Men's Power Rankings: What's at stake in every power conference

The final men's college basketball Power Rankings of the 2025-26 season shows a clear delineation between the teams at the top of the rankings, and everyone else.

Entering last season's NCAA tournament, there was a four-team tier at the top -- the four 1-seeds. It resulted in a Final Four featuring all four 1-seeds for the first time since 2008. Are we headed for a similar national semifinal this year?

Duke, Michigan and Arizona have separated themselves from the pack for weeks, while Florida's recent dominant run has the Gators pushing to join that tier. UConn's predictive numbers are not at the level of those four, but as things currently stand the Huskies have the inside track to the fourth 1-seed.

One more UConn stumble, though, and Florida could find itself back on the top line.

What else is at stake among ranked teams during the final regular-season weekend?

• In the ACC: Duke can maintain its No. 1 ranking with a home win over North Carolina.

• In the Big East: UConn and St. John's are tied for first place with one game remaining. UConn heads to Marquette, while the Johnnies play at Seton Hall.

• In the Big Ten: Seeding in both the conference and NCAA tournaments is on the line. Michigan State's surge up the board could continue with a successful trip to Ann Arbor, while Illinois' 2-seed quest requires a win at Maryland.

• In the Big 12: Iowa State and Kansas both desperately need to stop their losing runs, and Texas Tech's post-JT Toppin résumé could use a bounce-back at BYU.

• In the SEC: Florida has to win at Kentucky to continue its rise toward a 1-seed.

Now, time for our final top 25 ahead of the regular-season finales.

1. Duke Blue Devils (28-2)

Previous ranking: 1

Duke has entered a different level of dominance over the past couple of weeks, moving past Michigan in each of the efficiency-based metrics on the NCAA teamsheets. The Blue Devils' last ACC win by fewer than 13 points came back on Jan. 10 against SMU, and their average margin of victory in 12 league wins since is 24.5 points. Three of their five most efficient offensive performances of the season have come in the past five games, including scoring 1.44 points per possession in Monday's win at NC State. They've also held six straight ACC opponents to fewer than one point per possession.

Next seven days: vs. North Carolina (March 7), ACC tournament (March 10-14)

2. Arizona Wildcats (28-2)

Previous ranking: 2

Arizona's two-game lull seems to be firmly in the past, as the Wildcats handled their business this past week, clinching the Big 12 regular-season title with two dominant wins over Kansas and Iowa State by a combined 39 points. Their elite defense had struggled for a few weeks -- allowing at least 1.02 points per possession in five straight games -- but held both the Jayhawks and Cyclones to below 0.90 points per possession. Monday's win over Iowa State also featured another big-game performance from Jaden Bradley, who finished with 17 points. Per ESPN Research, Bradley is now averaging 17.6 points against top-10 opponents -- and 13.1 against all others.

Next seven days: at Colorado (March 7), Big 12 tournament (March 10-14)

3. Michigan Wolverines (27-2)

Previous ranking: 3

Michigan bounced back from its loss to Duke with back-to-back wins over Minnesota and Illinois, then received bad news with L.J. Cason suffering a torn ACL and being ruled out for the season. Cason had emerged as one of the best backup guards in the country and was playing his best basketball of the season over the past few weeks. The Florida native had scored in double figures in five of his last seven games heading into the Illinois game, including shooting 54.2% from 3. Without Cason, the point guard duties will fall almost exclusively to Elliot Cadeau, while freshman Trey McKenney will also become more important as the primary reserve in the backcourt.

Next seven days: at Iowa (March 5), vs. Michigan State (March 8), Big Ten tournament (March 10-15)

4. UConn Huskies (27-3)

Previous ranking: 4

UConn has rebounded nicely from its mini slump in the first half of February, when it lost twice in four games, and we're starting to see elite-level performance at both ends of the floor. The Huskies are ranked 11th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency since Jan. 27. But, after a couple of weeks of subpar defense, they're back to playing their best at that end of the floor, ranking fifth in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency during their current three-game winning streak. While some of that is buoyed by their dominance against St. John's, they were also highly impressive against Villanova and overcame an uncharacteristically strong 3-point shooting night from Seton Hall.

