College basketball rankings: Purdue up to No. 1; Kentucky cracks top 10

College Basketball

Updated Dec. 17, 2023 8:02 p.m. ET

College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter

After the best weekend of college basketball to date, we have a new No. 1 team in my FOX Sports Top 25.

Here’s the best news about the state of the sport: I would listen to your arguments for five different teams to be ranked No. 1 in this week’s poll. At the end of the day, it’s mid-December and plenty can change. It’s a fun debate to have on the marathon to March. But the sport really does have a strong top tier, and the parity throughout the rankings show that we’ll be in for another NCAA Tournament to remember when it does roll around.

But for my new No. 1 this week, I’m going back to West Lafayette, Indiana. No team has a better résumé than Purdue, and for that, I am rewarding the Boilermakers after they beat the previously top-ranked team in the country, Arizona.

The Boilermakers now own wins over Gonzaga, Marquette, Alabama, Tennessee and the Wildcats. That means they’ve defeated four of the top-12 teams in the NET rankings, and every one of those marquee wins came away from Mackey Arena. I think the Boilermakers deserve that No. 1 ranking.

As for how I decided on the remainder of the top five, Kansas was not going to move from No. 2 after the Jayhawks won at Indiana on a day few would have, not to mention Bill Self’s team beat my No. 3 team, UConn.

I highly considered the Huskies for the No. 1 slot because, after commanding wins over North Carolina and Gonzaga, this team looks as complete as anybody in the country. But that loss to Kansas, with the Jayhawks continuing to win and only owning a neutral-site defeat to Marquette, is the logic why the Huskies are still at No. 3.

Arizona is down to No. 4, and honestly, I felt harsh about dropping this team three spots to begin with after Caleb Love went off for the Wildcats and they showed their toughness in rallying to give the Boilermakers a fight.

Undefeated Houston comes in at No. 5 behind LJ Cryer and Jamal Shead, while Marquette rises to No. 6 after Baylor fell to Michigan State.

A new addition to my top 10 is Kentucky. John Calipari’s team has the most upside in the country, and Rob Dillingham and DJ Wagner were special against North Carolina.

With that, here is my complete top 25:

1. Purdue (10-1)

2. Kansas (10-1)

3. UConn (10-1)

4. Arizona (8-1)

5. Houston (11-0)

6. Marquette (9-2)

7. Tennessee (8-3)

8. Kentucky (8-2)

9. Oklahoma (10-0)

10. Baylor (9-1)

11. Illinois (8-2)

12. Florida Atlantic (9-2)

13. North Carolina (7-3)

14. Clemson (9-1)

15. BYU (10-1)

16. Creighton (9-2)

17. Memphis (8-2)

18. Gonzaga (8-3)

19. Duke (7-3)

20. Auburn (8-2)

21. James Madison (10-0)

22. Colorado State (10-1)

23. Colorado (8-2)

24. Ole Miss (10-0)

25. Wisconsin (8-3)

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 on Twitter @John_Fanta.

FOLLOWFollow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience

College Basketball

COLLEGE BASKETBALL trending