Men’s Basketball Power Rankings: Which 3 teams have actually emerged at

Jeff Borzello, ESPN

• Personnel WriterJan 16, 2025, 10:00 AM ET Close Basketball recruiting insider.
• Joined ESPN in 2014.
• Graduate of University of Delaware.There was an enormous shake-up

in the leading 5 of the Power Rankings today, with the gauntlet that is the SEC declaring two more victims in Florida and Alabama. Tuesday night began with Alabama seeing its eight-game winning streak end at home versus Ole Miss. Two hours later on, Florida– precisely one week after beating Tennessee by 30 points– lost by one in the house to Missouri.Editor’s Picks 1 Associated While neither of those schools drops far, the outcomes give more credence to the idea of a three-team tier making

a bit

of separation at the top of the rankings.Johni Broome’s injury makes Auburn’s area more rare, however the Tigers beat Mississippi State by 22 even without him.

Duke is hardly perspiring while blowing out inferior ACC competition. And then there’s Iowa State, which has only a two-point loss to Auburn blemishing its résumé and simply dispatched Kansas by 17. That’s not to say other teams won’t push into that group in the coming days and weeks. Houston’s metrics put the

Cougars in the discussion, however they need a marquee win or two. Even after their losses, Tennessee and Florida aren’t away and will have a lot of opportunities.But today, after the unexpected home losses in the SEC on Tuesday, Auburn, Duke and Iowa State look a cut above everyone else. Previous ranking: 1 No Broome, no issue. Auburn battered Mississippi State by 22 points in its very first full game considering that Broome suffered a sprained ankle that must keep him out at least a number of weeks.Unsurprisingly, senior forward Chaney Johnson entered Broome’s spot in the lineup and was great, completing with 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting with eight rebounds and 4 blocks.

Johnson has actually played 30 or more minutes on 5 events this season, and he’s balancing 15.6 points and 8.2 rebounds in those games.Next seven days: at Georgia(Jan. 18) Previous ranking: 2 T.J. Otzelberger was forced to change his starting lineup for just the 2nd time this season as news broke hours before Wednesday’s game against Kansas that Milan Momcilovic will miss extended time with a hand injury. In stepped Curtis Jones, the country’s best sixth man. But Otzelberger also moved big guy Dishon Jackson to the bench and slotted Brandton Chatfield into the beginning lineup. Against the Jayhawks, Jones had 20 first-half points and finished with 25, while Jackson had 17 points off the bench.Next seven days: at West Virginia (Jan. 18), vs. UCF (Jan. 21) Previous ranking: 3

Do not forget about Kon Knueppel! The freshman from Milwaukee received

considerable buzz in the preseason, then came out of the gates with 22 points in the season opener versus Maine,

moving into the leading 10 of NBA mock drafts.After a couple of up-and-down weeks, Knueppel has actually regained his early-season kind. He had 25 points and 6 3-pointers in the win over Miami on Tuesday, and is averaging 16.7 points over his past 6 games, shooting 46.7 %from 3-point range.Next seven days: at Boston College(Jan. 18) Previous ranking: 6 Tennessee went back to its early-season type in the second half versus Georgia on Wednesday, coming out of halftime on a 26-4 run and travelling to an 18-point win. Zakai Zeigler was great, hitting 3 3s in a 70-second stretch and ending up with 16 points, 7 helps and 6 takes– while Jordan Gainey came off the bench to score 19. On The Other Hand, Chaz Lanier continues to struggle. He shot just 2-for-16 against Georgia, bringing his overalls over the past three games to 8.3 points on 18.6 %shooting.Next seven days: at Vanderbilt(Jan. 18), vs. Mississippi State(Jan. 21 ) Previous ranking: 9 Jaxson Robinson was the most highly promoted of Kentucky’s transfer additions last spring before taking a rear seat to some of his colleagues in early-season buzz, however the previous BYU player has put together back-to-back impactful performances.

He had 27 points and seven 3-pointers at Mississippi State on Saturday, then followed with 22 points, 8 rebounds and 5 3s in the Wildcats’win over Texas A&M on Tuesday– his two highest-scoring games of the season.Next seven days: vs. Alabama (Jan. 18 ) Previous ranking: 4 Todd Golden’s team was restored down to Earth on Tuesday, suffering a one-point home loss to Missouri.Are there any resemblances in between the Gators’2 losses of the season, to Kentucky and Missouri? Both were by far Florida’s worst defensive performances of the campaign,

with the Gators allowing 1.48 points per ownership to the Wildcats and 1.21 to the Tigers. Both opponents made double-digit 3-pointers, while Missouri also got 15 offensive rebounds. Florida has been among the very best 3-point portion defenses in the nation all season, so this is likely just a blip.Next 7 days: vs. Texas(Jan. 18), at South Carolina( Jan. 22) Previous ranking: 7 Marquette barely escaped DePaul in overtime on the road Tuesday, but it was another positive game for Kam Jones’supporting cast. Jones has actually struggled shooting the ball from the perimeter over the previous few weeks, going 1-for-10 versus the Blue Demons to drop to 20%from 3 in the previous six games– but David Joplin stepped up with 30 points and seven 3-pointers, while Chase Ross had 15 points after

going for 27 last week.One more

thing to keep an eye on is Shaka Smart’s bench usage: Tre Norman was the only player to see double-digit minutes off the bench Tuesday, while Zaide Lowery, Damarius Owens and Caedin Hamilton have seen their minutes lessened after having more consistent functions previously this season.Next 7 days: vs. Xavier (Jan. 18 ), at Seton Hall (Jan. 21 ) Previous ranking

: 5 Alabama had its worst offending efficiency in two seasons Tuesday night, getting held to 64 points in a 10-point home loss to Ole Miss. The Crimson Tide shot 5-for-20 from 3-point variety and turned the ball over 21 times. It was the first time because their Sugary food 16 loss to San Diego State in 2023 that the Tide have scored less than 70 points– and the very first time all season they have actually

been held below 1.04 points per possession. Their 0.84 points per ownership was their least expensive because

a March 2023 loss at Texas A&M. Next 7 days: at Kentucky(Jan. 18 ), vs. Vanderbilt (Jan. 21) Previous ranking: 14 J’Wan Roberts is starting to come to life on the offensive end. The senior big man scored in double figures in his very first 3 games of the season, then just once over the next 8 games. Once the schedule turned to Big 12 play, Roberts ended up being much more aggressive on the offensive end.

After setting up a season-high 22 points versus West Virginia on Wednesday,

he’s averaging 14.0 points and 6.0 rebounds over his previous five games, shooting almost 59%from the field.Next seven

days: at UCF(Jan. 18), vs. Utah (Jan. 21 ) Previous ranking: 13 If it appears as if Oregon has actually consistently won close games this season, it’s not simply anecdotal. As this tweet explains, Oregon has eight wins this season where its KenPom win probability was 36%or lower at some time in the second half. The Ducks’current three-game win streak was chosen by a total of 7 points.

Their biggest win this season, back in November versus