Men's College Basketball Rankings: Nebraska, Michigan State Make Big Jumps

This is the most interesting men's college basketball season I can remember in the past 15 years. 

This freshman class is incredible, NIL means that talent is staying put and the quality of play I’m watching is fantastic.

The race for the top four seed lines of the NCAA tournament has never been more compelling. Nebraska keeps winning, but the Huskers will face their toughest test of the year by far when they hit the road to face Michigan on Tuesday. It’s the most intriguing game of the week, although undefeated and No. 1 Arizona traveling to Provo, Utah to take on BYU on Monday is also pretty juicy. I can’t wait to check back next week!

With that, here’s the latest edition of my men's college basketball rankings, as of Jan. 25.

*Note: Miami (Ohio) is 20-0, but its strength of schedule is 332nd in the country. Its best win was a 3-point home win over Akron. The RedHawks are a great story, but I’m not sure that I will rank them at any point this year. Being undefeated is cool and all, but you have to put it into context.

St. John's is 8-1 in the Big East and the Johnnies have won their past six games. On Saturday, coach Rick Pitino picked up his 900th win against Xavier, which is coached by his son Richard. Forward Dillon Mitchell was the star of the week after scoring 17 points in both wins.

Clemson is 7-1 in the ACC. The Tigers' only loss occurred this past week in overtime to North Carolina State. Their top-15 defense gives them a chance to win every game, but their offense is up-and-down.

Louisville finally got back freshman superstar guard Mikel Brown Jr. this weekend. He scored 20 points and had six assists in a double-digit win over Virginia Tech. Brown had missed the Cardinals' previous eight games with a back issue. Simply put, the Cardinals are a different team with him on the floor. Can they make a run in the ACC?

It was a solid week at home for Arkansas, as the Hogs blew out Vanderbilt and then narrowly escaped LSU. Arkansas was led by freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr.'s 48 combined points. He has been consistent, which is more than I can say about forward Karter Knox and fellow guard D.J. Wagner this year.

It has been an up-and-down season for Tennessee, but the Vols looked tough on Saturday night. Senior point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie had 24 points and freshman forward Nate Ament had his best scoring game of the season (29). They still own the 14th-best defense in America.

Everyone outside Tuscaloosa was upset that Alabama added center Charles Bediako to its lineup mid-season. He last played for the Crimson Tide three seasons ago and has been playing pro ball for a couple of years. He got a court order that allowed him to play on Saturday, and he scored 13 points and had two blocks in his first outing, but Alabama lost at home to Tennessee. Six losses is a lot, but the Tide's schedule has been as tough as any in the nation.

St. Louis is ranked 24th in KenPom and should be 20-0 if not for a miracle shot by Stanford six weeks ago. The Billikens are the class of the Atlantic 10 and are favored in every game for the rest of their season. Sophomore guard Ishan Sharma had nine 3-pointers off the bench in their win on Friday en route to scoring 29 total points.

North Carolina's huge win at Virginia has me thinking that this team could really be something. Tar Heels forward Caleb Wilson had 20 points, with all eight of his field goals coming inside the arc; his teammates hit 10 shots beyond the arc. After getting swept by the California schools last week, this is exactly what they needed.

The Cavaliers are still ranked in the top 25 in both offense and defense, according to KenPom. They were on their way to fringe top 10 status after winning five consecutive ACC games. They had a big first half lead at home against UNC, and then the Tar Heels scored 51 in the second half and humbled Virginia.

The Commodores lost their third consecutive game early in the week against Arkansas but finally got a win on Saturday at Mississippi State. Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner was awesome, scoring 24 points with five assists and no turnovers. A home game against a surging Kentucky on Tuesday will be fascinating.

This is one of the most bizarre Kansas seasons in history. Coach Bill Self missed a game early in the week due to health reasons, then star guard Darryn Peterson was ruled out of the Jayhawks' rivalry game at Kansas State because of an ankle sprain. Kansas still blew out the Wildcats and five guys scored double figures, led by big man Flory Bidunga’s 21. I know this team isn’t special, but they are good — with or without Peterson.

