College basketball rankings: Kansas, UConn, Gonzaga on top

College Basketball

Published Nov. 11, 2024 11:14 a.m. ET

College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter

We’re seven days into the college basketball season, so yes … it’s early! But it’s great to have the sport back, and the road to the madness has begun.

Here’s my biggest take at the moment: If you are a high-major program, and you challenged yourself this week — thank you. On behalf of all of America, I speak for everybody when we say: Thanks to Kansas and North Carolina for scheduling a home-and-home series and providing an amazing atmosphere at Allen Fieldhouse on Friday night. Thanks to Gonzaga and Baylor playing opening night in Spokane. Thanks to Houston and Auburn for playing a game on Saturday night that felt like a regional final. And thanks to everyone else who elected to get a super early measuring stick on their team.

College basketball needs ways to be relevant this time of year and those games and events like what we saw at Saturday night’s Mattress Firm Battleground 2k24 event in Houston with a pair of ranked vs. ranked matchups is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Before we get to our updated Top 25, here are my three biggest takeaways from opening week.

Early front-runner for game of the year: Auburn earns its first non-conference victory over a top-four team in program history with 74-69 win over Houston

With just over 15 minutes remaining at the Houston Rockets’ home building, the Toyota Center, the Cougars led 41-32. For any Kelvin Sampson-led team, a nine-point lead in the second half normally feels like a 15-point difference because of just how good Houston’s defense is.

But Auburn didn’t take two planes on Friday night to go down that way. The Tigers shot 57% in the final 20 minutes, and a star was born in the form of highly-touted freshman Tahaad Pettiford (21 points, three assists) as Bruce Pearl’s team closed out a mammoth 74-69 victory. In a game that had 13 lead changes and six ties, Auburn trailed 60-59 with just over four minutes on the clock and needed someone to make a play. On a night where JP Pegues and Denver Jones were silent, Pearl needed a guard to step up. The five-star freshman from Jersey City lived up to his hometown, showing toughness and clutch shotmaking like this triple:

Feeding All-American Johni Broome (20 points, nine rebounds) and getting some late contributions from veteran Chad Baker-Mazara, Auburn made seven of its final eight field goal attempts and held L.J. Cryer to 3 for 11 from the floor in the second stanza.

The wildest part of this situation? Twenty-four hours prior to Auburn winning this game, they were in the air on a second flight following a fight that broke out on their first flight to Houston. The fight, which occurred between freshman Jakhi Howard and senior Ja’Heim Hudson, caused the first plane to get turned around and flown back to Auburn, where both players were removed and barred from traveling with the team. An update on the status of the two reserve players has not yet been released.

The win vaults Auburn to the No. 1 spot in KenPom, while Houston comes in at No. 2 and Gonzaga stands at No. 3 in the sport’s premier analytics system. For the Tigers to score the way they did Saturday night and come back from a deficit was ultra impressive, and the quality of the game was as good as a regular-season contest can get. The Cougars did a lot of things right, but Emanuel Sharp and Cryer couldn’t overcome cold shooting nights, and they made only two triples in the second half while getting beat in bench points, 39-17.

Two flights later, Auburn has its first non-conference victory over a top-four opponent. I’d say it was worth the trouble. You know the game was that good and the Tigers made that large of a statement when they take the headlines from Kansas and North Carolina. Pettiford going from a scoreless outing against Vermont in a 94-point showing by the Tigers on Wednesday to a game-high 21 in a win over Houston is really remarkable.

UNC showed something with a gutsy comeback, but Kansas knows how to close — especially at Allen Fieldhouse.

When Kansas was leading 49-29 with 90 seconds to play in the first half on Friday night, I thought the game was over. I mean, who comes back against the Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse?

With 3:28 left in regulation, UNC led 87-83 in the top-10 clash of the blue bloods on Friday night. But Hunter Dickinson showed why he’s a FOX Sports Preseason All-American First-Team selection and a firm contender for the national player of the year, pairing with Zeke Mayo to close the game on a 9-2 run.

