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College basketball power rankings: Who made a big move ahead of Champ Week?

By Mike Phillips

FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS - FEBRUARY 19: Kennedy Chandler #1 of the Tennessee Volunteers drives down the court against JD Notae #1 of the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena on February 19, 2022 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Tigers 58-48. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS - FEBRUARY 19: Kennedy Chandler #1 of the Tennessee Volunteers drives down the court against JD Notae #1 of the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena on February 19, 2022 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Tigers 58-48. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – FEBRUARY 20: Nate Watson #0 of the Providence Friars dunks the ball during the first half against the Butler Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse on February 20, 2022, in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Brady Klain/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – FEBRUARY 20: Nate Watson #0 of the Providence Friars dunks the ball during the first half against the Butler Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse on February 20, 2022, in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Brady Klain/Getty Images) /

The final edition of the college basketball rankings has arrived as March Madness contenders made some big moves ahead of Champ Week.

The regular season is over in college basketball and the race to get into the NCAA Tournament is kicking into overdrive. Champ Week kicks off tonight with the Sun Belt handing out its automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament while the WCC, Horizon League and NEC are among the conferences dishing out tournament tickets tomorrow.

Most of the big boys don’t get underway until later this week, offering time for one final look at the college basketball rankings to see which teams are best positioned to make a March Madness run once the brackets are revealed on Selection Sunday. We’ll get to our last top ten in just a minute but first up is a look at the honorable mentions.

Week 18 College Basketball Rankings: Honorable Mentions

Note: All rankings referenced in this story are from the Week 17 AP Top 25 poll.

Wisconsin, Providence, Murray State, Arkansas, UCLA

The Badgers were here last week and poised to make a big jump into the Top 10 before losing on Senior Day to Nebraska, but the bigger concern for Wisconsin is Johnny Davis’ injury, which would devastate them if he misses time in the NCAA Tournament. Providence also fell out of the Top 10 by losing their only game of the week to Villanova while Arkansas’ failure to come back against Tennessee on Saturday secured their spot in this category.

Murray State took care of business by winning the OVC Tournament and securing an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they will give anyone they face a run for their money. UCLA is back in the mix after a two-win week that included a big victory over USC to build some momentum ahead of the Pac-12 Tournament.