Next seven days: at Marquette (March 7), Big East tournament (March 11-14)

5. Florida Gators (24-6)

Previous ranking: 6

We won't go as far as saying Florida is playing better than it was at this point in last year's national championship run. But it's not far off. The Gators are absolutely obliterating opponents. They've had one win by fewer than 13 points since Jan. 28, and they won both games in the last week by a combined score of 219-151. There are some eye-popping stats coming out of their recent stretch, but this might have been the best one: According to ESPN Research, Florida's streak of 90-plus points in six straight games against ranked opponents is the third longest in a single season in AP poll history. The only teams with longer streaks are UNLV and Loyola Marymount, with both coming in 1989-90.

Next seven days: at Kentucky (March 7), SEC tournament (March 11-15)

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Highlight: No. 5 Florida puts up 108 in win over Mississippi State

Alex Condon powers the Gators with 26 points as Xaivian Lee puts up 19 and Rueben Chinyelu records a double-double of 11 points and 16 rebounds to defeat the Bulldogs, 108-74.

7. Houston Cougars (25-5)

Previous ranking: 8

Order has been restored in Houston after the Cougars had previously lost three in a row to tumble out of the Big 12 title race. Kelvin Sampson's team won both of its games this past week, and it was the perimeter group that -- unsurprisingly -- sparked the wins. Against Colorado, Milos Uzan broke out for 26 points and six assists, while Kingston Flemings and Emanuel Sharp were also in double figures. And against Baylor, Flemings was the star with 21 points and seven assists, while Sharp went for 19 points and Uzan has 12. We would be remiss, however, if we didn't mention the interior production from Joseph Tugler. One of the knocks on Houston during its losing streak was the lack of a go-to post option that it had last season in J'Wan Roberts. But Tugler had 14 points in each of his past two games, his first time since mid-January scoring in double figures in back-to-back games.

Next seven days: at Oklahoma State (March 7), Big 12 tournament (March 10-14)

7. Michigan State Spartans (24-5)

Previous ranking: 13

The Spartans have rattled off four straight wins, including road victories at Purdue and Indiana, and they're now squarely in the hunt for a 2-seed in the NCAA tournament -- with room to improve after favorable results in the regular-season finale against Michigan as well as the Big Ten tournament. They rank in the top 10 in four of the seven metrics on the NCAA teamsheet, and their 15 combined Quadrant 1 and 2 wins ranked behind only five teams nationally entering the week. In fact, only four teams entered the week with more than Michigan State's eight Quad 1 wins.

Next seven days: vs. Rutgers (March 5), at Michigan (March 8), Big Ten tournament (March 10-15)

8. Illinois Fighting Illini (23-7)

Previous ranking: 9

Since suffering a high-ankle sprain on Feb. 7, Andrej Stojakovic -- who started the 21 of the first 24 games of the season -- missed two games then came off the bench for the last four. But the former Stanford and Cal transfer hasn't exactly found it easy to get into a consistent rhythm. He scored 22 points in his first game back from injury, then had eight points on 1-for-5 shooting against UCLA and was scoreless in 12 minutes against Michigan. Brad Underwood will hope Stojakovic's performance against Oregon on Tuesday -- 21 points, 12 rebounds, 7-for-12 from the field in just 21 minutes -- gets him back on track.

Next seven days: at Maryland (March 8), Big Ten tournament (March 10-15)

9. Iowa State Cyclones (24-6)

Previous ranking: 5

Iowa State is trending in the wrong direction down the stretch of the season. The Cyclones were blown out at Arizona on Monday, their fourth loss in seven games. So what's going on? During this stretch, the defense has remained very good, ranking 13th nationally over that span in adjusted defensive efficiency at Torvik. The other end of the floor, though? Not so much. Iowa State is No. 82 in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency in those seven games, shooting under 49% from 2 and just over 31% from 3. Star forward Joshua Jefferson is shooting just 33.7% from the field in those games, 19.2% from 3.

