College basketball power rankings: Duke up to No. 5 as we examine NCAA Tournament credentials of hottest teams
Gonzaga, Arizona, Auburn and Kansas take the top spots, and this week's Hey Nineteen says hey to Rutgers

On Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET, CBS will air the annual in-season bracket reveal by the NCAA Tournament's men's basketball selection committee. It's a one-time-only thing each year, and the results have been revealing. Each year since this practice began (in 2017), one of the No. 1 seeds in February went on to win the national title.
I'll have a story with committee chair Tom Burnett here on Friday, so be on the lookout for that in advance of Saturday's show on CBS.
For this week's Hey Nineteen, as I do once each season, the team capsules will give you a foldable summary of each school's NCAA Tournament profile heading into the weekend. Important to keep in mind that the rankings below are not tied to bracket forecasts whatsoever. For that, you can head over to Jerry Palm's Bracketology for the latest projections.
Hey Nineteen Power Rankings
Reminder: My rankings are not solely about whom I think is "best." (Our Top 25 And 1 already does that daily.) The Hey Nineteen is a weekly encapsulation of the 19 hottest, most successful and/or most interesting teams in men's college basketball, combining team quality with win quality but also having no shame for recency bias and rewarding significant winning streaks.
| 1 | |
| Record: 22-2 | Last week: 1st. The Bulldogs are the No. 1 team in the NET and hold a 6-2 Quad 1 record, a 2-0 Quad 2 record. Gonzaga has no nonconference road games. Its best wins are home against Texas, UCLA and Texas Tech on neutral courts, and at BYU. The Bulldogs are a toss-up with Auburn for the best résumé at this point, but Gonzaga will need to win out to hold on to that claim; it doesn't have near the amount of opportunities for high-end wins like the other teams nipping at No. 1 seeds. | |
| 2 | |
| Record: 21-2 | Last week: 2nd. The Wildcats are the No. 2 team in the NET. They are 5-2 in Quad 1 and 10-2 in the top two quadrants with a combined 9-2 record in road and neutral games. Arizona's best wins are at Illinois, home vs. UCLA, home vs. USC and Michigan on a neutral court. The losses are at Tennessee, at UCLA, two teams that rank in the top 15 of multiple predictive metrics. Arizona is ranked second, third or fourth in every team sheet metric. | |
| 3 | |
| Record: 24-2 | Last week: 5th. The Tigers are the No. 7 team in the NET and hold a 7-2 record in Quad 1 games. Auburn has just three Quad 4 games. The Tigers' best wins are home vs. Kentucky, LSU and a sweep of Alabama. The Tigers are undefeated in regulation; the team's losses came in double overtime on a neutral court vs. UConn and at Arkansas. Both of those teams safely project as NCAA Tournament schools. Auburn's combined Q1/2 record: 13-2. | |
| 4 | |
| Record: 21-4. Last week: 9th. The Jayhawks are the No. 8 team in the NET. Kansas has more combined Quad 1+2 wins than any team as of today (14). The Quad 1 record reads 8-3. KU's best wins: Michigan State on a neutral court, home vs. Baylor, home vs. Texas Tech, a sweep of Iowa State. Most glaring loss is by 18 at home to Kentucky. The random loss that could impact KU's chances of getting a top seed is to Dayton on a neutral court. | |
| 5 | |
| Record: 22-4. Last week: 10th. The Blue Devils are the No. 12 team in the NET. Duke's two best wins are as good as anyone else: Kentucky and Gonzaga on neutral courts. Duke has a 5-1 Quad 1 record, a 4-2 Quad 2 record and a 6-1 Quad 3 record. Its worst loss is at home to Virginia (Quad 3), but it also lost at home to Miami. The Blue Devils have zero Quad 1 games remaining on the schedule and might not face a Quad 1 opponent again until the ACC Tournament semifinals. | |
| 6 | |
| Record: 21-5 | Last week: 3rd. The Wildcats are the No. 3 team in the NET. Quite a climb, as on Dec. 11, UK was 52nd. Kentucky is undefeated at home (15-0) but 5-4 on the road. Its best wins have come at home vs. Tennessee, at Kansas and at Alabama. All five losses are vs. projected tournament teams, the worst of those coming at Notre Dame. UK is 5-5 vs. Quad 1, 4-0 vs. Quad 2. It has played eight Quad 4 games. It lost to fellow No. 1-seed chasers Duke and Auburn. The Wildcats have five remaining Quad 1 opportunities. | |
| 7 | |
| Record: 23-4 | Last week: 4th. The Boilermakers are the No. 10 team in the NET. The best of the résumé: a sweep of Illinois, a win over Villanova on a neutral court and a home win against Ohio State. Purdue was losing at Rutgers before all the cool kids started doing it. Three of the team's four losses are on the road. Boilers are 12-4 in Quad 1+2 games and did not lose a game in nonconference play. | |
| 8 | |
| Record: 20-6 | Last week: 13th. The Red Raiders are No. 11 in the NET. Texas Tech is 2-5 on the road and 4-6 road/neutral overall. It's 6-6 in Quad 1 contests — but that's where all of its losses lie. TTU is 5-0 vs. Quad 2 and does not have a Quad 3 result on its dossier to this point. The Red Raiders' best wins are: a sweep of Baylor, Tennessee on a neutral court, home vs. Kansas, home vs. Texas and their worst loss is at Oklahoma or at Iowa State. Texas Tech is a quality team in many ways. | |
