Keytron Jordan, CBS Sports
I’ve spent much of the past few weeks explaining pretty regularly that Purdue has the sport’s best body of work while justifying the Boilermakers being No. 1 in the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily College Basketball Rankings despite either Houston or UConn holding that spot in the AP Top 25 poll. And I still believe Purdue has the sport’s best body of work. So the Boilermakers are still No. 1 in Sunday morning’s updated Top 25 And 1 for the 19th consecutive day. But, in the spirit of transparency, I did consider moving Houston to No. 1 after Saturday’s 76-46 beatdown of Kansas, and I really do think we’re at the point where a case can be made for Purdue, UConn or Houston, any of them, to be No. 1 right now.
Let me make the case for each:
- Purdue: The case for Purdue is tied to the fact that the Boilermakers have more wins over schools ranked in the top 25 of the NET, and nobody has a better record in the first two quadrants than their 18-3 mark. They are also No. 1 in strength of record.
- UConn: The case for UConn is tied to the fact that the Huskies are the favorites in the betting markets to win the 2024 NCAA Tournament and the only team that can match Purdue’s record in the first two quadrants. They are also in possession of more blowout victories than anybody else.
- Houston: The case for Houston is tied to the fact that the Cougars are No. 1 in most computers, including the NET. They are also in possession of 13 Q1 wins, which is two more than anybody else.
Purdue, UConn and Houston are all champions of conferences ranked in the top three nationally, according to KenPom.com. And if Purdue wins Sunday, all three will enter their conference tournaments with 28-3 records. It really is fascinating how close these teams are in terms of accomplishments, and how much they have separated from literally everybody else in the sport.
North Carolina. Tennessee. Iowa State. Creighton. Arizona. Those are all good teams. One of them will likely be the fourth No. 1 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. But none of them, and nobody else, can crack the top three no matter what happens between now and Selection Sunday, and it’s possible the No. 1 overall seed won’t be determined until just hours before the bracket is revealed.
Sunday’s Top 25 And 1 rankings
In: FAU | Out: Florida
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