Next seven days: vs. Arizona State (March 7), Big 12 tournament (March 10-14)

10. Purdue Boilermakers (23-7)

Previous ranking: 7

After three losses in four games, Purdue had to avoid a loss at Northwestern on Wednesday to salvage its Selection Sunday seeding and regain some semblance of momentum heading down the stretch. And the Boilermakers' savior was not one of their three program stalwart seniors -- it was sophomore guard C.J. Cox. Cox finished with a career-high 27 points, with 21 points coming after halftime. He had 11 points in the final 4:30, including multiple go-ahead 3-pointers -- and the eventual game-winning 3 with 48 seconds left.

Next seven days: vs. Wisconsin (March 7), Big Ten tournament (March 10-15)

11. Nebraska Cornhuskers (25-5)

Previous ranking: 12

Nebraska is now just 5-5 in its past 10 games, with its two worst offensive performances of the season coming in the past two weeks, sandwiched around a three-game winning streak. Tuesday's 20-point loss at UCLA was the Cornhuskers' worst game of the season, in which they scored just 0.86 points per possession and allowed 1.19 points. So what happened? Star transfer Pryce Sandfort had his first single-digit scoring outing of Big Ten play, while game-changing sixth man Braden Frager had just two points on 1-for-7 shooting. At the other end, UCLA made 10 3s -- only the fifth team to make double-figure 3s against Nebraska in 2026 -- and only gave the ball away eight times, which caused issues for the Big Ten's best team at forcing turnovers.

Next seven days: vs. Iowa (March 8), Big Ten tournament (March 10-15)

12. Gonzaga Bulldogs (28-3)

Previous ranking: 11

Gonzaga had its second-worst offensive performance of the season against Saint Mary's in the WCC regular-season finale, the Zags' worst showing at that end of the floor since their 40-point loss to Michigan in November. Some of it was personnel-related: Gonzaga was without Braden Huff and Jalen Warley due to injury. But some of it had to do with inconsistent point guard play. Starter Mario Saint-Supery was scoreless in 20 minutes, dishing out one assist and turning it over twice. Backup Braeden Smith was more secure, not turning it over in 20 minutes, but took just one shot from the field.

Next seven days: WCC tournament semifinals (March 9)

13. Texas Tech Red Raiders (22-8)

Previous ranking: 14

After three straight wins without JT Toppin, including Saturday's ultra-impressive nine-point victory at Iowa State, Tech dropped one on Tuesday to TCU in Lubbock. The Red Raiders just didn't get enough from their frontcourt. Since Toppin's injury, both LeJuan Watts and Luke Bamgboye have separately stepped up their production. Watts averaged 16.0 points in the first two games without Toppin, while Bamgboye went for 12 against Kansas State and 13 against Iowa State. But against TCU, the duo combined for eight points, and neither played more than 19 minutes.

Next seven days: at BYU (March 7), Big 12 tournament (March 10-14)

14. Kansas Jayhawks (21-9)

Previous ranking: 10

Kansas has now dropped four of its past six games, with all four losses coming by double digits. The latest came at Arizona State on Tuesday, a game in which the Jayhawks scored just 20 points in the first half and shot 29.2% from the field -- the program's lowest field-goal percentage since its 2021 NCAA tournament loss, per ESPN Research. They've now been held below 0.89 points per possession in three of the past six games; over that six-game stretch, Kansas ranks just 147th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 362nd in 2-point percentage. Darryn Peterson is shooting 35.9% in those games.

