I suspect Houston, Purdue and Kansas will be No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 in some order when the Associated Press Top 25 poll updates Monday.
That's how the top of the poll should look.
Any order is sensible.
Me?
I have Houston at No. 1, Purdue at No. 2 and Kansas at No. 3 in Monday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings — but, again, putting those three schools in any order is reasonable and easy to defend. If you want to make the case for Kelvin Sampson's Cougars, start by pointing out that Houston is 16-1, ranked No. 1 in most computers and the favorite in the betting markets to win the 2023 NCAA Tournament. If you want to make the case for Matt Painter's Boilermakers, start by pointing out that Purdue is 15-1 with a national-best five wins over schools ranked in the top 25 at KenPom.com — among them Gonzaga, Marquette and Ohio State. If you want to make the case for Bill Self's Jayhawks, start by pointing out that Kansas is 14-1 with a national-best six Quadrant 1 victories — among them road wins at Missouri, West Virginia and Texas Tech.
For what it's worth, KenPom.com currently projects Houston, Purdue and Kansas to be favorites in every remaining game between now and Selection Sunday with the lone exception being KU's regular-season finale at Texas. Each is also projected to win its respective league by multiple games, which highlights how Houston, Purdue and Kansas are clearly on track to secure No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament as the only one-loss teams currently ranked in the top 25 at KenPom and/or the top 10 of the NET.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Houston
| Jarace Walker finished with 21 points and five rebounds in Sunday's 72-59 win at Cincinnati. The Cougars' next game is Wednesday against South Florida. | -- | 2-1 |
2 |
Purdue
| Zach Edey finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds in Sunday's 76-63 win over Penn State. The Boilermakers' next game is Friday against Nebraska. | -- | 4-1 |
3 |
Kansas
| Gradey Dick finished with 16 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 76-62 win at West Virginia. The Jayhawks' next game is Tuesday against Oklahoma. | -- | 5-0 |
4 |
UConn
| Adama Sanogo finished with 26 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 69-60 win over Creighton. The Huskies' next game is Wednesday at Marquette. | -- | 4-0 |
5 |
Gonzaga
| Drew Timme finished with 20 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 81-76 win at Santa Clara. The Zags' next game is Thursday at BYU. | -- | 5-0 |
6 |
Alabama
| Brandon Miller finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 78-52 win over Kentucky. The Crimson Tide's next game is Wednesday at Arkansas. | -- | 4-1 |
7 |
Kansas St.
| Markquis Nowell finished with 32 points and 14 assists in Saturday's 97-95 OT win at Baylor. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Oklahoma State. | -- | 3-1 |
8 |
Tennessee
| Olivier Nkamhoua finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 85-42 win at South Carolina. The Vols' next game is Tuesday against Vanderbilt. | -- | 4-0 |
9 |
UCLA
| Jaylen Clark finished with 15 points and five rebounds in Thursday's 60-58 win over USC. The Bruins' next game is Thursday against Utah. | -- | 4-1 |
10 |
Xavier
| Zach Freemantle finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 88-80 win at Villanova. The Musketeers' next game is Wednesday against Creighton. | -- | 5-0 |
11 |
Arizona
| Arizona missed 21 of the 25 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 74-61 loss to Washington State. The Wildcats' next game is Thursday at Oregon State. | -- | 2-1 |
12 |
Texas
| Marcus Carr finished with 12 points and four assists in Saturday's 56-46 win at Oklahoma State. The Longhorns' next game is Wednesday against TCU. | -- | 4-1 |
13 |
Iowa St.
| Gabe Kalscheur finished with 15 points and four assists in Saturday's 69-67 win at TCU. The Cyclones' next game is Tuesday against Texas Tech. | -- | 3-0 |
14 |
TCU
| TCU allowed Iowa State to shoot 52.5% from the field in Saturday's 69-67 loss to the Cyclones. The Horned Frogs' next game is Wednesday at Texas. | -- | 4-1 |
15 |
Miami
| Miami missed 27 of the 32 3-pointers it attempted in Wednesday's 76-70 loss at Georgia Tech. The Hurricanes' next game is Wednesday against Boston College. | -- | 3-1 |
16 |
Virginia
| Armaan Franklin finished with 16 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 73-66 win over Syracuse. The Cavaliers' next game is Tuesday against North Carolina. | -- | 3-0 |
17 |
Missouri
| Kobe Brown finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 85-82 win over Vanderbilt. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday at Texas A&M. | -- | 3-1 |
18 |
Providence
| Noah Locke finished with 20 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 83-80 win over St. John's. The Friars' next game is Saturday at Creighton. | -- | 5-0 |
19 |
Arkansas
| Arkansas missed 14 of the 16 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 72-59 loss at Auburn. The Razorbacks' next game is Wednesday against Alabama. | -- | 3-1 |
20 |
San Diego St.
| Lamont Butler finished with 23 points and two assists in Saturday's 80-75 win at Wyoming. The Aztecs' next game is Tuesday against Nevada. | -- | 2-1 |
21 |
Wisconsin
| Wisconsin missed 21 of the 29 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 79-69 loss at Illinois. The Badgers' next game is Tuesday against Michigan State. | 1 | 5-0 |
22 |
Marquette
| Kam Jones finished with 17 points and four assists in Saturday's 95-73 win over Georgetown. The Golden Eagles' next game is Wednesday against UConn. | 1 | 5-0 |
23 |
Ohio St.
| Ohio State finished with 12 turnovers and just eight assists in Sunday's 80-73 loss at Maryland. The Buckeyes' next game is Thursday against Minnesota. | 2 | 3-1 |
24 |
Baylor
| Baylor allowed Kansas State to shoot 53.1% from the field in Saturday's 97-95 OT loss to the Wildcats. The Bears' next game is Wednesday at West Virginia. | 1 | 4-1 |
25 |
Duke
| Dariq Whitehead finished with 18 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 65-64 win at Boston College. The Blue Devils' next game is Wednesday against Pitt. | 1 | 3-1 |
26 |
FAU
| Alijah Martin finished with 17 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 71-67 win over Charlotte. The Owls' next game is Wednesday at Florida International. | NR | 4-2 |