College basketball power rankings: Duke on a winning streak, moves up after big win vs. Michigan State
Duke and Arizona move up the rankings but still remain looking up at Michigan and Iowa State this week
By
Kyle Boone
•
4 min read
On the 12th day of the 12th month of the year, this week's Power Rankings will stick to the theme of 12 in ranking 12 teams and highlighting the below stat about the top-12 of the AP poll in Week 6 of the college basketball season. It is as follows as noted from my esteemed colleague David Cobb:
Every year since the 2003-04 season, college basketball's national champion has been ranked in the top 12 of the Week 6 AP poll. With more than two decades of precedent established, it's time to take stock of what that could portend for the 2025-26 season.
Of the 12 teams in this week's Power Rankings, 10 also fit the criteria as top-12 AP-ranked teams. Only Houston and Alabama -- ranked 7th and 12th in the AP poll, respectively -- missed the Power Rankings. (And for posterity: Illinois, Nebraska and Virginia also narrowly missed the cut.)
As always: The Power Rankings are a capsule in time to capture the hottest teams in college basketball. It is not a ranking of the best resumes nor a projection of how I'd rank current contenders. It's simply a ranking of how I'd order teams if I had to answer the question: Which teams are the hottest right now in the sport?
Let's get to the rankings.
Week 1: Purdue | Week 2: Arizona | Week 3: Michigan | Week 4: Michigan
College Basketball Power Rankings
| 1 |  |
| Michigan remains at No. 1 for a second consecutive week after its dominant stretch continued with wins over Rutgers and Villanova this week by 41 and 28, respectively. The Wolverines have been so utterly devastating against their opponents, their 28-point home win over Villanova on Tuesday left their average scoring margin on the season of 28 points unchanged. Last week: 1 | |
| 2 |  |
| After catapulting up to No. 2 in the Power Rankings last week, Iowa State rewarded my act of faith with a stunning 81-58 road win over Purdue inside Mackey Arena. On Thursday it held off Iowa at home, 66-62, to remain unbeaten. The Cyclones are 10-0 and fourth nationally in average scoring margin despite a nonconference schedule that has featured six top-100 tilts to date. Last week: 2 | |
| 3 |  |
| Supplanting Michigan State both on the court and in the Power Rankings at No. 3 this week is Duke, which defeated the Spartans in East Lansing, 66-60, on Saturday. It is 10-0 with three consecutive wins over ranked opponents in as many outings. Last week: 4 | |
| 4 |  |
| Having Arizona at No. 5 last week in the Power Rankings was a mistake. I acknowledge as much. The Wildcats instantly made a fool of the ranking, too, with a 97-68 beatdown of visiting Auburn last Saturday. They face Alabama on Saturday with a chance to make a case it belongs back at No. 1. Last week: 5 | |
| 5 |  |
| UConn won a big one Tuesday vs. Florida in a second-round rematch from March, 77-73. Don't let Florida's 5-4 overall record fool you: that is a high quality win vs. a good team. Huskies are 9-1 now with their final nonconference game upcoming Friday vs. Texas. Last week: 8 | |
| 6 |  |
| In five games since its first and only loss of the season -- an 86-84 defeat to UConn -- BYU is 5-0 with wins over Wisconsins, Miami, Dayton, Cal Baptist and now Clemson. Its win over Clemson Tuesday inside MSG was an all-timer: BYU rallied from 22 down in the second half behind AJ Dybantsa's 22 second-half points and won at the horn on a Rob Wright 3-pointer . Last week: 9 | |
| 7 |  |
| Following its 40-point loss to Michigan in Vegas during Thanksgiving week, Gonzaga responded this week with wins over Kentucky and North Florida by 35 (!) and 51 (!!), respectively. The win over Kentucky was especially eye-opening as it handed the Wildcats their largest loss since 2008. Last week: 11 | |
| 8 |  |
| We may see Purdue play 25 more times this season and still not know why it no-showed last Saturday at home vs. Iowa State in an 81-58 loss. That moves it down two spots in the ranks but I'm still seeing it as a one-off outlier showing for now. Its 85-57 win over Minnesota on Wednesday is further proof this team still has the juice. Last week: 6 | |
| 9 |  |
| Michigan State slipped up for the first time this season on Saturday to Duke, 66-60. Sparty's still 8-1 entering the weekend with a resume that includes wins over Arkansas, Kentucky, UNC and Iowa. Last week: 3 | |
| 10 |  |
| Backed by the fourth-highest scoring offense in college basketball, Vanderbilt improved to 9-0 this week with wins over Saint Mary's and SMU. It is one of eight undefeated teams remaining in the sport. Last week: 7 | |
| 11 |  |
| That 89-80 win over Louisville on Dec. 3 is keeping Arkansas inside the rankings this week. It followed that win up with an 82-58 win over Fresno State on Saturday. Next up: a tough one Saturday vs. Texas Tech in Dallas. Last week: 19 | |
| 12 |  |
| Louisville's first outing since its first loss of the season (an 89-80 loss at Arkansas on Dec. 3) showed its mettle as it downed Indiana, 87-78, in wire-to-wire fashion. Cardinals, coming off a week of rest, are back up Saturday vs. Memphis at home. Last week: 14 | |
