Xavier (19-5)

So far without Zach Freemantle, the Musketeers are 2-0. The senior forward is out with a knee injury for at least another three weeks, but the expectation is that he should be good to go for the Big East Tournament at the latest. Wednesday's 85-83 overtime win over Providence was a wild Big East game, with Jack Nunge going for 23 and 14 while Colby Jones and Souley Boum each scored 20. On Saturday, the floodgates opened to the tune of a 96-71 win over St. John's in which Sean Miller's team had 26 assists on 32 made baskets.

13. Tennessee (19-4)

As great as the Volunteers are defensively, it's hard for me to jump on the bandwagon of a team that does not have a surefire go-to guy to get them buckets. Josiah Jordan-James had 15 and 14 in Saturday's 46-45 win over Auburn, but Santiago Vescovi shot 2-for-7 and Zakai Zeigler went 0-for-10. As evidenced by a 67-54 loss to Florida as well last week, the Vols leave themselves susceptible to getting picked off in the NCAA Tournament because scoring is hard to come by for this team at times.

14. Saint Mary's (21-4)

The Gaels are the best team in the West Coast Conference and have a two-game lead on Gonzaga after Saturday night's 78-70 overtime win over the Bulldogs. Aidan Mahaney is some kind of special for Randy Bennett's team. The freshman guard had 18 points and three assists in the victory, including some incredibly clutch plays down the stretch. With the nation's fourth-best defense according to KenPom as well, this team really plays complementary basketball.

15. Indiana (16-7)

Beat the No. 1 team, you land in my top 15. The Hoosiers have won six of their last seven games, and on Saturday they showed America what happens when Trayce Jackson-Davis gets some help offensively from the guys on the perimeter. TJD had 25 points, seven rebounds and five blocks, setting the tone for IU to take the commanding lead. But for Jalen Hood-Schifino and Trey Galloway to combine for 27 points? That's a winning formula. Can the Hoosiers take this win and parlay it into more? They host a Rutgers team on Tuesday night (6:30 p.m. ET, BTN) that we debated putting in this slot.

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter at @John_Fanta.

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