One week into January and this is where I am in terms of having faith in teams making the tournament from each conference. Of course, each league won’t, nor can they reach their max simultaneously because that would be too many teams in the field.
American (Max 2): Memphis has the resume to comfortably get into the field without winning the conference tournament. If they don’t, the league will get two bids.
A-10 (Max 2): Dayton struggled at GW, but the Flyers still have the talent to be in the mix for an at-large bid and win the tournament. St. Bonaventure hasn’t been tested yet, but the pieces fit well enough to make this a two-bid league.
ACC (Max 6): Duke is on target for a No. 1 seed in Raleigh or Newark. Clemson should be safe. And Pitt looks like a team that will be in the tournament by season’s end. North Carolina should be an NCAA team, but can’t afford any more questionable losses. The Tar Heels nearly had one at Notre Dame. Don’t sleep on Wake Forest and Louisville, making late surges to be in the mix, too.
Big 12 (Max 9): Iowa State, Houston, Kansas, and yes, West Virginia should all be in the field. Baylor will get there, too. The question is, will Arizona, Texas Tech, Cincinnati, and BYU be consistent enough and win the right games in the Big 12 to get there as well? Of course, someone else could emerge and knock one of them off and keep this number at nine.
Big East (Max 6): Marquette and UConn are the class of the league. St. John’s should be an NCAA team. But Georgetown, Creighton and yes, Villanova, are all in the mix to get bids entering the New Year.
Big Ten (Max 11): The rotation of top teams may finally have settled on Illinois and Michigan State. But there is plenty of company for the chase for the double byes in the Big Ten tournament. Expect Michigan, Purdue, UCLA and Wisconsin to all challenge for the byes. But Indiana and Nebraska are suddenly surging. Maryland will be there but has to climb out of a 1-3 hole. Penn State has a rough schedule, but should also be an NCAA team. That leaves Ohio State, Iowa, Rutgers and maybe Northwestern still trying to get into the next group.
MVC (Max 1): Drake had an at-large profile until the losses to UIC and Murray State. No one else had a shot to get in without winning the tournament.
MWC (Max 4): Utah State, New Mexico, and San Diego State have all had non-conference wins that put them in position for an at-large bid. The question will be if a fourth team were to win the conference tournament. That’s why there is a max of four.
SEC (Max 12): The SEC is set up for a historic season and will dominate Selection Sunday. There could be two to three No. 1 seeds. And the league will crush the at-large pool. Tennessee, Auburn, Alabama, Mississippi State, Kentucky, Florida, Oklahoma and Texas A&M look very strong. I fully expect Missouri, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Georgia to be considered, too. And I wouldn’t dump on Texas just yet. They all can’t get in, but it will be a record number.
WCC (Max 2): Gonzaga has the profile, although they did lose four close non-conference games. The question will be whether Saint Mary’s, Washington State or San Francisco will join them in the field.
RANKINGS: AP Top 25 Poll | NET rankings
Power rankings for Jan. 6:
- Auburn (Prev. 1, 13-1): The Tigers blitzed Mizzou to jump start the run toward a potential SEC title.
- Tennessee (Prev. 2, 14-0): The Volunteers are the last remaining undefeated team.
- Iowa State (Prev. 3, 12-1): The Cyclones are the team to beat in the Big 12 after a strong W over Baylor.
- Duke (Prev. 4, 12-2): The Blue Devils have won eight in a row, Cooper Flagg has been as good as advertised and the win at SMU put the Mustangs in their place in the ACC.
- Alabama (Prev. 6, 12-2): The win over the Sooners sent a message that they aren’t going anywhere in the SEC.
- Kentucky (Prev. 14, 12-2): The Wildcats outlasted the Gators 106-100 in regulation.
- Florida (Prev. 5, 13-1): The Gators lost their first game of the season but it took Kentucky to score over 100 to beat them.
- UConn (Prev. 8, 12-3): The comeback against Providence shouldn’t be reason to fret, considering they were playing without Liam McNeeley.
- Marquette (Prev. 9, 13-2): The Golden Eagles have flirted with fire a bit, but continue to close out games well.
- Illinois (Prev. 18, 11-3): The Illini are now the team to beat in the Big Ten with the road sweep of Oregon and Washington.
- Texas A&M (Prev. 11, 12-2): The Aggies beat rival Texas by 20!
- Mississippi State (Prev. 16, 13-1): The Bulldogs blitzed South Carolina by 35 and have won seven in a row.
- Oklahoma (Prev. 7, 13-1): The Sooners lost their first game of the season at Alabama. Huge week coming up with a home game against Texas A&M.
- Memphis (Prev. 17, 12-3): The Tigers survived a tremendous effort by North Texas to remain atop the American.
- Michigan State (Prev. 19, 12-2): The Spartans are playing the best basketball under Tom Izzo probably since 2019-20.
- Houston (Prev. 23, 10-3): I’m no longer questioning Houston. The win over BYU made it clear they are a Big 12 contender.
- Clemson (Prev. 21, 12-3): The Tigers continue to quietly have a solid season with a 4-0 league start.
- Purdue (Prev. 32, 11-4): The Boilers blitzed Minnesota on the road and Northwestern at home as Braden Smith continues to soar.
- West Virginia (Prev. 36, 11-2): Hopefully, the Mountaineers get the respect they deserve after winning at Kansas.
- Kansas (Prev. 10, 10-3): The Jayhawks expressed their frustration at UCF after the home loss against West Virginia.
- Utah State (Prev. 25, 14-1): The Aggies are atop the MWC with a 4-0 mark, including a San Diego State win.
- Gonzaga (Prev. 26, 12-4): The Zags are 3-0 in the WCC but will get challenges from traditional rival Saint Mary’s and league newcomer Washington State.
