College Basketball Rankings: Tennessee, Marquette move up next Thanksgiving week
John Fanta
College Basketball broadcaster and reporter
The biggest week of the college basketball season so far is upon us with Thanksgiving tournaments across the country providing a solid slate of matchup games for programs.
And while you may discount the fact that it’s still early, this week is prime resume-boosting time, a time the committee can look back on in March when it assembles the 68-team field for the NCAA Tournament.
Conferences have a good idea by Christmas how many bids they will accumulate in March Madness, and this is the week when many of the marquee teams will face the top bulls. This week is an opportunity to move the needle, because if you go through this week without a marquee win, you have less than three weeks to do so.
Check out the Maui Invitational alone on Monday, when Auburn and Iowa State meet in the final four. While there isn’t much damage done to the loser of that game, the winner is likely to book a date with North Carolina (to face Dayton on Monday) for yet another big resume booster.
On the other side of Maui’s bracket, Penny Hardaway and Memphis get their shot against the back-to-back national champion UConn Huskies, as Dan Hurley’s team faces its first real test this week, with Michigan State possibly in Maui games as well. any of Auburn, Iowa State or UNC in the possible finals. For Tom Izzo’s team, which currently sits outside of my Top 25, the must-win will come Monday against Colorado.
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Meanwhile, in Florida on Monday, Dusty May’s Michigan team meets Virginia Tech (6pm ET on FS1) followed by Xavier and South Carolina on FS1 from the Fort Myers Tip-Off. I’d be interested in Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf going up against Zach Freemantle and Jerome Hunter in the frontcourt in the Wolverines/Musketeers championship game, not to mention Tre Donaldson against Xavier’s new star Ryan Conwell in the backcourt. My prediction is that we get May vs. Sean Miller on Wednesday night in Florida.
We will be excited on Tuesday night in Las Vegas, as Kansas takes on Duke in the Vegas Showdown, the only event between the two teams that will meet in the 2025 Champions Classic, while Houston will face Alabama in the Players Era Festival. The Blue Devils really impressed on the defensive end in Friday’s 69-55 win at Arizona, holding the Wildcats to their lowest regular-season total in points in the four-year Tommy Lloyd Era.
The team that had been leading in offensive rebounds and second-chance points per game (22 per team in each division) was held to just six boards and eight second-chance points. The length and flexibility of Jon Scheyer’s team was on display, and Cooper Flagg was outstanding with 24 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Between his leadership and Kon Knueppel not being afraid to take and make clutch 3s, Duke overwhelmed Arizona and made Caleb Love’s life a nightmare defensively. That puts the Blue Devils back in my top-10.
There are plenty of other highlights during Festival Week, with my 15th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers meeting Louisville in the opening game of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Wednesday. Mike Woodson’s team is 4-0 but is untested and needs consistency from Mackenzie Mgbako, Oumar Ballo and Malik Reneau. Myles Rice has shown that he can be counted on to lead the way.
Atlantis’ bracket is also anchored by Gonzaga, Arizona and Providence, which hopes senior Bryce Hopkins will make his season debut this week from an ACL injury.
Thanksgiving is headlined by the marquee women’s tournament, as Chloe Kitts and reigning national champion South Carolina take on Audi Crooks and Iowa State (1:30 pm ET on FOX).
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On the men’s side, Purdue meets NC State in the Rady Children’s Invitational, a battle of the Final Four teams from last season. Then BYU meets Ole Miss (both games will be on FS1). The title game and consolation matchup will air on FOX Friday at 3:30 pm ET from San Diego, with all four of those teams trying to confirm where they stand in my Top 25, or why they’re off next week’s list.
The Players Era Festival, which runs Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, will feature not only Alabama and Houston, but a Creighton team trying to come back from a loss to Nebraska, a Texas A&M team led by Wade Taylor, and Oregon. and Rutgers, two teams that are just outside of my standards.
My big winners this past week: Tennessee and Marquette.
The Volunteers defeated Virginia and Baylor by a combined 37 points en route to the Baha Mar Hoops Championship title. Big takeaway: Rick Barnes has been crushing it in the transfer zone as well as Chaz Lanier, who scored 25 points in the first half and hit 7 3-pointers against Baylor.
The Golden Eagles won at Maryland, outscored Purdue by 18 points and beat an improved Georgia team on a neutral court by 11 in a nine-day span, taking care of business and powered by the national player of the year in Kam Jones. For Shaka Smart to lose Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro and go 6-0 in Marquette’s first game since 2011 is unusual.
