2023 College basketball rankings: Purdue up to No. 1; Kentucky cracks top 10

This past weekend featured the best Saturday window of college basketball games this season. We had a triple-overtime thriller where Creighton took over Seton Hall, a buzzer beater by Tyrese Hunter as Texas knocked off Baylor, another buzzer-beater finish by Syracuse’s Quadir Copeland to beat Miami, Kansas and Duke suffering losses, a one-point road win for No. 1 UConn, North Carolina and Purdue rolling, and a flurry of Big East and Big 12 drama.

We’ve entered that glorious period where we are eight weeks away from Selection Sunday, and it’s time for the high-speed, résumé-collecting part of conference play that counts down to March Madness officially beginning. 

While the top of our poll remains the same, there are some modifications to our rankings this week.

Here are five takeaways from the weekend to think about as a new week in college basketball begins. 

1. Kentucky welcomed Zvonimir Ivisic and kept rolling with a win over Georgia. 

Ivisic was cleared by the NCAA to play less than six hours before tip-off. When the 20-year-old Croatian big man stepped on the floor Saturday, he showed that this Kentucky team now has even more upside.

Ivisic’s eligibility was in question because he played professionally in the Montenegrin Basketball League for two seasons. The 7-foot-2 NBA Draft prospect made a great first impression, delivering 13 points on 5-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-4 from 3-point land to go with five rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals in just 16 minutes as Kentucky beat Georgia, 105-96, for its eighth win in the last nine games. The Wildcats already have a loaded core on the perimeter with DJ Wagner, Antonio Reeves, Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham, not to mention Tre Mitchell, Justin Edwards and Aaron Bradshaw in the paint. With a big man unicorn now in the fold, John Calipari has his best team in years. Could a 12-year national title drought be snapped in Lexington? Big Blue Nation’s dreams are alive. 

2. Kansas had several flaws exposed in a loss to West Virginia this past weekend.

This loss summed up why I don’t believe Kansas can win six games in a row in the NCAA Tournament. Could they get to the second weekend? Of course. Bill Self is one of the best in the game, but this team just isn’t consistent enough with its perimeter shooting and defense. In the 91-85 loss to the Mountaineers on Saturday, Kansas finally got a nice boost from Johnny Furphy and Nick Timberlake, who combined for 25 points. But it came at the expense of KU’s defense. One other issue is that Dajuan Harria Jr.’s scoring is too inconsistent at times. When he scores at least six points, Kansas is 10-0 this year. When he does not, the Jayhawks are 5-3. 

3. Four Big East teams are ranked after a wild week.

The Big East might not be the best conference in college basketball, but it’s as entertaining as any league in the country. Between Georgetown-Xavier, Creighton-Seton Hall, Marquette-St. John’s and UConn-Villanova, there were four contests decided by a combined six points this past week. There were three one-point games, and the one that was not a one-point game was Creighton’s 97-94 win over Seton Hall, which was decided in triple overtime. This league is nonstop fun and should get six, if not seven of its 11 teams in the NCAA Tournament. Connecticut, which has not won a Big East regular-season championship since 2006, is all alone in first place at 7-1. 

4. Iowa State and Texas Tech both pulled out impressive Big 12 wins.

The great thing about the Big 12 is the league’s seemingly never-ending depth. Outside of Oklahoma State, West Virginia and UCF, the other 11 teams are capable of reaching the NCAA Tournament. It’s the best conference in America. On Saturday, both Iowa State and Texas Tech made statements. 

I don’t know how TJ Otzelberger does it, but he gets the Iowa State Cyclones to just grind out wins. On Saturday, they didn’t have All-Big 12 guard and leading scorer Tamin Lipsey. And yet, the Cyclones were up by 19 points at one point and went on to beat TCU, 73-72. Junior guard Keshon Gilbert delivered his fifth 20-point performance of the season, while senior Curtis Jones, a Buffalo transfer, had one of his best performances of the year with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field. Is it always pretty? No. The Cyclones got beat on the glass, 40-24. But beating the Horned Frogs, who own recent wins over Houston and Oklahoma, is very impressive.

As for Grant McCasland’s Red Raiders, they beat BYU, 85-78, behind Pop Isaacs’ career-high 32 points. It was a big-time response following a blowout loss to Houston. I would not have predicted this team would rank in the top 25 in KenPom offense, but here they are with that type of efficiency and a 15-3 record. Warren Washington, a 7-foot Arizona State transfer who is in his fifth year, continues to shine with five double-figure performances in his last six games. On Saturday, he went for 19 points and nine rebounds. With six players averaging at least eight points per game, this team has the balance and depth to be a potential Sweet 16 group. 

5. Watch out for the Dayton Flyers.

This team has won 12 consecutive games and are 15-2 on the season. Mike DeCourcy currently has them as a 5-seed in his latest bracket forecast. 

The Flyers should get an at-large bid this year, barring some sort of major collapse in the Atlantic 10. Anthony Grant’s team is fully capable of making the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, or perhaps even going further than that. On Saturday, Dayton blew out Rhode Island, 96-62, for its 12th straight win. Impact transfer guard Javon Bennett delivered a season-high 22 points in the victory.

The top reason why the Flyers could do something special is because they have one of the best players in America: DaRon Holmes II. The 6-10 junior is averaging 19.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 56% from the floor and 44% from 3. 

While star guard Malachi Smith went down in the first game of the season due to a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee, Dayton has been able to find a way to get enough on the perimeter. In the NCAA Tournament, you can only get stops for so long. The Flyers can score with anybody, boasting the nation’s 12th most efficient offense, according to KenPom.

I love the acquisition of Pitt transfer Nate Santos, one of three transfers in the starting lineup. Koby Brea offers a spark scorer off the bench and a veteran presence, while Kobe Elvis has been a mainstay in the lineup, combining for 14 points and nine assists in his last two games. 

I am buying the Flyers as a Sweet 16 team and a dark horse to go further.

Without further ado, here are my updated rankings.

1. UConn (17-2)

2. North Carolina (15-3)

3. Purdue (17-2)

4. Auburn (16-2)

5. Kentucky (14-3) 

6. Tennessee (14-4)

7. Kansas (15-3)

8. Houston (16-2) 

9. Arizona (14-4) 

10. Illinois (14-4)

11. Oklahoma (15-3) 

12. Wisconsin (14-4)

13. Marquette (13-5) 

14. Duke (13-4)

15. Baylor (14-4) 

16. Dayton (15-2) 

17. Creighton (14-5)

18. Utah State (17-2)

19. Iowa State (14-4)

20. Colorado State (15-3)

21. New Mexico (16-3)

22. Memphis (15-4)

23. Seton Hall (13-6)

24. Texas Tech (15-3)

25. Princeton (15-1)

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.

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