College Basketball Rankings: CBS Sports updates Top 25 And 1 with big changes after multiple ranked matchups

The college basketball regular season is rapidly coming to an end. Naturally, the postseason picture is coming better into view with that as teams separate themselves from one another. With that, on Sunday, CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish updated his college basketball Top 25 And 1 Rankings.

These most recently updated rankings come after a critical Saturday around college basketball. That included multiple ranked matchups, including between the top two teams in the last AP Poll. Given that that game was between two SEC schools, it’s not overly surprising that nine of the Top 25 And 1 ranked teams come from that conference.

Keeping all of that in mind, here’s a look into how Parrish ranks the top end teams in college basketball this season.

1. Auburn Tigers

Previous ranking: 1
The Auburn Tigers earned a massive win on Saturday, taking down rival Alabama. It was a game that gave the Tigers the inside track to winning the SEC in the regular season, giving Auburn sole possession of first place in the conference standings. On top of that, it also represented yet another Quad 1 win for the Tigers.

At this point, the Tigers are the hunted at the top of the college basketball world. In a challenging final stretch of SEC play, four of the six opponents Auburn is set to play appear on the Top 25 And 1 rankings. That final stretch of the season starts against Arkansas on Wednesday.

2. Alabama Crimson Tide

Previous ranking: 2
Going into their game against Auburn, Alabama head coach Nate Oats made it clear that his team had a chance to see if they’re the best team in the country. That didn’t happen, though, with the Crimson Tide falling to their rival. In particular, Alabama was letdown by its shooting and ability to make Auburn miss. That snapped a seven-game winning streak and put the Crimson Tide in second place in the SEC.

The end of the season is going to be extremely difficult for Alabama. All six of their final opponents are currently ranked in both the AP Top 25 and the Top 25 And 1. That means there will be very little room for error if Alabama wants to catch up to Auburn. At the same time, if they keep pace from here, the Crimson Tide will have a second shot at Auburn that could secure at least a piece of the regular season title.

3. Florida Gators

Previous ranking: 3
The Florida Gators are the third team overall and the third SEC team to make it into the Top 25 And 1. That’s after bouncing back from their loss to Tennessee to open the month of February with four straight wins, including over Auburn. Most recently, Florida beat South Carolina on Saturday by a final score of 88-67.

Florida will be back in action on Tuesday when they’re set to host the Oklahoma Sooners. At 9-3 in SEC play, there’s still time for the Gators to win the conference during the regular season. However, two games behind Auburn, it would take the Tigers losing multiple games and the Gators getting on a roll. That’s before Alabama, currently second, would come into play.

4. Duke Blue Devils

Previous ranking: 4
The Duke Blue Devils are the first non-SEC team in the Top 25 And 1. At fourth, they’re still one of the best teams in the country coming out of the weekend. That’s when they beat the Stanford Cardinal by 36 points on the back of a 19-point game from Cooper Flagg, arguably the best college basketball player in the country.

Sitting at 14-1, Duke is atop the ACC standings. However, the regular season race is far from over. The Blue Devils only have a one-game lead on Clemson, who previously beat Duke. So, the Blue Devils will need to stay focused in their final six games. That starts with a road trip to the Virginia Cavaliers on Monday night.

5. Houston Cougars

Previous ranking: 5
The Big 12 still has one of the deepest conferences in college basketball and, for the 2024-25 season, they’re headlined by the Houston Cougars. Coming off a close win over a good Arizona Wildcats team, Houston has now won four games in a row and has a two-game lead in their conference’s standings this season.

Six games are left for Houston, including against three teams in the AP Top 25. One of those games will be against the Big 12’s second place team, Texas Tech. First, however, the focus is going to be on Arizona State where the Cougars are making a trip to play the Sun Devils on Tuesday.

6. Tennessee Volunteers

Previous ranking: 6
The Tennessee Volunteers have been phenomenal again in the 2024-25 season. Most recently, the Volunteers took on the Vanderbilt Commodores, an in-state rival, and won in a close battle. It was an excellent way to bounce back from a tough loss to Kentucky and represented a fourth win in five games for the Volunteers.

Given how the SEC has dominated college basketball this season, it’s not a surprise that the schedule isn’t getting any easier for Tennessee. Next up is the team just behind them in the Top 25 And 1 rankings is their next opponent, the Texas A&M Aggies. In fact, three of Tennessee’s final five opponents find themselves in these rankings.

7. Texas A&M Aggies

Previous ranking: 7
The Texas A&M Aggies have had a phenomenal season and, even in a crowded SEC, find themselves in an excellent position to make a deep run in the SEC and later the NCAA Tournament. Certainly, coming off a win over the Arkansas Razorbacks and having won five straight games and seven of their last eight games, the Aggies and head coach Buzz Williams know expectations are high.

Next up for Texas A&M is a road test against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. After that, the Aggies will return home to host Tennessee. Unsurprisingly, both of those teams are in the Top 25 And 1 rankings. In a tie for third in the SEC standings, the time is now for Texas A&M to start making a run if they’re going to have a shot at winning the conference in the regular season.

8. Iowa State Cyclones

Previous ranking: 8
The second Big 12 team to make it to the Top 25 And 1 is the Iowa State Cyclones. Not a traditional Big 12 power, this Cyclones have been an excellent college basketball team this season. After taking down the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday, Iowa State is now on a three-game winning streak and has moved into fourth place in the conference standings. They’re three games behind Houston in first.

Making a run at the Big 12 regular season crown seems unlikely at this point. However, the end of the regular season is still important for seeding and building momentum going into the postseason. That starts on Tuesday against Colorado before things heat up against Houston next Saturday.

9. Wisconsin Badgers

Previous ranking: 16
The Big Ten is another conference with plenty of depth, even if no team entirely stood out throughout the college basketball season. Wisconsin is a key piece of that puzzle, especially after winning against Purdue on Saturday. With that, the Badgers have now won four in a row and five of their last six games this season.

At 10-4 this season, Wisconsin is now in fourth place in the Big Ten standings. That should change a little as teams tip off for games on Sunday afternoon around the conference. However, it does for the time being also put Wisconsin just two games out of first place. The schedule doesn’t get any easier from here, though. Wisconsin will host Illinois on Tuesday.

10. Purdue Boilermakers

Previous ranking: 9
One of the biggest games on Saturday ended up being the loss that Purdue suffered to Wisconsin. With that, the Top 25 And 1 got shaken up a bit. That notably included Purdue slipping back one spot while the Badgers made their leap forward. Interestingly enough, it also makes Purdue the only team in the top 10 of these rankings coming off a loss.

Next up, Purdue will look to bounce back against Michigan State during a road trip on Tuesday. That’s no easy test and after dropping a close game to Michigan last week puts the Boilermakers in a difficult spot. Certainly, at 11-4 and trailing both the Michigan schools, Purdue needs the win there to keep up in the conference title race.

11. St. John’s
12. Marquette
13. Memphis
14. Michigan
15. Texas Tech
16. Michigan State
17. Kentucky
18. Mississippi State
19. Ole Miss
20. Creighton
21. Arizona
22. UCLA
23. Missouri
24. Louisville
25. Maryland
26. Clemson