College basketball rankings: Why Houston deserves its lofty Top 25 And 1 spot despite weaker schedule
The Cougars have been as dominant as any team this season even after losing two of their top scorers
By
Gary Parrish
•
2 min read
Every few days or so, after a good Big Ten or Big 12 team adds another Quadrant 1 victory, somebody will ask why I'm not elevating that program over Houston given the discrepancy in résumés at this point in the season. The answer is simple: I'm not going to punish the Cougars for their league affiliation.
Yes, I know Purdue and Kansas and lots of other teams below Houston in the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings have bigger wins and, broadly speaking, more impressive bodies of work. However, that likely has to do with the fact that just about every team ranked below Houston plays in a superior conference than the AAC, which projects as a one-bid league.
It's not Kelvin Sampson's fault that Memphis is disappointing again, or that Cincinnati isn't operating at its normal historical level, or that Wichita State is 2-5 in league games, and so on and so forth. If Sampson could snap his fingers and fix everybody else's program the way he fixed Houston's, I'm sure he would. But he can't. All he can do is run his program as best he can, and a reasonable argument can be made that nobody is running any program better than Sampson is running Houston right now.
It's a machine.
The Cougars lost two of their top four scorers — including leading scorer Marcus Sasser, who was playing like an All-American — to season-ending injuries the week before Christmas. Incredibly, it hasn't mattered yet. The Cougars beat Tulane Wednesday night to extend their winning streak to 11. So Houston is now 19-2 overall and 8-0 in the AAC with 16 double-digit victories. The lone losses were away from home to Wisconsin and Alabama by a combined three points.
It is true that the Cougars lack the type of signature wins that most schools ranked in the top 10 possess, but what's also true is that the computer numbers support a top-10 ranking pretty much across the board. Houston is No. 2 in the NET, No. 2 in BPI, No. 2 at BartTorvik.com, No. 6 at KenPom.com and No. 6 in Sagarin. Only three teams rank in the top 15 in both adjusted offensive efficiency and adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom. Houston is one of them. Auburn and Arizona are the other two.
I hope that explains it.
If Houston ever stumbles, I'll adjust accordingly. For now, the Cougars will maintain their No. 7 ranking in the Top 25 And 1, where Illinois is the biggest mover in Thursday morning's update after Wednesday night's 80-67 win over Wisconsin that featured a 37-point effort from Kofi Cockburn.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
4
Illinois
6
Wisconsin
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Auburn is 12-1 in the first two quadrants and on a 18-game winning streak. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Georgia. | -- | 7-3 |
| 2 |  | Gonzaga has won 10 straight games since losing to Alabama. The Zags' next game is Thursday at San Diego. | -- | 9-1 |
| 3 |  | Kentucky is 6-4 in the first two quadrants with all four losses coming in Quadrant 1 games away from home. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at Alabama. | -- | 6-4 |
| 4 |  | UCLA is 7-2 in the first two quadrants thanks to a six-game winning streak highlighted by a victory over Arizona. The Bruins' next game is Thursday against the Wildcats. | -- | 7-2 |
| 5 |  | Baylor is tied for the national lead with seven Quadrant 1 wins and is 11-3 in the first two quadrants. The Bears' next game is Saturday at Kansas. | -- | 7-2 |
| 6 |  | Arizona is 6-2 in the first two quadrants with the losses coming at Tennessee and at UCLA. The Wildcats' next game is Thursday against UCLA. | -- | 8-0 |
| 7 | | Houston's 11-game winning streak features nine double-digit victories. The Cougars' next game is Sunday at Cincinnati. | -- | 8-1 |
| 8 |  | Purdue is 8-3 in the first two quadrants with wins over Villanova, Ohio State and Illinois. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday against Michigan. | -- | 9-1 |
| 9 |  | Kansas is 11-3 in the first two quadrants with wins over Michigan State and Texas Tech. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against Baylor. | -- | 7-3 |
| 10 |  | Michigan State is 12-2 in its past 14 games with double-digit wins over Wisconsin and Michigan. The Spartans' next game is Saturday at Rutgers. | 2 | 8-1 |
| 11 |  | Texas Tech is 8-5 in the first two quadrants with all five losses coming in Quadrant 1. The Red Raiders' next game is Saturday at West Virginia. | 2 | 7-2 |
| 12 |  | Duke is 7-3 in the first two quadrants with wins over Gonzaga and Kentucky and losses to Miami and Florida State. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday at North Carolina. | 2 | 10-0 |
| 13 |  | Providence's 5-1 Quadrant 1 record includes wins over Wisconsin, Texas Tech and Marquette. The Friars' next game is Sunday at Georgetown. | 2 | 7-4 |
| 14 |  | Marquette is 8-1 in its past nine contests with two wins over Villanova. The Golden Eagles' next game is Tuesday at UConn. | 2 | 5-5 |
| 15 |  | Illinois' 8-5 record in the first two quadrants includes two losses in which Kofi Cockburn did not play. The Illini's next game is Saturday at Indiana. | 4 | 8-2 |
| 16 |  | Wisconsin is just 2-2 in its past four games, but still 10-4 in the first two quadrants with wins over Purdue, Houston, Ohio State and Marquette. The Badgers' next game is Saturday against Penn State. | 6 | 7-2 |
| 17 |  | Villanova is 7-6 in the first two quadrants with multiple losses to Marquette. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against UConn. | 6 | 7-2 |
| 18 |  | Xavier is 9-5 in the first two quadrants with multiple losses to Villanova. The Musketeers' next game is Saturday against DePaul. | -- | 7-3 |
| 19 |  | Ohio State is 5-5 in the first two quadrants with zero losses outside of Quadrant 1. The Buckeyes' next game is Thursday against Iowa. | 2 | 7-2 |
| 20 |  | Tennessee's 7-6 record in the first two quadrants includes zero losses outside of Quadrant 1. The Vols' next game is Saturday at South Carolina. | -- | 7-3 |
| 21 |  | Iowa State is 7-6 in the first two quadrants with wins over Texas Tech, Xavier and Texas. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday at Texas. | -- | 9-0 |
| 22 |  | Saint Mary's is 5-4 in the first two quadrants with zero losses outside of Quadrant 1. The Gaels' next game is Thursday at Portland. | -- | 9-1 |
| 23 |  | Texas is 7-6 in the first two quadrants with wins over Tennessee and TCU. The Longhorns' next game is Tuesday at Texas Tech. | -- | 7-3 |
| 24 |  | UConn is 5-5 in the first two quadrants and the only team with a win over Auburn. The Huskies' next game is Saturday at Villanova. | -- | 9-1 |
| 25 |  | Davidson is 4-3 in the first two quadrants with wins over Alabama and VCU. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at George Washington. | -- | 7-2 |
| 26 |  | Alabama's résumé includes wins over Gonzaga, Baylor and Houston and losses to Memphis, Missouri and Georgia. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday against Kentucky. | -- | 7-2 |
