I've spent much of the past few weeks explaining pretty regularly that Purdue has the sport's best body of work while justifying the Boilermakers being No. 1 in the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings despite either Houston or UConn holding that spot in the AP Top 25 poll. And I still believe Purdue has the sport's best body of work. So the Boilermakers are still No. 1 in Sunday morning's updated Top 25 And 1 for the 19th consecutive day. But, in the spirit of transparency, I did consider moving Houston to No. 1 after Saturday's 76-46 beatdown of Kansas, and I really do think we're at the point where a case can be made for Purdue, UConn or Houston, any of them, to be No. 1 right now.
Let me make the case for each:
- Purdue: The case for Purdue is tied to the fact that the Boilermakers have more wins over schools ranked in the top 25 of the NET, and nobody has a better record in the first two quadrants than their 18-3 mark. They are also No. 1 in strength of record.
- UConn: The case for UConn is tied to the fact that the Huskies are the favorites in the betting markets to win the 2024 NCAA Tournament and the only team that can match Purdue's record in the first two quadrants. They are also in possession of more blowout victories than anybody else.
- Houston: The case for Houston is tied to the fact that the Cougars are No. 1 in most computers, including the NET. They are also in possession of 13 Q1 wins, which is two more than anybody else.
Purdue, UConn and Houston are all champions of conferences ranked in the top three nationally, according to KenPom.com. And if Purdue wins Sunday, all three will enter their conference tournaments with 28-3 records. It really is fascinating how close these teams are in terms of accomplishments, and how much they have separated from literally everybody else in the sport.
North Carolina. Tennessee. Iowa State. Creighton. Arizona. Those are all good teams. One of them will likely be the fourth No. 1 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. But none of them, and nobody else, can crack the top three no matter what happens between now and Selection Sunday, and it's possible the No. 1 overall seed won't be determined until just hours before the bracket is revealed.
Sunday's Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Zach Edey finished with 28 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 77-71 win at Illinois. The Boilermakers' next game is Sunday against Wisconsin. | -- | 34-5 |
| 2 |  | Alex Karaban finished with 16 points and two steals in Saturday's 74-60 win at Providence. The Huskies are the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament. | -- | 37-3 |
| 3 |  | Jamal Shead finished with 13 points and eight assists in Saturday's 76-46 win over Kansas. The Cougars are the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. | -- | 32-5 |
| 4 |  | Cormac Ryan finished with 31 points and two rebounds in Saturday's 84-79 win at Duke. The Tar Heels are the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament. | 2 | 29-8 |
| 5 |  | Santiago Vescovi was 0 of 5 from the field in Saturday's 85-81 loss to Kentucky. The Vols are the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament. | 1 | 27-9 |
| 6 |  | Milan Momcilovic was 0 of 2 from the field in Saturday's 65-58 loss at Kansas State. The Cyclones are the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | 1 | 29-8 |
| 7 |  | Baylor Scheierman finished with 18 points and six assists in Saturday's 69-67 win at Villanova. The Bluejays are the No. 2 seed in the Big East Tournament. | 2 | 25-10 |
| 8 |  | Caleb Love was 1 of 10 from the field in Saturday's 78-65 loss at USC. The Wildcats are the No. 1 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament. | 1 | 27-9 |
| 9 |  | RayJ Dennis had four turnovers in Saturday's 78-68 loss at Texas Tech. The Bears are the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. | 1 | 24-11 |
| 10 |  | Oso Ighodaro finished with 24 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 86-80 win at Xavier. The Golden Eagles are the No. 3 seed in the Big East Tournament. | 1 | 27-10 |
| 11 |  | Great Osobor finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 87-85 win over New Mexico. The Aggies are the No. 1 seed in the Mountain West Tournament. | 3 | 28-7 |
| 12 |  | Jeremy Roach was 3 of 12 from the field in Saturday's 84-79 loss to Duke. The Blue Devils are the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament. | 2 | 27-9 |
| 13 |  | Denver Jones finished with 21 points and three assists in Saturday's 92-78 win over Georgia. The Tigers are the No. 4 seed in the SEC Tournament. | -- | 27-8 |
| 14 |  | Spencer Johnson finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 85-71 win over Oklahoma State. The Cougars are the No. 5 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. | 1 | 23-11 |
| 15 |  | Johnny Furphy was 2 of 9 from the field in Saturday's 76-46 loss at Houston. The Jayhawks are the No. 6 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. | 3 | 23-11 |
| 16 |  | Terrence Shannon Jr. was 3 of 13 from the field in Tuesday's 77-71 loss to Purdue. The Illini's next game is Sunday at Iowa. | -- | 29-9 |
| 17 |  | Reed Sheppard finished with 27 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 85-81 win at Tennessee. The Wildcats are the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament. | -- | 23-10 |
| 18 |  | DaRon Holmes II finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 91-86 win over VCU. The Flyers are the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. | -- | 25-8 |
| 19 |  | Jarod Lucas finished with 26 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 75-65 win over UNLV. The Wolf Pack are the No. 2 seed in the Mountain West Conference Tournament. | -- | 26-8 |
| 20 |  | B.J. Mack finished with 25 points and two blocks in Saturday's 93-89 win at Mississippi State. The Gamecocks are the No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament. | -- | 26-8 |
| 21 |  | Mark Sears finished with 22 points and six assists in Saturday's 92-88 in over Arkansas. The Crimson Tide are the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament. | -- | 25-12 |
| 22 |  | Graham Ike finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 70-57 win at Saint Mary's. The Zags are the No. 2 seed in the West Coast Conference Tournament. | -- | 27-8 |
| 23 |  | Jaylen Wells was 3 of 13 from the field in Thursday's 74-68 loss to Washington. The Cougars are the No. 2 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament. | -- | 25-10 |
| 24 |  | Roddie Anderson III finished with 16 points and six rebounds in Friday's 79-77 win at San Diego State. The Broncos are the No. 3 seed in the Mountain West Conference Tournament. | -- | 22-11 |
| 25 |  | Pop Isaacs finished with 20 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 78-68 win over Baylor. The Red Raiders are the No. 4 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. | 1 | 23-11 |
| 26 |  | Vladislav Goldin finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 92-84 win over Memphis. The Owls are the No. 2 seed in the AAC Tournament. | NR | 25-9 |
In: FAU | Out: Florida
