Men’s College Basketball Rankings: Purdue, Texas Tech Make Massive Jumps

Every week, we have incredible storylines this season in men’s college basketball. This week, previously undefeated and top-ranked Arizona lost back-to-back games to bring the Wildcats back down to Earth a bit. Miami (Ohio) now remains the lone unbeaten team, so I need to address why I still don’t have them ranked in my rankings. I have tremendous respect for the RedHawks and coach Travis Steele for what they’ve accomplished. No matter the conference, going undefeated into late February is difficult to do. It’s a great story, and we love the underdog in America. However, I don’t believe Miami is one of the 25 best teams in college basketball. The word “undefeated” does matter, but not so much that I feel obligated to rank them. I’m still rooting for them to win, and I believe they should be included in the NCAA Tournament field — even if they don’t win their conference. That said, here’s the latest edition of my men’s college basketball rankings, as of Feb. 15. Utah State is tied with San Diego State for first place in the Mountain West. On Saturday, the Aggies flexed their muscles against a struggling Memphis team, beating the Tigers by 24 points. Louisville is back in my rankings after winning five consecutive games, including dropping 118 points against NC State and then beating Baylor handedly in a random non-conference game in February. (More of this, please!) Tennessee moved up two spots in my rankings after beating Mississippi State and LSU, which was expected. The Vols’ defense is still one of the toughest around. This Saturday’s contest at Vanderbilt is a big one. Alabama has won four games in a row in the SEC and made 31 3-pointers combined this week. Next up is a conference matchup against Arkansas on Wednesday. That will be a fun one! Wisconsin seems too low here, right? The backcourt duo of Nick Boyd and John Blackwell is wreaking havoc on the Big Ten right now. Wisconsin now has road wins at Michigan and Illinois, the conference’s two most talented teams. [COLLEGE HOOPS: 4 Takeaways From Wisconsin’s Dominant Big Ten Win Over Michigan State] Arkansas freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr. is one of the best players in the country — period. Auburn had no answers for him on Saturday night, but they aren’t the only ones. I’m so bummed that one of the best players in the country, Caleb Wilson, is injured (hand) and out indefinitely. He’s the heartbeat of this team, while also being the most talented performer. I had to drop North Carolina because of this. Saint Louis played two bad teams this week but smashed them both by a combined 51 points. The Billikens are dominating the Atlantic 10 and rank 23rd in KenPom. St John’s win at Providence was marred by a fight followed up with the dirtiest play I’ve seen all year. Lost in some of the aftermath was the stellar play of St. John’s Dylan Darling, who had 23 points and eight rebounds off the bench. After its three-game skid a couple of weeks back, Vanderbilt is back to playing its fun brand of offensive basketball, and the Dores are winners of five of their past six games. Forward Tyler Nickel had 25 points against Texas A&M on Saturday. I watched Virginia beat an average Ohio State team on Saturday, but the Cavaliers did it very methodically. That’s meant to be a high compliment; Virginia plays both ends of the ball and doesn’t beat itself. Gonzaga is the most difficult team to rank. I understand those who think that the Zags have no business in my top 15 after Braden Huff’s injury (knee) and their loss to lowly Portland. However, I still believe this is a good team — but they are slowly falling in my rankings. Michigan State has lost three of its past four, including a road loss to Wisconsin on Saturday. The good news is that the Spartans get to host UCLA and Ohio State this week to get right. My early skepticism about Nebraska was well documented, but I’ve come around. Despite a home loss to an excellent Purdue team, Nebraska is one of the toughest teams in the country. No lead is safe, because the Huskers put five guys on the floor that can all shoot from 3. Illinois lost at home to a surging Wisconsin team but recovered on Sunday against Indiana, so it didn’t drop far. Home losses matter, of course, but I would still take the Fighting Illini on a neutral floor in the NCAA Tournament against all the teams that are below them right now. Texas Tech picked up the second-best win of any team this season by taking down top-ranked Arizona in Tucson. (Iowa State beating Purdue by 23 at Mackey Arena is still my No. 1.) That goes nicely with the Red Raiders’ neutral-court win over Duke. Kansas beat Arizona at home without Darryn Peterson (illness) and then got dominated at Iowa State with Peterson playing (only 10 points), so I kept the Jayhawks right where they were last week. The Arizona win means a lot about where this team can go. Florida’s 5-4 start to this season seems like another lifetime ago at this point, and I won’t hold it against the Gators because none of the losses were bad. The Gators are every bit what we thought they could be at the start of the season and are now the favorite to win the SEC. I was ready to leave Purdue out of the title contender conversation a few weeks ago, but their overtime win at Nebraska followed by a Saturday demolition of Iowa has the Boilermakers back in my top 10. UConn barely beat Georgetown at home on Saturday. Not that impressive — I know — but other than that entertaining loss at St John’s last week, UConn is one of the most consistent teams in the nation. Duke might be underrated at No. 5 because the Blue Devils’ defense is elite (and their NET is 2). They completely shut down a good Clemson team on Saturday. Their defense will give them a chance to win every game, but their offensive depth is what worries me. My feelings about who Iowa State is (top five) and what the Cyclones are capable of (national title) haven’t wavered much since the start of the year. Their revenge win against Kansas just confirmed that. Milan Momcilovic’s corner fade-away 3 in the first half was the most ridiculously made shot I’ve seen this season. Back-to-back losses aren’t ideal for Arizona fans, but I think it could be a good thing for this group. I think the Wildcats will regroup. Koa Peat’s injury (lower leg) is way more concerning, however. We’ll keep an eye on that. Houston is now in the lead in the Big 12. This will be an intriguing race and a fascinating conference tournament in March. The Cougars will host Arizona this week, which is one of the most important regular-season games of the year. Michigan demolished an improved UCLA team by 30 points on Saturday, a result that surprised no one. That’s why this team is the best in the land. Aday Mara got to beat up on his old coach, too. That had to be fun for him.