College Basketball Rankings: ESPN makes big changes to Top 25 after upset-filled Saturday

College basketball saw no shortage of ranked matchups, pivotal conference games and big-time performances from star players across the country on Saturday.

As March rears its head, ESPN has updated its BPI rankings following an upset-laden Saturday in mid-January. ESPN ranks its BPI based on a number of qaulifications, including strength of record and how many points above or below average a team is based on a number of analytics.

Here’s how ESPN shook up its BPI following another interesting weekend in college basketball.

1. Duke Blue Devils (+1)

The Blue Devils have rattled off 12-straight victories and have won 10 those games by double-digits. The only time this wasn’t the case was last weekend’s eight-point win over Notre Dame, and the 84-78 win over a then-undefeated Auburn team inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. The latter serves as one of the most impressive victories so far during the 2024-25 college basketball season.

Even before the late November loss to Kansas, which was the last time Duke tasted defeat, the Blue Devils won its first four games by an average of 35.5 points, which includes a 14-point win over a ranked Arizona squad.

2. Houston Cougars (-1)

Houston entered the weekend with the top spot in the BPI. They managed to avoid an upset bid vs. UCF on the road, defeating the Knights 69-68 after a go-ahead layup by the Cougars’ J’Wan Roberts with 11.1 seconds left in regulation.

However, three November losses (one to Auburn, one to San Diego State in overtime and another to Alabama in OT — all decided by five points or less) have kept Houston out of the national spotlight compared to the likes of Auburn and Duke. Houston has won their last 10 and are playing as well as any team in the country right now.

3. Auburn Tigers

It was feared that when Johni Broome was injured vs. South Carolina last weekend, Auburn would struggle without its star center. While it’s true that they won the SC game 66-63, and again narrowly avoided upset on the road vs. a ranked Georgia team, but Bruce Pearl’s group has been able to take care of business in Broome’s absence.

Auburn leaded heavily on the play of freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford, who scored 23 points in the Georgia win. Chad Baker-Mazara and Miles Kelly both scored 13 as Auburn continues to ask its players step up with their star out.

4. Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee remains near the top of ESPN’s BPI rankings despite losing on the road to unranked Vanderbilt on Saturday. They have another puzzling loss to Florida — a 73-43 defeat in favor of the Gators.

However, Tennessee also has blowout wins over then-ranked Arkansas and Georgia teams. They’re 3-1 against ranked competition this season and are undefeated (10-0) inside Thompson-Boling Arena. Their two losses on the season have come during true road matchups.

5. Iowa State Cyclones

Iowa State lost its first game since the Maui Invitational vs. Auburn when they fell to unranked West Virginia 64-57 on Saturday. This comes after the Cyclones blew out Kansas 74-57 just 72 hours prior.

Still, Iowa State still has a good chance to win the Big 12 Conference depending how the head-to-head matchup against Houston in late February pans out. Only four teams in the AP Top 25 are within the conference, and Iowa State has already beaten two of them.

6. Alabama Crimson Tide

The Crimson Tide outlasted Kentucky 102-97 on the road, picking up Alabama’s sixth victory over an AP ranked opponent this season — tied with Auburn for the most in the SEC. Just another week in the SEC — this high-scoring affair came off the heels of a 10-point loss to Ole Miss in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday.

In five SEC games so far, Alabama has played four ranked opponents, including three in the top 12. Two of those wins (Texas A&M, UK) came on the road as well.

7. Kansas Jayhawks

Kansas put its blowout loss to Iowa State behind them on Saturday, defeating Kansas State 84-74 behind a combined 49-point efforts from seniors Hunter Dickinson and Zeke Mayo.

The Jayhawks improve to 13-4 overall with the win. However, the Jayhawks have struggled away from home this season with a 2-3 record in true road atmostpheres. They’ll be on the road vs. TCU coming up next on Wednesday evening.

8. Arizona Wildcats

Six-loss Arizona sits at No. 8 in the latest BPI rankings, as ESPN is taking into account the Wildcats’ strength of record and expected point margin moving forward as 12 of the 16 teams in the Big 12 Conference are considered Quad 1 competition.

Based on ESPN’s predictions, the Wildcats — who were No. 10 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll — are analytically expected to finish the season on a high note after starting conference play 5-1.

9. Illinois Fighting Illini (+1)

Illinois has a massive opportunity to improve its ranking on Sunday with its top 20 road matchup vs. Michigan State on Sunday at Noon ET. The Fighting Illini will look to follow up on its 94-69 win over Indiana on the road during the week.

The Fighting Illini are 3-1 in true road games and 3-2 vs. AP Top 25 opponents this season. This includes wins over Arkansas, Wisconsin and a top-10 Oregon team 109-77. They also lost to a then-undefeated and No. 1 Tennessee team 66-64 at the buzzer.

10. Florida Gators (+3)

Florida surprised many naysayers after their 13-0 start to the regular season. They opened up SEC play on the road against Kentucky and despite losing to the Wildcats, scored 100 points inside Rupp Arena. They followed that up with a 30-point victory vs. then No. 1 Tennessee and have won two of their next three games.

A one-point loss to Missouri on Tuesday was a minor setback for the Gators, but they came out in their next game on Saturday and blew out Texas by 24 points. They face an ailing South Carolina team on Wednesday who’s still looking for its first win in SEC play.

11. Baylor Bears
12. Purdue Boilermakers (+6)
13. UConn Huskies (-1)
14. Gonzaga Bulldogs (-5)
15. Texas Tech Red Raiders (+4)
16. Michigan State Spartans
17. Texas A&M Aggies
18. Michigan Wolverines (-3)
19. Marquette Golden Eagles (-5)
20. Kentucky Wildcats
21. St. John’s Red Storm (+3)
22. Maryland Terrapins (-1)
23. Ole Miss Rebels (+3)
24. Mississippi State Bulldogs (-2)
25. Wisconsin Badgers (+2)