College basketball rankings: Michigan State, Duke move up; Tennessee slides

John Fanta

College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter

It was a weekend of road tests for some of the top teams in college basketball, and the heavyweights found a way to pass all of them and avoid an upset. But a storyline as big as any in the country this weekend surrounded my No. 1 team, Auburn. Johni Broome went down with what Bruce Pearl is calling a significant ankle sprain, and the national player of the year front-runner is expected to miss some time. The good news is that an MRI on Sunday confirmed that Broome does not need surgery. The bad news is that Broome is out indefinitely.

The Tigers still found a way to edge South Carolina on the road, 66-63, as Tahaad Pettiford stepped up with clutch free throws and Pearl’s team came up with the closing stop. But now we have to ask, how much time will Broome miss? Will he be right back to normal when he comes back? How will Auburn look without the guy who has been the best player in the country for the majority of the season? In the unforgiving SEC, it won’t take long to find out what the Tigers are without him. Auburn welcomes a top 20 Mississippi State team on Tuesday before visiting a red-hot and ranked Georgia squad on Saturday. It feels like Broome’s situation isn’t too severe, but it’s certainly a fluid one.

This team does have one of the best backcourt units in the country — headlined by five other double-figure scorers in addition to Broome, including Chad Baker-Mazara, Denver Jones and Pettiford — and fifth-year senior Dylan Cardwell is a solid reserve option to be a replacement for Broome. That said, it’s not time to panic by any means for the Tigers.

This is still a top-10 team without Broome, but having a player who averaged 17.9 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game made the Tigers the best team in the land. Without him, they could struggle some, but I still believe in this team and think they’ll be in San Antonio at the Final Four this April. However, this injury makes for a potential revolving door for our No. 1 spot over the next two months on the road to March Madness.

Auburn wasn’t the only heavyweight to face and pass a challenging road test this weekend. Iowa State played one of the best games of the day with Saint Mary’s transfer Joshua Jefferson forcing overtime at the buzzer and then hitting the game-winning free throws to pull out an 85-84 win at Texas Tech. Alabama fought off Texas A&M, 94-88, behind 27 points from Mark Sears, while Tennessee responded from the loss to Florida and edged Texas, 74-70.

Three other headliners of the week?

St. John’s, which has won nine of its past 10 games, is back in our rankings this week after a pair of double-digit victories at Xavier and at home against Villanova. RJ Luis has evolved into a first-team All-Big East selection, going for 30 points and 10 rebounds in the win over the Wildcats. Rick Pitino now has a team that is 14-3 and tracking well for the NCAA Tournament. They can make a real run in March, especially if perimeter shooting continues to come along like it did in the win over Villanova.

How about Mike White and Georgia? The Bulldogs, who have not appeared in the NCAA Tournament in a decade, are 14-2 after a pair of top-25 wins over Kentucky and Oklahoma. Five-star freshman Asa Newell is a top-10 NBA Draft pick and playing at a really high level, while sophomore Silas Demary has taken a nice leap and transfer Dakota Leffew was a quality scoring pickup in his reserve role. This week is a major one for Georgia with a trip to Tennessee on Wednesday followed by a matchup with Auburn on Saturday.

Finally, we turn to one-loss Utah State, who was down 79-77 with nine seconds left against Boise State on Saturday before Ian Martinez hit a 3-pointer and was fouled on a wild sequence that gave the Aggies the victory.

The Aggies are on their third head coach in as many years and are tracking well to make a third consecutive NCAA Tournament. Going from now-Utah coach Craig Smith to now-VCU coach Ryan Odom to now-Washington head coach Danny Sprinkle to a slam-dunk hire in Jerrod Calhoun speaks to the Aggies administration and their ability to find the right coaches for their programs. That’s why we’re giving Utah State some national love this week. A date to circle: Saturday, Feb. 1 vs. New Mexico (9:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and the FOX Sports app). Both the Lobos and the Aggies are undefeated (6-0) in the Mountain West.

That said, let’s get to our Top 25!

1. Auburn (15-1)

While we’ve already discussed at length how the Tigers will retool without Broome, how about the continued production of a four-star guard in Pettiford? Not only has he been a microwave scorer for Pearl, but he has done it against some of the best defensive teams in the country — from a 21-point showing against Houston to a 20-point performance vs. Duke to 18 in the win over Purdue.