Florida went 1-1 this week, winning at home against LSU and then losing on the road to Auburn. Star forward Thomas Hough had 27 points and 10 rebounds in the defeat and remains an All-American candidate. But how does center Alex Condon play 37 minutes and score just one point? I still moved Florida up a couple of spots because of what the Gators have shown this past month, sitting at 5-2 in the SEC.

No other team had a more fascinating 10 days than Texas Tech. Their defense held BYU forward AJ Dybantsa to a season-low 13 points in their huge win last week. Then, on Saturday, their defense allowed Kingston Flemings to score 42 points, but Texas Tech overcame No. 6 Houston and pulled out a 90-86 win. Forward JT Toppin led the way with 31 points.

Back-to-back losses for Purdue. Losing to a super talented Illinois team isn’t a big deal to me. I didn't think Purdue was going to win the Big Ten this season after finishing fifth last season. The Boilermakers' résumé is still rock solid, though. Guard Braden Smith’s final line of 27 points and 12 assists against Illinois was impressive, and he’s still on track to be a first- or second-team All-American.

The Fighting Illini have won nine games in a row, and they beat Purdue on the road on Saturday behind one of the best individual performances of the season. Freshman guard Keaton Wagler dropped 46 points, including many step-back 3s. They were playing without their steady point guard, Kylan Boswell, too. Nobody wants to play Illinois right now.

I’m still trying to figure out what to do with Gonzaga now that it's without its center and second-leading scorer, forward Braden Huff, for the next two months. The Zags can still beat every West Coast Conference team they play, but they barely beat San Francisco by two points on Saturday, 68-66. I dropped them two spots, even though they won.

BYU bounced back from a road loss to Texas Tech last week by completing the sweep of in-state rival Utah. Dybantsa turned in one of the best performances I’ve ever seen in person, dropping 43 points from everywhere on the floor. Don’t forget about sophomore guard Rob Wright III, who's averaging 22.0 points per game in six conference tilts.

Michigan State embarrassed a struggling Maryland team on Saturday by 43 points. Star MSU guard Jeremy Fears Jr. had 17 points and 17 assists. Do you know how hard it is to get 17 assists? It would take me five games to get that.

Houston lost its second game of the season to a surging Texas Tech team. I’m not nearly as mad as coach Kelvin Sampson is about it, though. Houston gave up 90 points for only the third time under Sampson. All I know is that I had a fun time watching Flemings drop 42 points (and six assists). The Big 12 has the deepest stable of point guards in the country. The Cougars are going to be just fine.

I've held firm in my belief in this team. After two losses last week, Iowa State bounced back nicely by blowing out a solid UCF team at home and then beating Oklahoma State on the road by double digits. Cyclones forward Milan Momcilovic is on a heater — 17 3-pointers in his last three games.

Nebraska fans have been upset that the Huskers weren’t in the top five earlier. I understand, but I think many are blinded by the word "undefeated." Watching Nebraska step on the gas in the second half at Minnesota was impressive, though. This upcoming week is their ultimate proving ground: at Michigan and hosting Illinois. Even if they go 1-1, I’ll likely keep them in my top five.

Please don’t take Duke star forward Cameron Boozer for granted. He dropped 32 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals in a win over Wake Forest. He’s not as athletic as Dybantsa or Peterson, but he has been asked to do more for his team than any player — and he continues to deliver.

UConn keeps winning, and the Huskies drop a spot? Yes, but just one. I don’t have hard and fast rules for my rankings. UConn is still awesome, but it has looked vulnerable in the Big East. The Huskies pulled out their second overtime win in three weeks on Saturday over Villanova. Guard Solo Ball led the way with five triples, breaking out of a shooting slump. I just keep waiting for UConn to stomp on teams, and it hasn't been able to do that.

The Wolverines have been playing with their food lately. They beat Indiana by 14 and then Ohio State by 12 to boost their record to 18-1. They're a bit under the radar right now, but that all changes this week when they host undefeated Nebraska (20-0) on Tuesday night. I still believe Michigan has the highest potential of any team in the country. When the Wolverines play well, no other team can touch them.

I was in Tucson, Arizona for the Wildcats' win over Cincinnati on Wednesday. It wasn’t a pretty victory, but it did highlight a lesser-known freshman, forward Ivan Kharchenkov, who was all over the floor on both ends. Pound for pound, Arizona is the strongest team — physically and mentally — in the country.