What did we learn? For starters, Hubert Davis’ team didn’t lie down and get embarrassed, showing fight in the second half and guarding the perimeter well with Kansas struggling (6-of-21) from 3-point land. That said, Kansas can beat teams in so many ways, with Dickinson going for 20 and 10 in the win and Mayo adding that extra dimension with 21 points. That’s not to leave out KJ Adams and Dajuan Harris Jr. either, as that veteran duo combined for 24 points.

The good news for North Carolina: it’s not a loss that hurts them and the talent of their guards is off the charts. Elliot Cadeau has made a leap and can keep getting better if he knocks down shots. Think about this: RJ Davis shot 3-for-15 and 1-for-7 from distance in a game that UNC only lost by three after taking the Jayhawks to the wire. The big-picture item? North Carolina found production from Jalen Washington and Jae’Lyn Withers, but transfers Ven-Allen Lubin and Cade Tyson came off the bench and didn’t make a major impact like many thought they could in the preseason. UNC’s big men are trying to figure out life without Armando Bacot. As for Kansas, Bill Self has to work on transition defense and staying in front of guards with pace because UNC’s backcourt was able to get to the spots it wanted to in the second half. It was a heck of an atmosphere at Allen Fieldhouse.

Scott Drew and Baylor are the best example of why one should schedule tough games this time of year.

The Bears played a pseudo road game on Monday in Spokane against Gonzaga before taking on Arkansas on Saturday night in Houston. The record: 1-1, but that means so much more in my book than a 2-0 start against low or mid-major opponents. After taking a 101-63 smacking from Gonzaga on opening night and having next to nothing go right, Drew’s team showed an ability to respond in the 72-67 victory over the 16th-ranked Razorbacks. The Bears started strong with a 26-15 lead 13 minutes behind everyday Swiss Army Knife and Miami (Fla.) transfer Norchad Omier (15 points, 12 rebounds) along with Jayden Nunn, who ended up connecting on four triples and finished with 16 points.

Baylor shut down Arkansas to the tune of a 5-for-20 mark from 3-point range — something that I’m concerned about for the Razorbacks. With five-star freshman VJ Edgecombe and Jeremy Roach now at a new destination, the Bears outlasted an Arkansas team that must get more out of Johnell Davis. The FAU transfer and fifth-year senior went 2-for-9 from 3-point land, which is simply not going to cut it for Arkansas to win signature games. They need more from their veteran pieces.

That said, is anyone perfect at this time of year? Few teams are at any time of the season, although we saw UConn in the last two NCAA Tournaments win 12 games by a combined 260 points. In the 2015-16 campaign, Villanova was blown out by Buddy Hield and Oklahoma at the Pearl Harbor Invitational. The Wildcats beat the Sooners in the Final Four, 95-51, and then beat UNC to win the national championship. The point: don’t overreact!

On the flip side, the Zags put on a show Monday night with the most impressive performance in Week 1. To score 101 points and see the productivity of Ryan Nembhard and Nolan Hickman combined with Graham Ike, Ben Gregg and more, Gonzaga has the kind of roster continuity, experience and talent that could lead them to San Antonio this April.

With that in mind, here is my updated top 25.

1. Kansas Jayhawks (2-0)

The Jayhawks passed their first test and Mayo, the South Dakota State transfer, showed his offensive prowess with a combined 40 points in his first two games. The tests continue on Tuesday in the Champions Classic with a matchup against Jeremy Fears, Jaden Akins and a Michigan State team that is on the fringe of the top 25.

2. UConn Huskies(2-0)

The reigning back-to-back national champions have opened their season with two wins by a combined 75 points. Preseason All-American Alex Karaban is clearly ready to be the Huskies’ leader. He has combined for 37 points, 11 rebounds, 11 blocks and 11 assists in the first two contests. The other takeaway: Liam McNeeley looks like one of America’s best freshmen, opening his career with two double-doubles and becoming the first UConn freshman to do that since Corny Thompson in 1978. Up next for the Huskies: Le Moyne on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET on FS1).

