NCAA Basketball Power Rankings Analysis | As we approach the start of 2025, college basketball has produced a number of terrific performances, even as the sport goes on covered in the shadows of college football.
Ohio State fans who are tired of watching Ryan Day blow big rivalry games can take heart with their hoopsters, as Bruce Thornton dropped 30 on Kentucky in a huge upset win at Madison Square Garden.
Jeremiah Fears had a 30-point game for Oklahoma to take down Michigan – and he finished with a game-winning four-point play.
Treysen Eaglestaff put up 40 for North Dakota, making a 97-90 loss to Alabama a lot more interesting than Tide coach Nate Oats probably thought the game would be when it came up on the schedule.
And what about Drake? Bennett Stirtz nailed a three-ball in overtime to give the Bulldogs a big win at Kansas State.
Drake’s new head coach is Ben McCollum, who brought four Division II players with him from Northwest Missouri State (where he won four Division II championships), and the Bulldogs are still undefeated.
Making your bets with college basketball power rankings in mind can make a lot of sense, but those rankings are just one metric to keep in mind when making your choices.
We have some thoughts about some of the contenders as you think about how to line up your college basketball bets with power rankings.
NCAA Basketball Power Rankings Analysis for 2024-25 Season
In addition to Drake, another team to watch is the Oklahoma Sooners. They went into the holidays with a 12-0 record and have a warm-up game with Prairie View A&M before entering SEC play. So they should start conference play with a perfect 13-0 record, thanks to a huge comeback win over Michigan in Charlotte.
The Sooners spent most of the game trailing, but they came back at the end. They also won the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament and could be a pleasant surprise in an SEC that has a ton of talented teams.
^SEC
Speaking of the SEC, it looks right now like the title will come down to Auburn and Tennessee. Auburn has four wins over ranked teams in non-conference action after their takedown of #16 Purdue. Johni Broome is the top player in the country today with 23 points and 11 boards in the win over Purdue. Tennessee is one of four unbeaten teams left in the nation. They beat Illinois last week on a layup in the waning seconds of regulation, and they demolished Western Carolina, 84-36. They’ve now held opponents under 45 points three times, which is a testament to their swarming defense.
Scoring Pointers
Chaz Lanier is putting up 18.9 points per game, and the Volunteers should push Auburn hard in the conference. It’s hard to be unbeaten and also fly under the radar, but Florida is 12-0, with 11 of those wins coming by double digits. They beat North Carolina in the Jumpman Invitational by six and routed North Florida by 54 points at home. With elite rebounding and offense, this is a team that could beat Tennessee and Auburn. And what about Kentucky? John Calipari has moved on, and the Wildcats are foundering a bit. They entered their game against Ohio State ranked fourth in the nation, but only put up 65 points against an unranked team, shooting 29.8% along the way and losing by 20.
^Big 12
If we look at the Big 12, Houston could be the class of that conference. They have two losses against Quad 1 teams, both coming in overtime. They also lost to Auburn – but only by five points. Likewise, they haven’t lost in December and haven’t permitted more than 51 points in any of those games. This is a team that is long, rebounds well, and plays a smothering defense. Houston tends to be a bit overrated by sportsbooks. Iowa State is another interesting Big 12 team, as T.J. Otzelberger’s team has only one loss, and it came by just two points against Auburn in the Maui Invitational.
The Defense
Houston’s defense is performing a little better right now, and the Cyclones are another team that tends to fade when the lights get too bright. Kansas entered the preseason ranked #1 in the AP poll, but they lost at Creighton and Missouri thanks to some subpar shooting and some chemistry issues in melding a roster full of talent. Hunter Dickinson’s elite play will keep this team in the mix for a conference title and a deep playoff run. Texas Tech has a terrific offense under Grant McCasland, but they’ve only played two Quad 1 and 2 teams, in St. Joseph’s and Texas A&M, and they’ve lost them both. Cincinnati has roared out to a 10-1 start thanks to a gritty defense, but they’ve also played an extremely soft schedule. We’ll know more about their quality once they start playing conference games.
^Big Ten
In the Big Ten, Michigan State is looking solid so far. They lost to a solid Memphis team but haven’t lost since, with wins over North Carolina, Minnesota and Nebraska. UCLA also looks ready to bang despite a two-point loss to North Carolina that the Bruins basically gave away in the last minutes. They’re still ranked #16 in KenPom and #25 in overall BPI. Oregon only has one loss – and that came against UCLA. It will be interesting to see what the requirements of West Coast travel do to the Big Ten, which might be the toughest basketball conference in the nation now.
Illinois Fighting Illini
Illinois beat a surprisingly tough Mizzou team this week and then opens Big Ten play at Oregon, at Washington, at home against USC, and then at Indiana and at Michigan State. If they can come out 3-2, they will be sitting pretty. Kasparas Jakucionis, a true freshman, has been dominating play so far. And don’t forget Maryland – they’re the top Big Ten squad according to KenPom (#11) and have the second-highest BPI (#14). They’ve lost twice, but those games came against Purdue and Marquette. They’ve beaten Villanova and routed Ohio State and Syracuse.
^ACC
The ACC is an intriguing conference after you get past Duke. Clemson was giving the Blue Devils a run for the name of top team in the conference, but they lost at home to Memphis. There are some analysts saying that Duke might be the only elite team in the league, which would be a shocking fall for some of the sport’s blue bloods, but that also means opportunities for other teams to rise to the occasion. Clemson did beat Kentucky in the ACC/SEC Challenge, but that overtime loss to Memphis showed that the Tigers still have some things to lock down, particularly in late-game execution. Pitt might have the best guard duo in the conference.
Scoring Pointers
Ishmael Leggett is scoring 17.0 points per game, and Jaland Lowe is right behind him (16.5). They rank fifth and seventh in the ACC in scoring. SMU has struggled since the departure of Larry Brown, as Tim Jankovich had some of Brown’s best recruits but couldn’t deliver, and then Bob Lanier basically sent the Mustangs into a deep ditch. SMU brought in Andy Enfield from USC, and they had an impressive win over LSU, whose only previous loss had come against Pitt. SMU is second in the ACC with 84.7 points per game, but they have scoring depth too as their top scorer, Wake Forest transfer Boopie Miller, is only putting up 14.4 points per contest.
^NCAA Basketball Power Rankings Analysis: The Non-Power Conferences
Looking at the mid-majors, Drake is an intriguing school in the Missouri Valley Conference. Gonzaga is in the West Coast Conference again, which means their only real conference foil is Saint Mary’s. Gonzaga is 9-3, and their wins include a 101-63 demolition of then-#8 Baylor in their first game. They’ve also beaten then #14 Indiana by 16 and Davidson by 25.
However, they have an overtime loss to unranked West Virginia and another overtime loss to then-#4 Kentucky (by just a point). They’ve also lost to then-#18 UConn by six. They have a Saturday date with UCLA that will show us more about their contender status before they slide into the WCC slog.
^POLL ALERT: Tennessee, Auburn stay 1-2 in men's AP Top 25 with 10 SEC teams; Kentucky drops to No. 10 after losing to Ohio State.
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) December 23, 2024
Full poll: https://t.co/ZJG5mgWrsa pic.twitter.com/259lf2gak4
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