CBS Sports updates Top 25 and 1 after Top 10 upset shakes up college basketball rankings
Several rankings around college basketball got their latest updates on Christmas Day yesterday. However, CBS Sports shared their newest ratings the day before on Christmas Eve after some significant outcomes from the weekend caused some shifts.
The biggest swing came in the aftermath of the Desert Holiday Classic where Florida Atlanta knocked off Arizona in double overtime out in Sin City. That helped the Owls be the biggest riser in CBS’ update while the Wildcats, after their second loss in three games, suffered the biggest drop.
Here’s a full look at CBS Sports’ Top-25 & 1 as we head into the final week of 2023:
1. Purdue Boilermakers
Purdue maintained their spot at No. 1 for CBS after their 100-57 win over Jacksonville last week. That came one game after they themselves also knocked off Arizona to reclaim the top spot in the AP Poll for the second time this season.
Through a dozen games, Zach Edey remains the force in the sport which, in turn, makes the Boilermakers as much of a contender as ever. They now have one last game this year to show signs of that before they officially enter Big Ten play the day after New Year’s Day.
2. Kansas Jayhawks
With one loss so far on their season, Kansas remained at No. 2 following their 75-60 win over Yale a few days back. Kevin McCullar put the Jayhawks on his back with 34 points, six rebounds, four assists, and a pair of steals on high efficiency.
The one defeat being a top-five loss on a neutral court in the Maui Invitational is about as good of a start as Kansas could have hoped for. Now, with one game to go before entering the Big 12, they can add one last non-conference result to their resume before looking to dominate the conference again.
3. Houston Cougars
Houston remains one the last three unbeaten teams in the country to this point of the season. They maintained that mark with their latest win, a 35-point victory over Texas State.
This next stretch will be what truly tests the Cougars, though. After 10 years of entering conference play in the American, they will, after one last contest versus Penn, now look to continue their consistent standard of success in a far more difficult league in the Big 12.
4. Tennessee Volunteers
It is a tad off to see a three-loss team sit so high in the rankings as Tennessee currently does at CBS. Still, it makes sense when you consider the Volunteers’ trio of losses have all come by single digits to Top-12 teams in their ratings, including a pair to their top-two teams and all three coming either on the road or on a neutral site.
After dropping those three in consecutive fashion, the Vols have ripped off five straight, including one over a quality opponent in Illinois. They’ve started to clean up after that skid and now have one last non-conference game with Norfolk State before they’ll look to finish at or around the top of the Southeastern Conference again.
5. Illinois Fighting Illini
At 9-2, Illinois cracked the top-five off the strength of their two losses. Although they’re one off of double-digit wins, it’s the fact that they’ve only lost to Marquette and then Tennessee in Knoxville, both of which came by single-digits, that says plenty about them.
Terrence Shannon Jr., a Top-10 scorer in the nation, powered them to their latest victory over Missouri with 30 points, his second 30-point outburst in the last four games. He should continue to give the Illini enough of a punch in the scoring column as they close out their non-conference this week before entering the Big Ten.
6. UConn Huskies
UConn still managed to jump up a spot in CBS’ ranking with a 69-65 win over St. John’s. However, this has not been a positive last stretch for the Huskies.
After losing by 15 points at Seton Hall, the Huskies had to go back and forth with the Red Storm in order to get their 11th win. That also includes the fact that Donovan Clingan will be out for the next month with a foot injury, an injury update that could put the reigning champions in limbo as they enter January.
7. Florida Atlantic Owls
Florida Atlantic caused quite the stir, including at CBS, on Christmas Eve with their double-overtime victory over Arizona. With a pretty good start to the season, this was the victory that reminded many of what the Owls did en route to a Final Four appearance last March.
That included the play of Johnell Davis as he went for 35 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and three steals in the one-point win. Now, at 10-2, they have regained some of that preseason momentum with one game left before the start of their run in the American
8. Arizona Wildcats
Arizona was on the losing end of that one-point decision in Las Vegas this weekend. After looking virtually unstoppable at points over their first eight, they’ve now dropped two of their past three games.
To be fair, this has been the toughest stretch of their year thus far with their last four coming against teams have been in ranked at some point or another this season. With their non-conference schedule over now, it’s on them to correct from these last few games to open their final run in the Pac-12.
9. Memphis Tigers
Memphis hasn’t been scared of anyone and has benefitted from that aggressive scheduling now that they’ve won several of those games. They’re currently 4-1 agains the SEC with the one loss coming against undefeated Ole Miss, 2-0 against ranked opponents out of the ACC, and have only dropped one other in the Battle 4 Atlantis where things got out of hand against Villanova.
With their latest win over Vanderbilt, they sit at 10-2 as a team that could make noise in the American after one last non-conference outing versus Austin Peay.
10. Marquette Golden Eagles
Marquette has been a bit up and down with a 5-0 start, a 1-2 skid, and now a 4-1 stretch. They’ve played and competed against several of the top teams but must now survive in a competitive Big East
Their drop comes after they opened conference play with a 15-point loss at Providence. However, they responded in a massive way their next time out with a 30-point win over Georgetown, a result that should send them into their next league games on a better foot.
11. Kentucky Wildcats
12. North Carolina Tar Heels
13. Oklahoma Sooners
14. Gonzaga Bulldogs
15. Colorado State Rams
16. BYU Cougars
17. Ole Miss Rebels
18. Clemson Tigers
19. Duke Blue Devils
20. Baylor Bears
21. Wisconsin Badgers
22. James Madison Dukes
23. Providence Friars
24. Auburn Tigers
25. Virginia Cavaliers
26. Texas A&M Aggies