3. Gonzaga Bulldogs(1-0)

Currently ranked as the No. 1 offense in the country, according to KenPom, the Zags look like a wagon. Nembhard is such an orchestrator, ending up with 11 assists and just two turnovers against Baylor. The Zags also hit 13 triples in the rout of the Bears. The perimeter threats of Khalif Battle, Dusty Stromer and Nolan Hickman give the Zags so many places to go with the ball, and this team has great size as well. There are no weaknesses.

4. Alabama Crimson Tide(2-0)

Five scored in double-figures with Mark Sears charging the team with 19 points as the Crimson Tide beat Arkansas State on Friday, 88-79. Rutgers transfer Cliff Omoruyi, who gives Nate Oats’ team a different dimension this season, flirted with a double-double and posted 12-and-9. After hosting McNeese State on Monday, we get a great measuring stick of where the Tide are at when they visit Purdue on Friday night.

5. Auburn Tigers(2-0)

The Tigers are the big leaper of the week. It’s one thing to match Houston’s defensive intensity. It’s another to score efficiently against the Cougars the way they did in the second half. The next time we see Bruce Pearl’s team get tested will be the Maui Invitational when they meet Iowa State in the first round before taking on North Carolina or Dayton. That is a gauntlet of a tournament in Hawaii.

6. Houston Cougars (1-1)

I’m not moving the Cougars back much in the rankings because that’s how great of a game it was between the two teams on Saturday night. J’Wan Roberts showed his leadership on the interior in key moments, and you can see the potential for Milos Uzan to make a major impact throughout the season, as he had 10 points and four assists. It was an off-shooting night for Cryer. If he was on, the game could have gone differently.

7. Duke Blue Devils(2-0)

The Blue Devils won their first two games by a combined 76 points, but the big story is freshman Cooper Flagg, who missed the majority of the second half on Friday in the 100-58 win over Army due to cramping issues. The front-runner to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Flagg still posted 13 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and a pair of steals in the win, but Jon Scheyer was adamant about fixing the issue before facing Kentucky in Tuesday’s Champions Classic.

8. Iowa State Cyclones(1-0)

Keshon Gilbert and Tamin Lipsey combined for 33 points and seven assists in the Cyclones’ 83-44 win over Mississippi Valley State on opening night. Coach T.J. Otzelberger has the blend of experience and elite defense to get to a Final Four, with Iowa State boasting the nation’s No. 2 defense in KenPom. We’ll get a better gauge for them at the Maui Invitational.

9. Tennessee Volunteers (2-0)

The Volunteers were one of the biggest winners in the first week of the season as they marched into a hostile atmosphere at Louisville and dominated Pat Kelsey and the new-look Cardinals, 77-55. It was a wire-to-wire win for Rick Barnes’ team, which shot 10-for-19 from 3-point territory and got 19 points apiece from Chaz Lanier and Zakai Zeigler. What’s wild is Tennessee turned the ball over 20 times and won by as much as they did. This team could be special yet again because they always guard, and it looks as though Barnes nailed it in the portal with Lanier.

10. Arizona Wildcats(2-0)

In the game of same faces, new places, a Tennessee transfer shined for the Wildcats in Saturday’s 102-44 win over Old Dominion. I’m talking about Tobe Awaka, who posted 18 points and 15 rebounds along with two blocks in the victory. Tommy Lloyd knows he has guard play with Caleb Love, Jaden Bradley & Co., but the question entering the season was the frontcourt with Oumar Ballo having moved on to Indiana. Perhaps Awaka can be that answer. We get a better gauge of the Wildcats on Friday night when they visit Wisconsin.

11. North Carolina Tar Heels(1-1)

12. Baylor Bears(1-1)

13. Creighton Bluejays(1-0)

14. Purdue Boilermakers(2-0)

15. Indiana Hoosiers(2-0)

16. Cincinnati Bearcats(2-0)

17. Kentucky Wildcats(2-0)

18. Xavier Musketeers(2-0)

19. Texas Tech Red Raiders(2-0)

20. Ohio State Buckeyes (1-0)

21. Marquette Golden Eagles(2-0)

22. Arkansas Razorbacks(1-1)

23. Illinois Fighting Illini(2-0)

24. St. John’s Red Storm (2-0)

25. Oregon Ducks (2-0)

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him at @John_Fanta.

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