Andy Katz's Tiers: Blue bloods UCLA, Kansas, Duke top the list
By Andy Katz
FOX Sports College Basketball Analyst
We are more than one week into the 2021-22 men's college basketball season, which means it's time to debut the first set of tiers.
Gonzaga, UCLA and Kansas have all looked as advertised, while BYU, Seton Hall and Florida have looked even better than expected, notching impressive early-season wins.
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What tier did Seton Hall land on after a big win over Michigan? Which teams are national title contenders at this point of the season? Andy Katz breaks it down in his Nov. 18 college basketball tiers.
Here are the top 16 teams of the week, broken down into four tiers.
TIER 1: Final Four Favorites
UCLA: The Bruins showed they are title-worthy with an impressive overtime win against Villanova.
Gonzaga: The Zags' dismantling of Texas keeps them in step with the Bruins prior to their showdown next week.
Kansas: The Jayhawks looked the Final Four part in their opener against Michigan State.
Villanova: The Wildcats had a 10-point lead on UCLA; they lost in overtime. They deserve this spot.
Purdue: The Boilermakers haven’t stepped up in competition class, but they are dominant in the post with Zach Edey and Trevion Williams.
Duke: Trevor Keels and Paolo Banchero are elite enough to keep the Blue Devils in this tier by themselves.
TIER 2: The Contenders
Baylor: The Bears haven’t been tested yet, but they are already showing that they can make another deep run.
Memphis: Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren have been elite so far for a Tigers team that is only going to get better.
Kentucky: The Wildcats have the most dominant double-double player in the country in Oscar Tschiebwe.
Seton Hall: The Pirates have the win of the season so far, having beaten Michigan on the road.
BYU: The Cougars aren’t far behind after smashing Oregon in Portland.
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Bryce Aiken made two free throws late as the Seton Hall Pirates pulled off a 67-65 upset of the No. 4-ranked Michigan Wolverines.
Houston: The Cougars haven’t missed a beat since their Final Four run, with Marcus Sasser leading them to a strong start, including a dismantling of Virginia.
TIER 3: Battle-Tested
Florida: The Gators have the best SEC win so far after running away from rival Florida State.
USC: The Trojans get credit for going on the road twice in the first week. USC has true road wins at Temple and Florida Gulf Coast.
TIER 4: Rising Up
Alabama: The Tide don’t have impressive wins yet, but they are still running away from the competition.
Tennessee: The Vols' defense has been in midseason form so far, and it will need to be in advance of the team's game against Villanova at Mohegan Sun.
Andy Katz is a longtime college basketball writer, analyst and host. He can be seen on FOX Sports and Big Ten Network platforms, as well as March Madness and NCAA.com, and he hosts the podcast "March Madness 365." Katz worked at ESPN for nearly two decades and, prior to that, in newspapers for nine years.