- Michigan (Prev. 28, 11-3): The Wolverines had a convincing win at USC in the first West Coast Big Ten swing.
- Nebraska (Prev. NR, 12-2): Time to give the Huskers their due after beating UCLA and continuing to throttle teams defensively.
- UCLA (Prev. 15, 11-3): The Bruins got a Big Ten road wakeup call by losing in Lincoln.
- Oregon (Prev. 12, 13-2): The Ducks didn’t let the home loss to Illinois affect them against Maryland, taking care of the Terps Sunday.
- San Diego State (Prev. 27, 9-3): The Aztecs bounced back from the home loss to Utah State by winning at Boise State.
- Wisconsin (Prev. 31, 11-3): The Badgers made 21 3s in a dominating win over Iowa.
- Maryland (Prev. 13, 11-4): The Terps got humbled in the Northwest by losing at Washington and Oregon. They can get right with UCLA coming to College Park next.
- Pitt (Prev. NR, 12-2): The Panthers fans had plenty of reason to gripe, and after a 3-0 start, there’s no question they deserve to be in these rankings.
- St. John’s (Prev. 24, 12-3): The Red Storm split the week, losing at Creighton and beating Butler.
- New Mexico (Prev. NR, 12-3): The Lobos are 4-0 after a thrilling last-second win in OT over Nevada.
- Missouri (Prev. 29, 11-3): No shame in opening the SEC at Auburn. LSU and Vanderbilt are up next in Columbia.
- Baylor (Prev. 30, 9-4): Getting close to moving the Bears out of the rankings, but not sure anyone will win at Iowa State.
- Arkansas (Prev. 20, 11-3): The Hogs had a rough opener, having to go to Tennessee. Ole Miss and Florida come into Fayetteville next.
- Vanderbilt (Prev. NR, 13-1): The Commodores have won seven in a row, including a win at LSU.
- St. Bonaventure (Prev. NR, 14-1): The Bonnies have taken up the role as the team to beat in the A-10 after Dayton got smacked by GW.
Dropped out: Cincinnati (22), Georgia (33), Penn State (34), Drake (35), Dayton (37).
Under consideration: Indiana, Texas Tech, Georgetown, North Carolina.
A busy Saturday slate: Kentucky men’s basketball wins top-10 battle, Tennessee remains undefeated
March Madness National Team of the Week
Illinois: The Illini made a loud and clear statement that they may be the team to beat in the Big Ten and a title contender after sweeping the Big Ten Northwest swing by crushing Oregon 109-77, the largest margin of victory by any road team at an AP Top 10 team. Illinois then beat Washington 81-77 to complete the road trip. The Illini have won 8 of 10 with the only two losses being in overtime at Northwestern and against Tennessee. Alabama also beat Illinois in Birmingham. The Illini do have wins over Arkansas in Kansas City and Missouri in St. Louis from the SEC. Illinois (11-3) is now 3-1 in the Big Ten and, perhaps, the team to beat in the league.
March Madness National Player of the Week
Javon Small, West Virginia: The senior transfer guard, who transferred to West Virginia from Oklahoma State after starting his career at East Carolina, was instrumental in the Mountaineers’ upset at Kansas. Small scored 13 points, grabbed 11 boards and dished out six assists in the 62-61 win in Lawrence. He hit the final free throw with 1.8 seconds left to beat the Jayhawks. Small then followed that up by scoring 24 and grabbing 11 boards in a home win against his former Oklahoma State team. The Mountaineers (11-2) are off to a 2-0 start, all without Tucker DeVries, who has been out since Dec. 6 with an upper body injury.
Nova’s return: Forgotten blueblood Villanova looks for resurgence in 2025
March Madness Top 10 Games to Watch
Tennessee at Florida, Tuesday: The Gators lost their first game of the season at Kentucky and now have a chance to end Tennessee’s undefeated run.
Kentucky at Mississippi State, Saturday: The Bulldogs are one of the biggest sleepers in the country, let alone the SEC. Beating Kentucky would certainly send a message that they aren’t going anywhere.
Pitt at Duke, Tuesday: Pitt has the talent to be an NCAA tournament team. But they could do wonders for the resume if they could pick up a road win at Duke, the clear favorite in the ACC.
Michigan at UCLA, Tuesday: The Wolverines are coming off a road win at USC while the Bruins struggled to score at Nebraska. An LA sweep would do wonders for the Wolverines’ Big Ten profile.
San Diego State at New Mexico, Saturday: The Lobos escaped defeat at the Pit against Nevada. Taking out the Aztecs would probably put them in the pole position atop the Mountain West.
Texas A&M at Oklahoma, Wednesday: The Sooners lost their first game at Alabama. Knocking off the Aggies would reset the narrative that they aren’t going anywhere in the SEC.
Alabama at Texas A&M, Saturday: The Aggies have a brutal week — although every week in the SEC may be like that this season. How they respond at home after what could be a defeat will be a strong indicator of their status in the race.
UConn at Georgetown, Saturday: The Huskies squeaked out a win over Providence. And they can’t take the Hoyas for granted. Ed Cooley has a young core that continues to get better. Don’t look now but the Hoyas could make an NCAA tournament bid run.
St. Bonaventure at Saint Louis, Wednesday: The Bonnies look increasingly like they could be the best team in the A-10. But the Billikens are healthy and winning in St. Louis will be a tall order.
UC Irvine at UC San Diego, Saturday: The top two Big West teams entered the week 3-0 with just two overall losses. The Anteaters were a preseason favorite. But the Tritons have been a pleasant surprise with Tyler McGhie putting up 20-plus points in five-straight games.
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