College Basketball Power Rankings: Gonzaga Reminds Nation Why They Are the National Championship Favorites
By Reed Wallach
The college basketball world 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.
Here's how things stand as conference play enters full swing. All odds listed are via WynnBET.
Tier 1: The National Championship Favorites
1. Gonzaga (+500)
It's tight with the two other SEC teams comprising this tier, but Gonzaga is the worthy National Championship favorite, evident on Saturday night when they boat raced BYU, 90-57 on the road.
Star freshman Chet Holmgren has unlocked the Zags defense that is posting the fourth best two-point defense in the country.
2. Auburn (+1000)
It feels that Auburn is due for a loss after another close call on the road, this time against Georgia that took a last second shot to eek out their 19th straight win.
This is a legitimate title contender by all means, but the hiccup on the road knocks them off the top spot. A road game at Arkansas on Tuesday night will be telling about the mental fortitude of this Tigers team.
3. Kentucky (+1000)
Tier 2: In the Hunt
4. Arizona (+1000)
Arizona held serve at home this week, beating UCLA in a revenge game and then avoiding a letdown against USC on Saturday.
The Wildcats are a bit up and down during the course of the game, falling behind late in the second half, but with their up tempo play (fourth in adjusted tempo per KenPom) and stellar interior defense (best two-point defense in the country) Tommy Lloyd's team is able to withstand dry spells on offense.
5. Duke (+1000)
6. Villanova (+1200)
Villanova was swept by Marquette in ugly fashion on the road this week, 83-73, but was able to bounce back at home against UConn.
Nova's defensive metrics are slipping in conference play, down to 25th in the country in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency metric and the team is now waiting to hear about senior guard Collin Gillespie's ankle. He rolled it in the second half of the team's Saturday win. If severe, it could be damaging to Nova's Big East regular season title chances.
7. Houston (+3000)
8. Kansas (+1500)
After losing badly to Kentucky at home last week, Kansas put together their most impressive week of the season, winning in Ames against Iowa State without star Ochai Agbaji and blowing out Baylor by 24 points.
The Jayhawks have questions on the defensive end, but Agbaji and veteran forward Christian Braun are the engine behind the nations third best offense.
9. Purdue (+800)
Purdue is an interesting case this season. They are loaded on the offensive end with future lottery pick Jaden Ivey and big man Zach Eddey, but their defense is now outside KenPom's top 100. This is the sign of a team that is ripe for an early NCAA Tournament exit if they don't clean their act up on that side of the ball.
The Boilermakers host Illinois on Tuesday in a game that could decide the Big Ten regular season champ.
10. Texas Tech (+1500)
11. UCLA (+1500)
12. Baylor (+1500)
13. Illinois (+2000)
Did Kofi Cockburn become the National Player of the Year front runner this past week? The Illini big man is still the fourth choice for the award at WynnBET at +800 but was the best player on the floor in the team's blowout win over Wisconsin, scoring 37 points on 16-of-19 shooting to go with 10 rebounds.
He was also key in the team's road win Saturday at Indiana. Illinois is starting to look the part of a Final Four caliber team as they get healthy for the first time all season and will look to make a statement on Tuesday night at Purdue.
Tier 3: Good, but How Good?
14. Providence (+5000)
Providence just keeps winning. Now 20-2 on the season, the Friars are still flying a bit under the radar. Advanced metrics still don't love Ed Cooley's club, 41st in KenPom's overall rating and ranked No.1 in the 'Luck' category by a wide margin.
Maybe their reckoning is coming with two matchups down the line against Villanova, but for now they knock on the door of the second tier in our power rankings.
They will be quiet this week with their lone game Saturday at home against lowly DePaul.
15. Marquette (+10000)
16. Wisconsin (+5000)
17. Arkansas (+7500)
The Hogs continue to build momentum into a March Tournament run. Since the calendar flipped to January, the team is 8-2 and is ranked 13th in Barttorvik's rankings with the third best defensive rating.
Keep an eye on the Razorbacks, who host the No. 2 team in our rankings, Auburn on Tuesday, a game in which they will be short underdogs. This may be the time to buy Arkansas futures.
18. Alabama (+3000)
19. Connecticut (+5000)
Connecticut is a bruising team that makes you work for all 40 minutes, but their lack of playmakers outside of point guard RJ Cole is starting to show in conference play.
The team scored 55 points at home to an inexperienced Creighton team and then was outclassed by Villanova on the road, leading to two road losses. The numbers look solid for the Huskies, No. 26 per KenPom in offensive efficiency and No. 35 on defense, but they are lacking enough shot creation at the moment to be a serious Final Four contender.
20. Michigan State (+3000)
21. USC (+5000)
22. Tennessee (+5000)
Tier 4: Mid Major Darlings Nobody Wants to See in March
23. Wyoming (N/A)
Put some respect on Wyoming's name. What a week for the Cowboys, who beat three of the Mountain West's elite en route to a banner week. The team beat Colorado State and Boise State in a pair of thrillers at home before knocking off Fresno State on the road in a game they were in control of from the tip.
Hunter Maldonaldo is a terror to defend at 6'6" and the team's primary ball handler while 6'9" Graham Ike is the best big man nobody is talking about. Trust me, nobody wants to see this team come March.
24. Boise State (+5000)
25. Murray State (N/A)
Murray State hasn't lost since December 22nd at Auburn and has laid waste to the Ohio Valley Conference. The team has won all 12 of their league games with two coming by single digits.
They are top 50 according to KenPom on both sides of the ball, anchored by their top 10 offensive rebounding metric and top 40 turnover rate. This is another team nobody wants to see in March.
Honorable Mentions: Loyola Chicago, UAB, Wake Forest, Oregon
All of Reed's college basketball plays can be tracked here, his best bets column for college basketball is 49-43-3 for +4.3 units.