Men’s College Basketball Rankings: Duke, Michigan Lead the Way; Houston Falls

Men’s college basketball delivered its loudest week of the season, especially at the top. Duke earned a gritty win over Michigan on Saturday, proving the Blue Devils’ defense is on another level. If March gives us a rematch between these two programs, no one would complain. But as contenders surged, the other storyline that took over was injuries. Texas Tech superstar JT Toppin suffered a torn ACL that will end his college career. BYU’s Richie Saunders will also finish the season on the sidelines. North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson remains sidelined with a hand injury, while Arizona’s Koa Peat has been out with a leg issue — though both are expected back soon. It’s an annual reminder that in this sport, health always plays a vital role in who will cut down the nets in April. That said, here’s the latest edition of my men’s college basketball rankings as of Feb. 22. Note: Miami (Ohio) remains the nation’s lone unbeaten team, but they are not in my Top 25. I have tremendous respect for those players and for head coach Travis Steele. “Undefeated” carries weight, just not enough to override a strength of schedule ranked 295th nationally. I’ll keep rooting for them, but for now, they’re just outside the field. Wisconsin responded to a bad loss to Ohio State by beating Iowa. Senior guard Nick Boyd has been a beast this season and outdueled Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz by scoring 27 points, grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out 10 assists. [COLLEGE HOOPS: Nick Boyd, Nolan Winter Lead No. 24 Wisconsin Past Iowa, 84-71] Saint Louis lost its second game of the season, an 81-76 defeat to Rhode Island, which ranks 122nd in KenPom. The Billikens’ schedule doesn’t allow them a lot of wiggle room. They did pick up a nice win over VCU on Saturday. BYU has won three of its past four games and got a massive home win against Iowa State to show that they are still a threat, despite losing senior guard Richie Saunders last week to a torn ACL. Freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa had 29 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists. He alone is worth the price of admission. Louisville lost to SMU earlier this week and then beat a bad Georgia Tech team. The Cardinals still rank 15th in KenPom and are fun to watch, but I feel like they should be better than they are. Vanderbilt is coming off back-to-back losses to Missouri and Tennessee that have the Commodores sitting at 8-6 in the SEC. Do you remember when Vandy was 16-0 just last month? It’s like the reverse of Florida. North Carolina lost at NC State by 24, but the Tar Heels were without freshman forward Caleb Wilson and senior big man Henri Veesaar. Both injuries are temporary, so I’m not going to overreact, but they need to finish the season strong. Tennessee has won four in a row and eight of its past nine games to climb back up in the rankings after starting the season 12-6. I love the combo of guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and forward Nate Ament. Arkansas lost a wonderful duel with Alabama early in the week. The Razorbacks do not have a winning streak longer than four games all season, but this is a wildly talented team that has a lot of good wins. Texas Tech’s loss at Arizona State cost the Red Raiders more than a couple of spots in my rankings. It also cost them All-American forward JT Toppin, who is now out for the year with a torn ACL. I’m gutted for him and this team. The Red Raiders are still good, but they are no longer a Final Four contender. It took Alabama a while to gel. I’m not claiming that the Crimson Tide have covered up all of their defensive issues (66th in KenPom), but they’ve won six games in a row and their offense remains scary. Something has clicked with St John’s. If you watched the Johnnies in November, they just lacked a certain pop. They have it now and destroyed Creighton while forcing 18 turnovers. They can win the Big East again with a win at UConn on Wednesday. Kansas looked flat and uninspired at home against Cincinnati on Saturday. Credit the Bearcats for playing their best game of the year, though. Freshman star Darryn Peterson played 32 minutes, but he was far from spectacular, finishing with only 17 points. [COLLEGE HOOPS: Kansas Star Darryn Peterson Is ‘Getting Terrible Advice’] Illinois flexed its offensive muscle early against UCLA and built a 23-point lead in the first half. But the Fighting Illini took their foot off the gas and the Bruins ended up pulling off an upset victory in overtime with a beautiful finish by UCLA senior guard Donovan Dent. Brutal loss for Illinois. Gonzaga and St. Mary’s are on a collision course again this year in the West Coast Conference. They meet in Moraga on Saturday night. This will tell us a lot about both teams. Virginia keeps winning, and this team has balanced scoring nearly every game. On Saturday, six guys reached double figures, as they beat a solid Miami (Fla.) team to stay in second place in the ACC. Nebraska lost on the road to Iowa and the Huskers move up this week? Yes. It’s a combination of Nebraska’s résumé and the fact that Kansas, Texas Tech and Illinois all lost in uninspiring ways. Michigan State blew out UCLA at home to start its week, showing that the Spartans’ physicality is still elite. Then, Tom Izzo’s team survived Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton’s 32 points on Sunday to sneak out another win. The gap between Purdue and Michigan is large, and it was on display at Mackey Arena in an 80-91 loss to the Wolverines on Tuesday night. Purdue took out its frustrations against Indiana a few nights later. The Boilermakers still rank in the top 25 in both offense and defense, according to KenPom. UConn started the week with a brutal home loss to Creighton, which ranked 74th in the NET at the time, but the Huskies rebounded with a great win against Villanova. Next, the rematch with St John’s on Wednesday for the Big East title. Florida’s 5-4 start to the season seems like a decade ago. This team has hit its stride and is playing like a top-five unit, winning 12 of its past 13 games. Iowa State’s road loss to BYU on Saturday wasn’t great, but many top-10 teams dropped a game this week, so the Cyclones only fall one spot in my rankings. I still love this Houston team. The Cougars met their physical match on Saturday against Arizona and came up short. Freshman guard Kingston Flemings had 17 points — but it took 17 shots to get there. He needed more help from his backcourt mates. Arizona did it again! The Wildcats only made three 3-pointers and still beat Houston on the road. Senior guard Anthony Dell’Orso has had back-to-back 22-point games off the bench. Freshman forward Koa Peat could be back any day now from a leg injury. Michigan’s loss to Duke does not change how I feel about this team’s potential to win a title. The Wolverines have been my pick to win it all, and if they learn the lessons that Duke taught them on Saturday, this loss will be a good thing. I’m not surprised that Duke beat Michigan on Saturday, but I was amazed at how difficult Duke’s defense made it for Michigan to finish around the rim. The Wolverines were 9-for-17 on layups. Duke earns the No. 1 spot.