College basketball rankings: Top 68 teams in the nation headlined by Kansas, UCLA, Alabama – 247Sports

Who are college basketball’s 68 best teams nearing the end of the regular season? For several of the nation’s bluebloods, NCAA Tournament buzz is a sticky subject considering the handful on the bubble coming down the stretch as teams jockey for position and seeding.
CFB News has ranked college basketball’s top 68 teams entering the final weeks of the regular season based on “a combination of respecting the results, strength of schedule, and more than anything else, just how good these teams appear to be at the moment” in an exercise independent of bracketology.
Overall records for teams included in this 68-team ranking are updated as of Monday, Feb 20. Any game results after that are not reflected.
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Here’s a look at college basketball’s 68 best teams based on eye test and various other factors ahead as the end of the regular season draws closer and the selection committee begins to group teams:
68. Utah Utes (17-11)
67. UAB Blazers (20-8)
66. Southern Miss Golden Eagles (24-5)
65. Cincinnati Bearcats (18-10)
64. Liberty Flames (22-7)
63. College of Charleston (26-3)
62. North Texas Mean Green (23-5)
61. Drake Bulldogs (23-6)
60. Michigan Wolverines (15-12)
59. Penn State Nittany Lions (16-11)
One of the ‘First Four Out’ in this week’s CBS Sports bubble watch, Penn State features one of the nation’s most underrated trios in Jalen Pickett, Seth Lundy and Andrew Funk. Each of those three is averaging at least 12 points per game. Each brings something unique to the table: Pickett is equally skilled at driving to the basket and facilitating for his teammates, Funk can light it up from 3 and Lundy is a tenacious defender with the ability to score at all three levels. The problem lies past Penn State’s three stars. The Nittany Lions struggle to find options outside the big three and quality depth is a serious issue. 
58. North Carolina Tar Heels (16-11)
57. Oral Roberts Eagles (25-4)
56. Seton Hall Pirates (16-12)
55. FAU Owls (24-3)
54. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (17-10)
53. Oregon Ducks (15-13)
52. New Mexico Lobos (20-7)
51. Vanderbilt Commodores (15-12)
Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels face a must-win as far as NCAA Tournament hopes are concerned Wednesday at Notre Dame. Saturday’s loss at NC State was a grand opportunity at a Quad 1 win in front of the selection committee, but it didn’t happen. North Carolina was actually a bubble team for part of the 2021-22 campaign, but had fewer losses and better wins. With four games left to play in the regular season, the Tar Heels need to play their best the rest of the way.
50. West Virginia Mountaineers (15-12)
49. Arizona State Sun Devils (19-9)
48. USC Trojans (19-8)
47. Texas Tech Red Raiders (15-12)
46. Boise State Broncos (21-6)
45. Nevada Wolfpack (20-7)
44. Virginia Tech Hokies (16-11)
43. Wisconsin Badgers (15-11)
42. Utah State Aggies (21-7)
41. Maryland Terrapins (18-9)
40. Michigan State Spartans (16-10)
39. Iowa Hawkeyes (17-10)
38. Clemson Tigers (19-8)
Following last week’s tragic shooting, Michigan State lost its first game back at Michigan. Basketball’s not a priority at this time for the Spartans, who are joining with their student body in unity as a campus heals following the death of three students.  Considering the Spartans fought all the way to the end and tied the contest at 72 in the final two minutes of play, you wouldn’t have noticed this team was emotionally spent based on the action on the floor.
“I’d like to thank the University of Michigan for the things they did on our behalf, from our university, our students, the three deceased students, ones that are in the hospital,” Izzo said after the loss to Michigan. “I thought it was a very classy move on their part, and I appreciated that. Our players, I appreciate the effort they gave me. It was an interesting week, to say the least, trying to figure out how to deal with it, manage it, motivate, sympathize. There were a lot of key words that went into what we did.”
37. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (17-10)
36. Oklahoma State Cowboys (16-12)
35. Missouri Tigers (19-8)
34. Arkansas Razorbacks (18-9)
33. Kentucky Wildcats (18-9)
32. Mississippi State Bulldogs (18-9)
31. Auburn Tigers (18-9)
30. Memphis Tigers (20-7)
29. Illinois Fighting Illini (18-9)
28. TCU Horned Frogs (18-10)
27. Pitt Panthers (19-8)
26. Providence Friars (20-7)
There’s a logjam of talented, but inconsistent, SEC teams in this grouping from CFB News. Kentucky’s win over Tennessee was a major victory for John Calipari’s team and their NCAA Tournament hopes as one of several squads on the bubble. Arkansas is beginning to fade at 4-3 over its last seven games, including losses to Mississippi State and Texas A&M prior to a recent win over Florida. Tuesday’s home game against Georgia is a must-win for the Razorbacks.