| 9 | |
| Record: 20-5 | Last week: 11th. The Badgers are the No. 20 team in the NET. Wisconsin claims boastful wins at Purdue, at Michigan State, vs. Houston and Saint Mary's on neutral courts. Bucky is 9-3 in Quad 1 games and 12-5 in the top two quadrants. The Badgers' lone Quad 3 loss is gone for now, as Rutgers bumped up overnight to Quad 2 territory (at least for now). Wisconsin's strength of schedule ranks 12th. | |
| 10 | |
| Record: 21-5 | Last week: 14th. The Bears are the No. 6 team in the NET. The highlights on the ledger to this point are wins against Villanova at home, Michigan State on a neutral court and home vs. Texas. Their worst loss is home vs. Oklahoma State, but every other loss is vs. Quad 1. Baylor has 13 Quad 1+2 wins, with a 9-4 Quad 1 record. Road/neutral: a sturdy 9-3. | |
| 11 | |
| Record: 20-6 | Last week: N/R. The Wildcats are the No. 5 team in the NET. The Wildcats' eight road wins are the most of any team in a power conference at this stage of the season. They've got a lot in the bag, with the biggest wins being at Providence, Tennessee on a neutral court and a sweep of Seton Hall. Villanova is 6-6 Quad 1, 5-0 in Quad 2. Its worst loss isn't offensive — at Creighton. VU was also swept by Marquette. Lowest ranking in team sheet metrics: 11th (Strength of Record). | |
| 12 | |
| Record: 20-6 | Last week: 12th. The Razorbacks are the No. 29 team in the NET. They don't have a lot of top-end wins, but home vs. Auburn is a huge one. Arkansas has also won at LSU. The losses: vs. Hofstra, vs. Vanderbilt, at Texas A&M. Hogs hold a 2-4 Quad 1 record with five Q1 chances left in the regular season. Certainly not one of the 12 best résumés in the sport, but Eric Musselman's team has won 10 of its past 11. | |
| 13 | |
| Record: 21-3 | Last week: 6th. The Friars are the No. 30 team in the NET. Providence has a healthy chance at a No. 4 seed or better thanks to a road win at Wisconsin, a home win over Texas Tech and a road win against UConn. The three losses: Virginia on a neutral (blowout), at Marquette (blowout), home vs. Villanova (by five points). The Friars are 10-3 vs. the top two quadrants. | |
| 14 | |
| Record: 24-2. | Last week: 15th. The Racers are the No. 24 team in the NET. The Racers have nine road wins, the most of any team in this week's power rankings. Murray State is 21st in Strength of Record and 26th at KenPom. The Racers are 4-1 in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games. Best wins: at Memphis, at Belmont, at Morehead State. The two losses: at Auburn, vs. East Tennessee State on a neutral court. | |
| 15 | |
| Record: 19-6. | Last week: N/R. The Volunteers are the No. 9 team in the NET. Though strength of schedule is a helpful tool at times, it shouldn't be emphasized too much to assess team strength. That said, Tennessee's SOS is No. 2 in the country. The Vols are 5-6 in Quad 1 and 5-0 in Quad 2. No bad losses, not ranked worse than 11th in a team sheet metric. Best wins: home vs. Arizona, LSU and Kentucky. No bad losses. | |
| 16 | |
| Record: 20-3 | Last week: N/R. The Rams are the No. 26 team in the NET. Best victories: at Boise State, home vs. Saint Mary's, Mississippi State on a neutral court. Niko Medved's team is 8-2 in road+neutral games and holds a 9-2 record in the top two quadrants. There is a wart of a loss — home vs. UNLV — which registers as Quad 3. The Rams rank 33rd or better in all team sheet metrics except one: CSU is inexplicably 77th in BPI. | |
| 17 | |
| Record: 17-5. Last week: 7th. The Bruins are the No. 14 team in the NET. Due to COVID scheduling snafus, they haven't played as many games as most other teams, but are still on pace to be at 29 before the postseason. UCLA has a troika of quality wins: home vs. Villanova, home vs. Arizona and at Marquette. A road loss to Arizona State will cost UCLA a seed line on Selection Sunday, as well a home defeat to Oregon. The Bruins are just 3-3 in Quad 1 and 7-5 in Quads 1 and 2. | |
| 18 | |
| Record: 23-4. Last week: N/R. The Jackrabbits are the No. 73 team in the NET. If you are thrown by SDSU's inclusion here, a reminder to read the reminder above. This team is scorching hot at the moment. Overall, the Jackrabbits are 1-2 in Quad 1, 1-0 in Quad 2, 8-1 in Quad 3 and 11-1 in Quad 4. Best wins: at Stephen F. Austin and over Washington State in Spokane, Washington. The loss that will keep SDSU fighting off skeptics for its at-large case: a road loss to Idaho (6-18). | |
| 19 | |
| Record: 16-9. Last week: N/R. The Scarlet Knights are the No. 75 team in the NET. Over the past two weeks, you can easily make the case Rutgers has played like a top-10 team in America, as it's gone 4-0 with all wins vs. projected tournament teams. Steve Pikiell's team is 6-3 in Quad 1, 2-3 in Quad 2, 2-2 in Quad 3 and 6-1 in Quad 4. It's the only viable at-large candidate right now to have a win and a loss in all four quadrants. Best wins: at Wisconsin, then home vs. Purdue, Michigan State, Ohio State and Illinois. The losses are a doozy: home vs. Lafayette, at UMass, at DePaul, home vs. Maryland. Rutgers is the most intriguing bubble team we have. | |
