Next seven days: vs. Kansas State (March 7), Big 12 tournament (March 10-14)

15. Alabama Crimson Tide (22-8)

Previous ranking: 16

Alabama's eight-game winning streak came to a screeching halt Tuesday when the Tide gave up 98 points in a loss to Georgia. It came on the heels of Labaron Philon Jr.'s heroics to beat Tennessee on Saturday, a performance that made it look like he could carry the team to a few wins in the NCAA tournament. Against the Bulldogs, though, the defense completely collapsed. Georgia shot nearly 60% inside the arc, dominated the offensive glass and also made 13 3s. And that's the fear with Alabama. Even in a game in which it made 16 3s, it couldn't get enough stops. Can the Tide defend consistently later this month?

Next seven days: vs. Auburn (March 7), SEC tournament (March 11-15)

16. Virginia Cavaliers (26-4)

Previous ranking: 15

Virginia's performance against Duke on Saturday was about as bad as it's gotten for the Cavaliers this season. It was their least efficient offensive showing of the season (less than 0.84 points per possession). It was also their second-worst defensive performance of the campaign (allowed more than 1.26 points per possession and 50% shooting from 3-point range). They bounced back with a win over Wake Forest on Tuesday, however, and Thijs De Ridder continued his stellar offensive play. Since a three-game stretch of single-digit scoring efforts, De Ridder is averaging 17.4 points and 4.2 rebounds, shooting 53.4% from the field and 41.2% from 3.

Next seven days: vs. Virginia Tech (March 7), ACC tournament (March 10-14)

17. Arkansas Razorbacks (22-8)

Previous ranking: 17

It's been a week of ups and downs for the Razorbacks. In a primetime statement opportunity on Saturday night, they were overmatched physically by Florida, and got throttled by 34 points. On Wednesday night, however, they bounced back with 105 points to beat Texas by 20. More importantly, Darius Acuff Jr. got back on track with another massive individual performance: 28 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field to go with 13 assists. It was also a key get-right spot for Trevon Brazile, who was shown up by Florida's bigs but had 28 points -- including three 3s -- against Texas.

Next seven days: at Missouri (March 7), SEC tournament (March 11-15)

18. North Carolina Tar Heels (24-6)

Previous ranking: 20

North Carolina will enter the rematch against Duke this weekend with serious momentum: The Tar Heels have won four in a row, with the last three coming at home against Louisville, Virginia Tech and Clemson. The biggest bright spot during that stretch is the improved variety in offensive weapons for Hubert Davis while star freshman Caleb Wilson is sidelined. Henri Veesaar has been an anchor down low, but the Tar Heels have also gotten big perimeter performances from Seth Trimble (30 points against Louisville, 20 against Louisville), Luka Bogavac (20 against Clemson) and Jonathan Powell (15 against Virginia Tech).

Next seven days: at Duke (March 7), ACC tournament (March 10-14)

19. Tennessee Volunteers (21-9)

Previous ranking: 18

Tennessee played its first game without Nate Ament on Tuesday against South Carolina, and it was a dominant interior performance. J.P. Estrella and Felix Okpara had their way in the paint all night, combining for 42 points and 15 rebounds on 20-for-27 shooting. As a team, the Vols outscored the Gamecocks in the paint, 56-18. Additionally, in Ament's absence, freshman wing Amari Evans earned his first start of the season, and he contributed at both ends of the floor: seven points, three rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Next seven days: vs. Vanderbilt (March 7), SEC tournament (March 11-15)

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Highlight: J.P. Estrella powers No. 23 Tennessee to win over South Carolina

Estrella leads the way with 22 points and seven rebounds as Felix Okpara puts up 20 points to give the Volunteers a 78-59 victory against the Gamecocks.

20. St. John's Red Storm (24-6)

Previous ranking: 21

After going from a 32-point loss to UConn to a 32-point win over Villanova, St. John's nearly suffered a surprising home upset loss to Georgetown -- but overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to get the win. Zuby Ejiofor also responded to his season-worst performance against the Huskies, with a triple-double (16 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists) in the win over Villanova and a 23-point, seven-rebound, five-assist performance in the win over the Hoyas. He's the clear front-runner for Big East Player of the Year.