25. Duke Blue Devils (19-8)
24. Xavier Musketeers (20-7)
23. Texas A&M Aggies (20-7)
22. NC State Wolfpack (21-7)
21. San Diego State Aztecs (21-5)
20. Gonzaga Bulldogs (23-5)
19. Saint Mary’s Gaels (24-5)
18. UConn Huskies (20-7)
17. Iowa State Cyclones (17-9)
16. Kansas State Wildcats (20-7)
Duke’s in great shape to get a 7-seed or better in March if the Blue Devils keep up their pace under first-year coach Jon Scheyer. Following a legend is not easy, especially when that legend won multiple national championships and took Duke basketball to a different stratosphere. Across the way in Raleigh, Kevin Keatts has his best team at NC State. The Wolfpack are coming off a home win over UNC.
15. Indiana Hoosiers (19-8)
14. Marquette Golden Eagles (21-6)
13. Northwestern Wildcats (20-7)
12. Creighton Blue Jays (18-9)
11. Texas Longhorns (21-6)
Indiana’s hoping to make the most of this season considering it’s the Hoosiers’ final campaign with top scorer and national player of the year candidate Trayce Jackson-Davis. He told Peegs.com over the weekend he will enter the 2023 NBA Draft after the season. A McDonald’s All-American and Indiana Mr. Basketball from Center Grove, Jackson-Davis is the only player in Indiana basketball history with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. He just passed Indiana coach Mike Woodson for fifth on the school’s all-time scoring list (2,081).
10. Virginia Cavaliers (21-4)
9. Miami Hurricanes (22-5)
8. Tennessee Volunteers (20-7)
From beating No. 1 Alabama to losing at Kentucky, Tennessee’s difficult to figure out this season as one of the nation’s elites.
“I wish I knew, you know? I wish I knew. If I did, we would fix it,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said over the weekend in Lexington. “It’s just, I think, it goes back — I don’t understand it, to be quite honest with you — as much time we spend with our guys talking about doing your job, playing your role night in and night out. Not letting emotion get the best of us at times. Like I thought we played hard in the second half, when you’re coming back, emotion starts to kick in. You still have to make smart plays.
“We just had too many plays in the second half. They gave us chances, they did. They opened the door for us. We pretty much had a chance. Every time we had a chance to come down, missed some rim shots. I wish I knew the answer to that, I really do. As much as time we spend talking about it, I wish we could figure it out.”
7. Baylor Bears (20-7)
6. Houston Cougars (25-2)
Baylor’s recent loss to Kansas epitomized the brutality of the Big 12 schedule. Notes 247Sports analyst Dean Straka, Baylor held a 45-32 halftime edge over the Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse and led by as much as 17 in the contest, only for things to come crashing down during the second half of an 87-71 loss. Kansas soared out of the locker room in outscoring the Bears 55-26 in the second half, propelling Jayhawks to a 22-5 mark while Baylor fell to 20-7 on the year.
Purdue star Zach Edey, who finished with 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting to go along with a team-high 11 rebounds and three blocks, dominated Ohio State over the weekend. It was a bounce-back game for the Boilermakers, whose road loss to Penn State this month temporarily subdued buzz surrounding this team’s quest to get a No. 1 seed. That’s still a possibility if Purdue can run the table and win a competitive Big Ten tournament in the process.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd wants to see smarter play from Lithuanian big man, Azuolas Tubelis, down the stretch. He’s one of Arizona’s best players and has struggled with foul trouble in three consecutive games. Tubelis scored 13 points over 22 minutes of action in the Wildcats’ most recent win over Colorado.
“Maybe it’s a little bit bad luck and a little bit self inflicted wounds by him,” Lloyd said. “He’s got to be smart and he’s got to play better. He’s had an amazing year.”
Alabama bounced back from its first SEC loss of the season at Tennessee with a near 50-point pasting of Georgia. The Crimson Tide travel to upset-minded South Carolina on Wednesday night. The Gamecocks, under first-year coach Lamont Paris, have struggled this season, but are 2-1 over their last three games. Alabama’s in line to clinch a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament if Nate Oats’ squad can finish strong as the SEC champions.
Mick Cronin and the Bruins ride a six-game winning streak into Thursday night’s game at Utah. UCLA has been nearly unstoppable since losing back-to-back road games to USC and Arizona and have seemed to figure things out at the defensive end. A veteran-laden group with tournament experience, the Bruins will be a tough out in March and could garner overall No. 1 seed billing if they continue to play with the poise they’ve shown over the last two weeks.
Considering the depth of the Big 12 this season, it’s pretty incredible that Kansas has found a way to win five straight over the last week and change, inching closer to the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed bid. Bill Self said over the weekend that his team is not focused on winning the conference, however. They want to win in March and steadily improving on a game-by-game basis is priority No. 1 right now.
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