College Basketball Rankings: CBS Sports shakes up Top 25 and 1 after turbulent Saturday slate

The college basketball landscape is harsh and unforgiving this season. Several teams learned this lesson the hard way this past week. On Sunday, CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish updated his Top 25 And 1 Rankings accordingly.

On Saturday alone, four ranked teams fell. Two of the losses were against unranked opponents. Of course, with the never-ending turnover in college basketball, those teams may not be unranked for long. In fact, one of those teams — Georgia — is already on Parrish’s Top 25 And 1 Rankings.

With so many other teams to cover, let’s dive into Parrish’s latest rankings.

1. Auburn Tigers

Previous Ranking: 1
While Auburn maintained its No. 1 spot in Parrish’s rankings this week, it may not stay there for long. In Auburn’s 66-63 win over South Carolina on Saturday, Player of the Year frontrunner Johni Broome suffered a severe ankle sprain, which will keep him out indefinitely.

Nonetheless, Parrish doesn’t believe in punishing teams for injuries until those injuries negatively affect them. For now, Auburn is still 15-1 and 3-0 in conference play. In its win over the Gamecocks, Tahaad Pettiford scored a team-high 15 points off the bench.

2. Iowa State Cyclones

Previous Ranking: 2
It wasn’t easy but Iowa State extended its win streak to 11 games with its 85-84 overtime victory against Texas Tech on Saturday. In the win, Curtis Jones tallied a game-high 26 points while shooting 8-15 from the field.

Alas, Joshua Jefferson was the star of the show, making a buzzer-beating layup to force overtime and sinking the Cyclones’ game-winning free throws. Jefferson finished the game with 17 points and eight rebounds. He had Iowa State’s final six points of the game.

3. Duke Blue Devils

Previous Ranking: 3
Duke has looked dangerous in ACC play, boasting a 6-0 record. Saturday was no exception, with the Blue Devils securing an 86-78 triumph over Notre Dame. It was a career day for freshman Cooper Flagg, who erupted for a career-high 42 points, six rebounds and seven assists.

Flagg’s 42 points are the most ever by an ACC freshman. Moreover, Flagg was extremely efficient, shooting 11-14 from the field and 17-18 from the charity stripe. Flagg is also getting it done from deep. After a slow start from 3-point range this season, Flagg has connected on 12 of his last 22 attempts from downtown.

4. Florida Gators

Previous Ranking: 4
Last Saturday, Florida suffered a narrow loss against Kentucky in Rupp Arena. Nonetheless, the Gators didn’t allow their misfortune to snowball. Florida bounced back from the loss with a jaw-dropping 73-43 win over Tennessee, who was ranked No. 1 at the time.

The Gators didn’t stop there, picking up a 71-63 victory over Arkansas on Saturday. Florida defense was lock-down in the win, holding Arkansas to just 30% shooting from the floor. Four players scored double figures for Florida in the win.

5. Alabama Crimson Tide

Previous Ranking: 5
After a couple of mishaps earlier this season, Alabama has looked like a well-oiled machine in conference play. Most recently, the Crimson Tide welcomed Texas to the SEC with a 94-88 win over the Longhorns.

As usual, Mark Sears was exceptional for Alabama, tallying a game-high 27 points. He wasn’t the only one with a hot hand for the Crimson Tide. Three others players — all coming off the bench — scored double figures against Texas, as well.

6. Marquette Golden Eagles

Previous Ranking: 6
Marquette has won five games in a row and isn’t showing any signs of stopping. On Tuesday, the Golden Eagles downed Georgetown in 74-66 fashion. Marquette star Kam Jones had a slow day but his teammates were there to pick up his slack.

Chase Ross was particularly excellent, notching a career-high 27 points and six steals while shooting 4-6 from beyond the arc. Marquette’s defense gave Georgetown headaches in the Big East showdown, squeezing 19 turnovers.

7. Tennessee Volunteers

Previous Ranking: 7
Tennessee suffered its first loss of the season this past week, falling 73-43 to Florida. It was a nightmarish performance for the Volunteers, who only connected on 12-of-their-56 (21.4%) field-goal attempts.

Tennessee didn’t wallow in self-pity, instead redeeming itself with a 74-70 triumph over Texas on Saturday. Veteran guard Zakai Zeigler was a machine on offense, logging a team-high 16 points and eight assists.

8. Kentucky Wildcats

Previous Ranking: 10
Kentucky saw the largest improvement in Parrish’s rankings this week after taking down No. 14 Mississippi State 95-90 on Saturday evening. The Wildcats’ 95 points are the most any team has scored against the Bulldogs this season.

Kentucky guard Jaxson Robinson was unconscious from deep in the win, draining 7-of-his-10 attempts. He ultimately recorded a season-high 27 points against MSU. In total, six players scored double-digits for the Wildcats.

9. Michigan State Spartans

Previous Ranking: 9
Michigan State landed at No. 9 again this week in Parrish’s rankings. The Spartans have burst out of the starting gates in conference play, holding a 5-0 record against Big Ten foes. On Thursday, Michigan State handed Washington an 88-54 shellacking on Thursday.

The Spartans followed up on the win with a 78-68 victory over Northwestern on Sunday. Michigan State only made four 3-pointers against the Wildcats but found success down low, racking up 36 points in the paint.

10. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Previous Ranking: 8
Mississippi State couldn’t pull off the win against Kentucky on Saturday night but it didn’t lose an ounce of respect from teams around the league. In the loss, Mississippi State went shot-for-shot with the Wildcats while causing havoc on defense.

The Bulldogs forced Kentucky to commit 13 turnovers. They capitalized on their pesky defense, totaling almost three times as many points off turnovers as the Wildcats.

11. Kansas (+2)
12. Texas A&M
13. Oregon (+1)
14. Purdue (+1) 
15. Memphis (+1)
16. Ole Miss (+1)
17. Illinois (-6)
18. Michigan
19. UConn
20. Gonzaga
21. Houston
22. Utah State
23. Georgia
24. Wisconsin
25. Baylor (+1)
26. St. John’s (Previously unranked)