College Basketball Power Rankings: Michigan supplants Arizona at top spot, while Kansas moves up to No. 2
KU's win over Arizona this week had major implications for the latest Power Rankings in college basketball
By
Kyle Boone
•
5 min read
For the first time in nearly two months, there is a new No. 1 team in the CBS Sports College Basketball Power Rankings.
Hail to the victors, your new No. 1: the Michigan Wolverines.
Previous No. 1 Arizona stumbled for the first time all season Monday in an 82-78 road loss at Kansas, opening the door for Michigan to claim the top spot. The loss had all sorts of reverberating effects in this week's ranks, which includes a bump from No. 6 to No. 2 for Kansas and a two-spot drop for Arizona. It is the lowest Arizona has been ranked all season in this space.
This week was full of surprises in the sport -- and Arizona's first loss was hardly the headliner, even if it had the most profound impact on this week's rankings. Illinois dropped two-straight, UConn lost at St. John's and Duke lost at UNC, resulting in two new teams -- Florida and Houston -- vaulting in to the new-look top five.
Let's get to the rankings.
College Basketball Power Rankings
| 1 |  |
| Last week I noted Michigan (then No. 2) was more suited to be 1B -- with a resume worthy of comparison to then-No. 1 Arizona. This week, with Arizona's first loss, the choice to move Michigan up to No. 1 is an easy one. Its 10 Quad 1 wins are tied for the most in college hoops with Duke, and it is tracking to be a strong candidate to earn the No. 1 overall seed in March Madness. Last week: 2 | |
| 2 |  |
| KU's won eight-straight after an 11-5 start to its season -- with wins over three ranked teams (BYU, Texas Tech and Arizona) in its last four outings. The Wildcats have completely flipped their season after a slow start and are just one game out of first place in the Big 12. Last week: 6 | |
| 3 |  |
| A loss was inevitable for Arizona in the mighty Big 12 so no substantial dock is in order for it in this week's ranks. The Wildcats are 23-1, leading the Big 12 and in near-lock territory to be a No. 1 seed. Last week: 1 | |
| 4 |  |
| There are not five teams in the sport playing better basketball the last two weeks than Florida. It has won four consecutive games and nine of its last 11 -- which in that span includes victories over four ranked conference opponents. The defending champs are suddenly playing like they're ready to try and make a serious run at running it all the way back. Last week: 10 | |
| 5 |  |
| Sixteen wins in its last 17 outings has Houston (22-2, 10-1 Big 12) tied atop the Big 12 standings and surging with March approaching. Kelvin Sampson has his Cougars in position to potentially win a fourth consecutive regular-season title in the Big 12. Last week: 8 | |
| 6 |  |
| A head-to-head win over UConn last Friday bumps St. John's up to No. 6 and simultaneously drops UConn from its top-five status. The Johnnies have won 10-straight. Last week: 11 | |
| 7 |  |
| UConn's 81-72 road loss at St. John's last Friday pushes it out of the top five (for now), though it remains worthy of comfortably clinging to the top 10. The Huskies are 23-2 with a four-point home loss to No. 1 Arizona and a nine-point road loss to St. John's -- which has won 10 straight -- on their resume. Last week: 4 | |
| 8 |  |
| Flailing to the finish in a 71-68 loss at rival UNC in a game in which the Blue Devils at one point led by 13 points is less than ideal for Duke. But it remains the highest-ranked ACC team this week. Only Michigan has as many Quad 1 wins (10) as Duke. Last week: 5 | |
| 9 |  |
| The only remaining undefeated team in college basketball resides in Oxford, Ohio, where Miami University has earned its keep inside the top-10. The Redhawks are 24-0 and projected by KenPom.com to win each of its seven remaining regular-season games. Last week: 12 | |
| 10 |  |
| Virginia has lost just once in the year 2026 and is 10-1 in its last 11 games. Under first-year coach Ryan Odom, the Cavaliers are just one game out of first-place in the ACC and tied for second in the standings with Clemson. Last week: 16 | |
| 11 |  |
| Gonzaga's won 17 of 18 entering Saturday's road game vs. Santa Clara in a game that could decide who wins the WCC. Last week: 9 | |
| 12 |  |
| Since that ugly 83-52 road loss to Duke in late January, Louisville's managed four consecutive wins -- and by an average margin of 18.5 points. It is coming off a resounding 41-point home win over NC State in which star freshman Mikel Brown Jr. dropped a career-high 45 points. Last week: NR | |
| 13 |  |
| Few coaches have done more with less over the last month than Mark Pope has accomplished at Kentucky. With Jaland Lowe and Jayden Quaintance sidelined, his Wildcats have won eight of nine with a trip to Florida on tap for Saturday. Last week: NR | |
| 14 |  |
| Momentum for Illinois after a 12-game winning streak was met with two consecutive losses this week to push it outside the top-10. Both losses (to Michigan State and to Wisconsin) came at home by a single possession. The Illini have a chance to get back in the win column Sunday at home vs. Indiana. Last week: 3 | |
| 15 |  |
| Herb Sendek has Santa Clara standing alone atop the WCC standings with league bully Gonzaga coming to town Saturday. This Broncos team can take control of the regular-season race with a win Saturday, and they have shown the last two months -- during which they've won 13 of their last 14 -- they are capable of keeping this pace up. Last week: NR | |
| 16 |  |
| An inexplicable road loss at TCU on Tuesday was nearly enough to knock the Cyclones out of this week's rankings entirely. They've done enough this season, though -- including a 21-3 overall record -- to stay in the mix. KU comes to town Saturday for a chance to get right in a big way. Last week: 13 | |
| 17 |  |
| UNC won five-straight -- culminating with a huge 71-68 win over Duke last Saturday -- before falling at Miami on Tuesday. Exacerbating UNC's slip is the potential season-ending injury to star freshman Caleb Wilson. The Tar Heels' mettle will be put to the test the next couple of weeks with Wilson indefinitely shelved. Last week: 15 | |
| 18 |  |
| Josh Schert'z Billikens (23-1) improved to 11-0 in A-10 play with an 82-58 win at home over La Salle. They are on the road Friday at Loyola Chicago with a chance to continue building off their best start to a season in program history. Last week: NR | |
| 19 |  |
| Losing to OU at home might be a disqualifying outcome for most teams' candidacy in the power rankings. But Vandy's been good of late otherwise -- with four wins in its last five including takedowns of Kentucky, Ole Miss and Auburn. Last week: 7 | |
| 20 |  |
| Tom Izzo's Spartans snapped their two-game skid with a crucial 85-82 OT win over Illinois last Saturday. Things don't get easier for Sparty from here with four of its remaining seven regular-season games on the road. Last week: NR | |