With that, here is my revised Top 25.
1. Kansas Jayhawks (5-0)
Do the Jayhawks look like the best team in the country? Not really, and I have questions about their perimeter shooting. It doesn’t sound like the transfer portal additions are fully complete. But then again, they’re 5-0 with wins over North Carolina and Michigan State, and Hunter Dickinson is very dominant. He was 15 and 15 in Tuesday’s win over UNCW.
2. Conn. Huskies (4-0)
Alex Karaban performed like an All-American for the reigning national champions, averaging 16.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game while shooting a whopping 64% from the floor through the first four games of the season. The Huskies get their first real test this week at the Maui Invitational. A semifinal against Michigan State followed by a final against Auburn, Iowa State or North Carolina would be must-see TV.
3. The Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-0)
The 5-0 Zags will face West Virginia on Wednesday in the Battle 4 Atlantis, then either Louisville or Indiana. I expect Mark Few’s team to win this event. Graham Ike, Khalif Battle and Braden Huff all average at least 14 points per game. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 in offense by KenPom.
4. Tennessee Volunteers (6-0)
Zakai Zeigler is the ideal point guard to set up Lanier, with Zeigler having nine assists in Friday’s win over Baylor. Jordan Gainey proved to be a spark off the bench, scoring 16 points in the win. Tennessee is 6-0 with three wins over top opponents away from home. I’ll take Lanier’s experience, defense, proven scoring and Barnes’ coaching in the SEC title race.
5. Auburn Tigers (4-0)
Can the Tigers maintain the type of performance they had in the win over Houston? We’ll find out this week. The big matchup comes on Monday when they meet Iowa State. It’s important for Johni Broome to take advantage of the frontcourt and for Tahaad Pettiford to provide some of his microwave scoring ability.
6. Marquette Golden Eagles (6-0)
Senior forward David Joplin has had an up and down season in the shooting department – until Saturday in the Bahamas. He was on fire, scoring a game-high 29 points on six 3-pointers in an 80-69 victory over Georgia. The Golden Eagles have a pair of games to buy this week before visiting No. 5 Iowa State on Dec. 4.
7. Houston Cougars (3-1)
When the Cougars get a hot perimeter shooter, it completely changes everything because of how good they are on defense year after year. Emanuel Sharp shot 5-for-5 from 3-point range in Friday’s 80-44 win over Hofstra. They’ll need more of that shooting in Tuesday’s big game against Alabama in Las Vegas. It provides a window of redemption for the Cougars to get that big win after falling short to Auburn.
8. The Kentucky Wildcats (5-0)
The 5-0 Wildcats are one of the nation’s best scoring teams, ranked No. 11 in KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency. UK beat Jackson State, 108-59, on Friday behind 17 3-pointers and 43 points from Otega Oweh and Koby Brea.
9. Duke Blue Devils (4-1)
The Blue Devils are back in the top ten, and honestly, this still feels low to me. But the head-to-head loss to Kentucky is why I have them at No. 9. This team ranks first in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency, and for good reason. Khaman Maluach makes such an impact when he’s in the game and Syracuse transfer Maliq Brown was excellent in that spot in the win over Arizona. Jon Scheyer’s team needs to play with consistent vigilance. When Tyrese Proctor, Caleb Foster and Zion James bring it, this team can beat anyone.
10. Iowa State Cyclones (3-0)
The Cyclones will have good opportunities to move up in the rankings this week, starting with a game against Auburn to kick off the full Maui Invitational. Saint Mary’s transfer Joshua Jefferson and sophomore Milan Momcilovic should hold their own against Broome for the Tigers, and I think it will be key for the Cyclones against any marquee opponent that Tamin Lipsey plays as the best guard on the court. I think Auburn will be favored by a bucket or so against Iowa State, but that’s a complete pick game.
11. Purdue Boilermakers (5-1)
12. North Carolina Tar Heels (3-1)
13. Alabama Crimson Tide (4-1)
14. The Wisconsin Badgers (7-0)
15. The Cincinnati Bearcats (5-0)
16. Xavier Musketeers (5-0)
17. Indiana Hoosiers (4-0)
18. The Florida Gators (6-0)
19. The Baylor Bears (4-2)
20. Arkansas Razorbacks (4-1)
21. Texas A&M Aggies (4-1)
22. The Creighton Bluejays (4-1)
23. Ole Miss Rebels (5-0)
24. Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-0)
25. The BYU Cougars (5-0)
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers sports in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to being the lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary for the Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on @John_Fanta.
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