College Basketball Power Rankings: Assessing the National Landscape Ahead of Conference Play
By Reed Wallach
The college basketball season is about to hit its busy season with conference play starting across the country on a nightly basis. While we are still sifting through the contenders at the top of the rankings, sports bettors always have an eye on the NCAA Tournament and some valuable bets to make in the Futures market.
Every week here at BetSided, we will be power ranking the top 25 teams relative to their futures odds.
After a week filled with COVID-19 related cancellations and general inactivity due to the holidays, we skipped our weekly installment, but will pick it up here as team's settle in for the final two months of the regular season.
Here's how things stand as conference play enters full swing. All odds listed are via WynnBET.
Tier 1: National Championship Contenders
1. Baylor (+1000)
The Bears were not a one-off title team, they are firmly in the mix this season as well. The Bears went to Ames and knocked off then-unbeaten Iowa State on Saturday to start Big 12 play, keeping their ledger clear of a defeat on the year.
2. Gonzaga (+600)
The Bulldogs have fallen victim to a grueling non conference schedule, but it should be smooth sailing from here against their WCC schedule. The offense is humming around Drew Timme and the defense has a lock down rim protector in Chet Holmgren for a Final Four run.
They may not have the marquee matchups the rest of the way, but the Zags will be in the National Championship conversation all year, and are also more battle tested than before.
3. Purdue (+800)
The Boilermakers have one of the complete teams in the country, headlined by future lottery pick Jaden Ivey.
They have the best offense in the country, per KenPom, but will need to improve on the defensive end to make their Final Four dreams a reality. The team is 60th in KenPom's defensive efficiency metric and outside the top 300 in opponent turnover rate.
4. Duke (+800)
5. Arizona (+1200)
6. Kansas (+1200)
7. Kentucky (+2000)
Kentucky is starting to look the part of a National Championship contender, now top 20 in both KenPom's offensive and defensive efficiency metric.
Oscar Tshiebwe is a true National Player of the Year contender, leading the country in offensive and defensive rebounding rate while posting an effective field goal percentage of nearly 63%. The Wildcats are the hottest team in the country at the moment and enter a loaded SEC for a grueling stretch of games.
Tier 2: Jockeying for Position
8. Auburn (+2500)
Auburn continued to look sharp in a convincing win over then-undefeated LSU last week. The Tigers welcomed Allen Flannigan back to the rotation as well after he missed the start of the season recovering from an Achilles injury.
9. UCLA (+1500)
UCLA has been out of action since December 11th, but they will remain in the top 10 as they start conference play this week.
10. Houston (+2500)
The Cougars may be ranked No. 4 by KenPom, but a slide is coming for the team after it was announced last week that senior guard Tramon Mark will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury in addition to Marcus Sasser (toe).
11. Villanova (+2000)
Jay Wright's club got back on track after losing their Big East opener, beating Xavier at home and Seton Hall on the road this past weekend.
12. Tennessee (+2000)
The Vols scored one of the most impressive wins of the season at home against Arizona, but were handed their third loss of the season to Alabama on the road in a game they led for much of the second half despite being short handed.
Keep an eye on Tennessee's road test against LSU this coming Saturday in a battle of two SEC powers.
13. Alabama (+2000)
14. Ohio State (+2500)
Tier 3: Prove it in Conference Play
15. LSU (+4000)
16. Texas (+2000)
17. Illinois (+3000)
18. Iowa State (+10000)
The Cyclones took their first loss of the season, but this has been one of the best stories in college hoops this season after going 2-22 last year.
However, they must prove they can hold up in Big 12 before we move them into the next tier.
19. Connecticut (+4000)
20. USC (+4000)
USC has quietly built a 12-0 record with a top 30 rating on both offense and defense, per KenPom, however they have played one team inside of KenPom's top 45 and three inside the top 100.
USC shoots 58% from the free throw line as a team, will this hold up in PAC-12 play?
Tier 4: Best of the Rest
21. Xavier (+5000)
22. Providence (+20000)
The Friars are 13-1 and knocked off Connecticut and Seton Hall over their past three games. Between them and Xavier, there are plenty of dark horses in the Big East this season.
23. Michigan State (+3000)
Michigan State is now 12-2 and hasn't lost since November 26th to Baylor on a neutral floor. Since then, the club has beaten four KenPom top 50 teams en route to a seven game winning streak.
Tom Izzo's team is 22nd in offensive efficiency and 21st on defense while shooting nearly 39% from three. Saturday, the team heads to Ann Arbor to face their struggling rival, Michigan.
24. BYU (+7500)
25. Colorado State (+10000)
Honorable mentions: Texas Tech, Creighton, Oklahoma