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ESPN overhauls BPI Top 25 rankings after wild week of college basketball

275133747_4796292347117549_592518599057046758_nby:Jonathan Wagner01/08/23

Jonathan Wagner

ESPN BPI
G Fiume via Getty Images.

College basketball is now in full swing, with conference play underway across the country. The action over the past couple of weeks has been full of excitement, and the latest BPI Top 25 rankings from ESPN has been completely overhauled as a result.

Just four teams remained idle in this week’s rankings, with most teams moving multiple spots compared to their standing from last week. Among teams that are currently ranked in ESPN’s updated BPI Top 25, 20 out of the 25 included teams either rose or fell at least three spots.

After another wild week of college basketball, the rankings continue to take shape and see major changes each week. That is no different this weekend, with more major changes on the way as the season continues on.

Updated ESPN BPI Top 25

  1. Houston (15-1) (–)
  2. Tennessee (13-2) (–)
  3. UCLA (14-2) (+1)
  4. UConn (15-2) (-1)
  5. Texas (13-2) (–)
  6. Alabama (13-2) (+4)
  7. Kansas (14-1) (+7)
  8. Ohio State (10-4) (+3)
  9. Purdue (14-1) (–)
  10. Rutgers (11-4) (+7)
  11. Gonzaga (14-3) (-3)
  12. Arkansas (12-3) (-5)
  13. Indiana (10-4) (+3)
  14. Baylor (10-5) (-2)
  15. Arizona (14-2) (-9)
  16. Virginia (11-3) (-1)
  17. Creighton (9-7) (+3)
  18. Kentucky (10-5) (-5)
  19. Iowa State (12-2) (+8)
  20. Xavier (13-3) (+4)
  21. Saint Mary’s (14-4) (+5)
  22. Duke (12-4) (-4)
  23. Auburn (12-3) (-1)
  24. West Virginia (10-5) (-5)
  25. Marquette (13-4) (+8)

Three new teams joined this week’s BPI Top 25 from ESPN, with Iowa State (No. 19), Saint Mary’s (No. 21) and Marquette (No. 25) joining the rankings. They take the places of Oklahoma State (previously No. 25), Texas Tech (previously No. 21) and Maryland (previously No. 23).

Many teams saw sizeable jump in the rankings, with four seeing rises of at least seven spots. Kansas and Rutgers each jumped seven spots, both joining the top ten. The Jayhawks picked up a pair of road wins against Texas Tech and West Virginia this week, while the Scarlet Knights knocked off No. 1 Purdue on the road on Monday before convincingly defeating Maryland on Thursday.

Iowa State’s rise into the top 25 came after the Cyclones rose eight spots. The Cyclones picked up a pair of road wins during the week, defeating Oklahoma and TCU. Marquette also joined the rankings after rising eight spots after the Golden Eagles picked up a road win against St. John’s and a home victory over Georgetown.

Among teams that remained in ESPN’s BPI Top 25, Arizona was the team that fell the most. The Wildcats dropped nine spots after a 1-1 week that included a victory over Washington and a 13-point loss against Washington State.