2. Iowa State (14-1)

Curtis Jones delivered 26 points in Saturday’s win at Texas Tech, a victory that I don’t think the Cyclones get last year. But T.J. Otzelberger evolved this group offensively with the addition of Jefferson and player development. Up next for Iowa State? Kansas. Wednesday. Hilton Coliseum.

3. Duke (14-2)

How about Cooper Flagg, America? I think he will win national player of the year when it’s all said and done, joining Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Zion Williamson as the only others to win the honor as a freshman in college basketball history. He delivered the highest-scoring performance by a Duke and ACC freshman on Saturday, going off for 42 points (11 of 14 from the floor and 16 of 17 from the free-throw line), seven assists and six rebounds in the 86-78 win over Notre Dame. Flagg will be the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft this June.

4. Alabama (14-2)

Not only did Sears score 27 in Saturday’s win, but the Tide showed their depth with Chris Youngblood and Aden Holloway combining for 29 off the bench. Alabama hosts Ole Misson Tuesday before visiting Kentucky on Saturday.

5. Tennessee (15-1)

Zakai Zeigler is one of America’s best guards, and showed it again Saturday when he posted 16 points and eight assists in the four-point win at head coach Rick Barnes’ former school, Texas. Barnes did have some poignant thoughts on his leading scorer, Chaz Lanier, on Saturday. In the NIL world, everything seems to be fair game.

6. Florida (15-1)

The Gators had the most impressive performance of the week with a 30-point win over previously unbeaten Tennessee behind Alijah Martin’s 18 points. Then, they went to Arkansas on Saturday and overcame an early 13-2 deficit to win 71-63 behind four in double-figures. Todd Golden’s group is stacked.

7. Marquette (14-2)

The Golden Eagles are 5-0 in the Big East, their best start to conference play since 2008-09, after a 74-66 win over Georgetown in which junior Chase Ross had a career-high 27 points. Marquette visits DePaul on Tuesday before hosting Xavier on Saturday.

8. Kentucky (13-3)

Big Blue Nation might be upset with me for having the Wildcats at No. 8, but every game matters — and Kentucky was run off the floor by Georgia on Tuesday, 82-69. Kentucky responded with a 95-90 win over Mississippi State on Saturday behind 27 points from Jaxson Robinson and some big shots from Ansley Almonor. Amari Williams also delivered 10 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, as the Cats notched their fourth win over a top-16 team in the NET. This team is capable of reaching San Antonio because their offense is chock-full of talent and options.

9. Houston (12-3)

The Cougars just quietly go about their business and beat the brakes off teams. On Saturday, Kelvin Sampson’s squad won its eighth consecutive game with an 87-57 rout of Kansas State. Emanuel Sharp posted 15 points, while Joseph Tugler tallied a double-double. Up next: home to West Virginia on Wednesday.

10. Michigan State (14-2)

How about the Spartans? In his 30th season at the helm, Tom Izzo has done a remarkable job with Michigan State, which won its ninth consecutive game on Sunday with a 78-68 victory over Northwestern. There’s no question that Sparty will march on to a 27th consecutive NCAA Tournament, and the pieces are in place for Michigan State to reach its 16th Sweet 16 of Izzo’s tenure. I love the way Jeremy Fears can jet in transition and generate offense for a Spartans program that seems to have been missing that in recent years. Add in Jaden Akins as a primary bucket-getter, freshman Jase Richardson as an X-factor off the bench and the rebounding of Jaxon Kohler, and the Spartans are really well-rounded. This team can win the Big Ten.

Coen Carr throws down a dunk, extending Michigan State’s lead over Northwestern

11. Kansas (12-3)
12. Texas A&M (13-3)
13. UConn (13-4)
14. Michigan (13-3)
15. Illinois (12-4)
16. Oregon (15-2)
17. Mississippi State (14-2)
18. Memphis (13-3)
19. Ole Miss (14-2)
20. Gonzaga (14-4)
21. Georgia (14-2)
22. Purdue (13-4)
22. St. John’s (14-3)
24. Utah State (16-1)
25. Wisconsin (13-3)

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him at @John_Fanta.

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