This season’s power conference in college basketball remains the SEC. The Southeastern Conference continues to boast more teams in my power rankings than any other conference. The two top teams in the power rankings hail from the SEC. Overall, three teams from the SEC land in the top 10. The ACC, which is often the best conference in college hoops, has a single team in the top 5 and top 10. Check out the latest power rankings as we motor towards the start of 2025.
NCAA Basketball Power Rankings: Auburn Ahead of Tennessee
NCAAB Countdown: The Top 25 Teams to Watch
2024 College Basketball Season | 86th season of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men’s college basketball national champion
November 4, 2024 – March 18, 2025
College Basketball Power Rankings Heading Into the Weekend
- 1. Auburn Tigers 11-1
- 2. Tennessee Volunteers 12-0
- 3. Duke Blue Devils 10-2
- 4. Houston Cougars 8-3
- 5. Iowa State Cyclones 10-1
- 6. Gonzaga Bulldogs 9-3
- 7. Alabama Crimson Tide 10-2
- 8. Kansas Jayhawks 9-2
- 9. UConn Huskies 10-3
- 10. Baylor Bears 7-3
- 11. Illinois Fighting Illini 8-3
- 12. Florida Gators 12-0
- 13. Marquette Golden Eagles 11-2
- 14. Texas Longhorns 10-2
- 15. Maryland Terrapins 10-2
- 16. Cincinnati Bearcats 10-1
- 17. Michigan State Spartans 10-2
- 18. St. John’s Red Storm 10-2
- 19. Texas A&M Aggies 10-2
- 20. Kentucky Wildcats 10-2
- 21. UCLA Bruins 10-2
- 22. Mississippi State Bulldogs 11-1
- 23. Ole Miss Rebels 11-1
- 24. Georgia Bulldogs 11-1
- 25. Pittsburgh Panthers 10-2
SEC and Big 12 teams dominate the power rankings
10-of-25 teams on my college hoops power rankings hail from the Southeastern Conference. Auburn, Tennessee, and Alabama rank in the top 5. Undefeated Florida is 12, Texas A&M is 19. Texas ranks 14. Kentucky is 20. Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Georgia rank 22, 23, and 24. The other Power 4 Conference that dominates the rankings is the Big 12. Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, and Baylor all rank in the to 10. Cincinnati is the lone Big 12 team that ranks outside the top 10.
Expect a major shake up on the rankings in January. Once conference play goes into high gear, teams like Miss State, Ole Miss and Georgia are going to have to prove they belong. Teams like Arizona, which plays out of the Big 12 now, could manage to push their way onto the top 25. There’s a lot to be decided once we roll into 2025.
Auburn beats Purdue to maintain their top power rankings
Auburn has 1 more loss than Tennessee, but the Tigers are ahead of the Volson my rankings because Auburn has played much better teams. Auburn has beaten North Carolina and Iowa State, lost to Duke, and in their last got by Purdue.
The Tigers will have a shot to prove they’re the best team in the nation with games coming up against Texas, ranked Mississippi State, and then Tennessee in January. The Jan 25 matchup versus the Vols could be a battle between the top 2 teams in the nation.
Undefeated Florida and Tennessee get one more cupcake game before things get real
The Florida Gators have looked great so far by going undefeated versus non-conference foes. The Gators get a chance to blast Stetson before a 3-game gauntlet at Kentucky, versus Tennessee, and at Arkansas. No doubt, Florida could lose all 3 of those games to fall to 13-3.
Tennessee gets one more cupcake matchup versus Norfolk State before having to take on the Gators, the Razorbacks, and the Texas Longhorns. The vols should escape those three teams without a loss, but the match ups versus Florida and Texas are road games.
Don’t expect either current SEC undefeated squad to remain without a loss for long.
UConn back to handling their business
Dan Hurley’s UConn Huskies are back to playing excellent basketball. The ambitious three-peat is a possibility this season because Hurley is a master at installing players that understand his system.
So it makes sense that after losing 3 straight to Memphis, Colorado, and Dayton that UConn would go on a 6-game winning streak that includes wins over Baylor, Texas, Gonzaga, and Xavier. UConn now ranks eleventh on the AP Poll.
Hurley’s squad has yet to peak. One of the things the 2-time NCAA Champion coach does better than anybody is to get his team to peak at the right time, during the Big East Tournament and in the NCAA Tournament. The path to a three-peat is there.
Duke already playing NCAA Tournament level defense
Super frosh Cooper Flagg and the Duke Blue Devils are playing championship level defense. Since beating Auburn 84-78, Duke’s D has stepped it up big time. Flagg and his mates held Louisville to 65 points in a 76-65 win.
Incarnate World is no stud squad, but Duke showed how well they can dominate by holding IW to 46 points. George Mason scored 47 in a 68-47 win and Georgia Tech had 56 in an 82-56 Duke victory.
The win over Georgia Tech impressed the most because the Blue Devils played Tech on the road in Atlanta. Duke is already playing defense on a title level, which means their opponents in the ACC could be in for a tough season.
Kentucky’s loss to Ohio State portends a tough future
The Buckeyes didn’t just beat Kentucky. Ohio State dominated the Wildcats 85-65. The 20-point loss happened in New York at Madison Square Garden, which means Kentucky didn’t show up.
Losses like the one the Wildcats suffered raise massive red flags. Kentucky didn’t show up at all versus a team that was 6-4 and had suffered a 91-53 loss to Auburn.
Like Auburn, Kentucky plays in the SEC. So falling to the Buckeyes by so many points in a nationally televised game shouldn’t give Kentucky fans confidence heading into conference play.
The Wildcats face Florida, Georgia, Texas A&M, Alabama, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee in January. If the Wildcats step up, no problem, but if they suffer losses to the Gators, Aggies, Vols, and Tide, the season could go south in a big way.
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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