CBS Sports releases updated Top 25 and 1 after big night of upsets in college basketball
College basketball is officially in full swing and some big time matchups have shaken up preseason notions and reshaped the pecking order atop the sport — for now, at least. As such, CBS Sports has updated the Top 25 and 1 rankings for college hoops.
The top trio remains constant and undefeated. Kansas jumped four spots to No. 4 after outlasting Duke in the Champions Classic, but the biggest jump came from the other winner in that early season showcase: Michigan State. By toppling Kentucky — now No. 6 in these Top 25 and 1 rankings produced by Gary Parrish — the Spartans leapt 19 spots to No. 5.
Parrish admits this might not be an entirely accurate reflection of Michigan State at this point, but he’s trying to reward MSU for it’s difficult, and now rewarding, schedule.
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“Is Michigan State really the sport’s fifth-best team?” Parrish wrote. “I have no idea. But I’m a big believer in rewarding programs for scheduling aggressively — especially when they perform well against those aggressive schedules, which is what the Spartans have done so far. They opened by smacking Northern Arizona 73-55, then played Gonzaga tough to the final seconds before losing 64-63 on a neutral court, and then beat Kentucky 86-77 on a neutral court.”
The only other major mover was Duke, dropping five spots to No. 10 in the Top 25 and 1 rankings following the loss to Kansas.
CBS Sports full Top 25 and 1 ranking:
- Gonzaga
- North Carolina
- Houston
- Kansas
- Michigan State
- Kentucky
- Arkansas
- Baylor
- UCLA
- Duke
- Creighton
- Texas
- Indiana
- Auburn
- Virginia
- Arizona
- Texas A&M
- Michigan
- Tennessee
- San Diego State
- Alabama
- Purdue
- Ohio State
- St. Louis
- Illinois
- UConn
UConn is the only new team in the rankings and Dayton dropped out to make space for the Huskies in the CBS Sports Top 25 and 1.