The final week of the regular season isn’t disappointing. After five ranked teams suffered losses on Wednesday night, CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish released his updated college basketball Top 25 and 1 rankings on Thursday morning.
Unsurprisingly, the SEC led all conferences with eight teams in Parrish’s rankings. Nonetheless, the Big Ten doesn’t trail far behind, boasting six teams in the Top 25 and 1.
With so many shocking outcomes to cover, let’s dive into Parrish’s latest college basketball rankings.
Previous Ranking: 1
Auburn’s six-game win streak came to an abrupt end on Tuesday night when Texas A&M downed the Tigers in stunning 83-72 fashion. The Aggies’ physicality proved to be too much for Auburn.
Texas A&M out-rebounded the Tigers 41-25 and nearly grabbed three times as many offensive rebounds as them. Despite the loss, Parrish hasn’t lost confidence in Auburn. After all, the Tigers still have 15 Quad 1 wins this season, easily the most in the nation.
Previous Ranking: 2
Duke is reaching tip-top shape as the postseason approaches. On Monday, the Blue Devils dominated Wake Forest in a 93-60 blowout. Freshman star Cooper Flagg looked unstoppable, tallying 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
As usual, fellow freshman Kon Kneuppel was Flagg’s right-hand man, adding 17 points, five rebounds and four assists to the Blue Devils’ winning effort. Duke owns the highest average margin of victory in the country this season, regularly winning games by 20 or more points.
Previous Ranking: 3
On Monday, Houston defeated Kansas 65-59 to secure its ninth consecutive win. The Cougars’ defense suffocated the Jayhawks, forcing Kansas to commit 20 turnovers. Houston scored 18 points off the Jayhawks’ turnovers.
LJ Cryer led the charge for Houston in the win, recording a game-high 22 points while shooting 4-6 from beyond the arc. Emmanuel Sharp was pivotal off the bench, piling on 12 points and six rebounds of his own.
Previous Ranking: 7
Florida jumped three spots in Parrish’s rankings after picking up a convincing 99-94 win over Alabama on Wednesday. More impressive, the Gators were in enemy territory, playing in front of over 13,000 booming Alabama fans.
Florida forward Alex Condon didn’t allow the noise to bother him. He posted a 27-point, 10-rebound double-double in the win. Veteran guard Walter Clayton Jr. did his part as well, racking up 22 points, five rebounds and eight assists.
Previous Ranking: 6
Michigan State has won four straight games against ranked foes and looks poised for a deep run in March. Most recently, the Spartans secured a 71-62 triumph over Wisconsin on Sunday.
Michigan State held Wisconsin star John Tonje to just 11 points on 3-13 shooting. Conversely, Spartans star Jaden Adkins stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points, five rebounds and eight assists.
Previous Ranking: 4
Tennessee fell two spots in Parrish’s Top 25 and 1 rankings after suffering a 78-76 upset loss against Ole Miss on Wednesday. Tennessee had a chance to force overtime but Igor Milicic was unable to convert a contested layup as time expired.
Although the loss was painful for the Volunteers, they’re still in an excellent position for the postseason. If they win their regular-season finale against South Carolina, the Volunteers are guaranteed a double-bye in the SEC Tournament.
Previous Ranking: 5
Alabama has lost back-to-back games, and must recompose itself before the postseason begins. On the bright side, this isn’t the first time Alabama has been in this position. Last season, the Crimson Tide also lost two of their final three regular-season games only to catch fire in the postseason and reach the Final Four for the first time in program history.
Alas, if Alabama wants to repeat history, it has to clean up some of its issues. In the Crimson Tide’s loss to Florida on Wednesday, they gave up 16 offensive rebounds to the Gators. Additionally, Alabama allowed Florida to notch 52 points in the paint.
Previous Ranking: 8
St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino broke out his notorious white suit on Saturday to lead the Red Storm to a 71-61 win over Seton Hall. It wasn’t St. John’s best showing, with the team committing 16 turnovers, but it was a win, nonetheless.
RJ Luis Jr. notched a game-high 21 points against the Pirates. Not to be outdone, Zuby Ejiofor recorded a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double in the Big East triumph. St. John’s will conclude its regular season on Saturday in a showdown against Marquette.
Previous Ranking: 9
Wisconsin bounced back from its loss against Michigan State with a 74-67 victory over Minnesota on Wednesday. John Blackwell was spectacular for the Badgers, collecting 25 points and a career-high 11 boards.
John Tonje didn’t trail far behind, tallying 18 points and seven rebounds while shooting 5-10 from the floor. With the win, the Badgers forced a three-way tie for third place in the Big Ten. The top four seeds in the Big Ten Tournament receive a double-bye.
Previous Ranking: 10
On Wednesday, Texas Tech ran away with a 91-75 triumph over Colorado. In the win, JT Toppin erupted for a game-high 30 points and 14 rebounds while knocking down 10-of-his-17 attempts from the field.
Toppin wasn’t the only Red Raider with a hot hand. Texas Tech shot 16-33 (48.5%) from beyond the arc in the win. With the victory, Texas Tech clinched a double-bye in the Big 12 Tournament next week.
11. Texas A&M (+1)
12. Purdue (+1)
13. Iowa State (+1)
14. Maryland (+5)
15. Louisville
16. Michigan (-5)
17. Clemson (+1)
18. Arizona (+2)
19. Marquette (-3)
20. Kentucky (+1)
21. Saint Mary’s (+1)
22. Memphis (+1)
23. Oregon (+1)
24. Missouri (-7)
25. BYU
26. Ole Miss (NR)
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