Next seven days: at Seton Hall (March 6), Big East tournament (March 11-14)

21. Vanderbilt Commodores (23-7)

Previous ranking: 19

Vanderbilt got a much-needed win in overtime at Ole Miss on Tuesday, after three losses in four games and before a road trip to Knoxville for Saturday's season finale. The Commodores' defense has fallen off markedly over the past few weeks, allowing at least 1.06 points per possession in eight of nine games. Since February began, they're 118th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency at BartTorvik, compared to 28th across the entire season. Fortunately, they still have Tyler Tanner, who had a ridiculous 34-point, five-rebound, seven-assist, five-steal statline against the Rebels.

Next seven days: at Tennessee (March 7), SEC tournament (March 11-15)

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Highlight: No. 24 Vanderbilt sneaks past Ole Miss in overtime

Tyler Tanner paces the Commodores with 34 points as Duke Miles and AK Okereke each put up 16 to secure a clutch 89-86 victory against the Rebels.

22. Saint Mary's Gaels (27-4)

Previous ranking: 24

Saint Mary's clinched a share of its fourth straight WCC regular-season title with a tremendous surge to end the season, winning eight in a row -- including home victories over Santa Clara and Gonzaga in its final two games by a combined 30 points. While Paulius Murauskas has earned most of the plaudits in Moraga this season, it was Mikey Lewis who was the best player on the floor for the Gaels in those two big wins. He had 21 points, seven assists and four steals against Santa Clara, followed by 31 points and seven 3-pointers against Gonzaga. According to ESPN Research, those 31 points were the most by a Saint Mary's player in a win over Gonzaga in the past 30 seasons.

Next seven days: WCC tournament semifinals (March 9)

23. Wisconsin Badgers (21-9)

Previous ranking: Unranked

Wisconsin bounced back from a surprising 14-point loss at Oregon with back-to-back blowout wins over Washington and Maryland by 50 combined points. There was a surprise star in both games: former Tulsa transfer Braeden Carrington, who produced arguably his two best games of the season. He went for a career-high 32 points off the bench against the Huskies, including nine 3-pointers, then had 18 points and another four 3-pointers against the Terrapins. He is now shooting nearly 43% from 3-point range on the season.

Next seven days: at Purdue (March 7), Big Ten tournament (March 10-15)

24. Louisville Cardinals (21-9)

Previous ranking: 22

Another team that needed a midweek win following a bit of a losing skid -- a common theme in this week's rankings -- Louisville handled its business against Syracuse on Tuesday, despite Mikel Brown Jr. sidelined with a back injury. The Saturday before, Brown was a game-time decision for the loss to Clemson before ultimately coming off the bench for 21 minutes. Tuesday's win was Louisville's fifth win without Brown this season, although the Cardinals' on/off splits have evened out considerably since Brown's first missed stretch of games. According to Hoop Explorer, Louisville is 12th in adjusted rating in games Brown has played, and 14th in games Brown has missed.

Next seven days: at Miami (March 7), ACC tournament (March 10-14)

25. Miami (Ohio) RedHawks (28-0)

Previous ranking: 25

One more game. An undefeated regular season is within reach after the RedHawks escaped by a combined four points against Western Michigan and Toledo last week. They had to come back from a nine-point deficit in the final 6:38 to beat Western Michigan and had to hold on in the final seconds to take down Toledo. The lone game left on the docket is a road trip to Ohio, a team Miami beat by 16, at home, on Feb. 13. The Bobcats are 5-8 in their past 13 games and will enter Friday's matchup on a two-game losing streak. Win there, and Travis Steele's team should hear its name on Selection Sunday, regardless of what happens in the conference tournament.

Next seven days: at Ohio (March 6), MAC tournament (March 12-14)

Dropped out: BYU Cougars (No. 23)