College basketball power rankings: Michigan earns a million as Dusty May leads Wolverines to Players Era title
Michigan is the new No. 1 after flexing its muscle on the big stage in Vegas this week
By
Kyle Boone
•
4 min read
The third edition of the in-season men's college basketball Power Rankings brings with it a third change at the No. 1 spot. And after what we saw this week from Dusty May's Michigan team in Vegas, the Wolverines left no doubt about whether their newfound standing at the top is deserving.
In a Players Era event whose criteria of advancing in a nonbracket tournament was solely scoring differential, Michigan accepted the challenge and, stunningly, destroyed everyone in its path. Case in point: After entering the week with an 18.3 point scoring margin against opponents that ranked, on average, 96.8 at KenPom.com, it defeated three teams in three days this week in Las Vegas whose average KenPom rating is 25.7 -- and by an average margin of 36.7 (!!!) points.
Of those three wins, two (Monday vs. San Diego State and Wednesday vs. Gonzaga) were by more than 40 points.
There are teams in college basketball whose resume is perhaps better than Michigan's right now, I will concede. (I see ya still, Arizona.) But this is the Power Rankings, after all. It's all about who is peaking right now. And as of right now, no one is hotter than Michigan.
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Let's dive in to the latest Power Rankings where there are plenty of changes across the top 16.
Week 1: Purdue | Week 2: Arizona
College Basketball Power Rankings
| 1 |  |
| Michigan has back-to-back wins over ranked opponents coming out of the Thanksgiving break after beating Auburn and Gonzaga by 30 and 40 points, respectively, on Tuesday and Wednesday in the Players Era. Its big week changed projections at KenPom to now have Michigan, not Purdue, as the favorite to win the Big Ten. Last week: 14 | |
| 2 |  |
| No team has three wins over top-15 opponents on its resume like Arizona does at this juncture. Two of those wins came against teams ranked No. 3 in the AP Top 25. The Wildcats defeated Denver 103-73 on Monday to improve to 6-0. Last week: 1 | |
| 3 |  |
| Purdue flexed its muscles in a big way last Friday at the Baha Mar with an 86-56 beatdown of Texas Tech. It is 7-0 now on the season with wins over Alabama, Memphis and Texas Tech. Last week: 5 | |
| 4 |  |
| If you're talking best overall resumes in college basketball, Michigan State deserves a mention in the conversation. It has defeated Arkansas, Kentucky and now North Carolina in its 7-0 start, with a 74-58 victory over the Tar Heels on Thanksgiving Day just their latest feat. The Spartans face Iowa and Duke in their next two games. Last week: 4 | |
| 5 |  |
| Iowa State had a perfect week in Vegas at the Players Era despite finishing the week playing outside the money games. It went 3-0 with wins over St. John's, Creighton and Syracuse to coast to 7-0. Last week: 11 | |
| 6 |  |
| Cameron Boozer had 35 points, nine boards and three assists Thursday in an impressive 80-71 win over Arkansas. He's second among all ACC players in points per game and has Duke 8-0 for the first time since 2017-18. Last week: 2 | |
| 7 |  |
| Louisville is 7-0 and yet it feels like we still hardly know about this team because of its lacking nonconference schedule. That'll change soon with the Cardinals facing Arkansas, Indiana, Memphis and Tennessee up next. Last week: 6 | |
| 8 |  |
| After smacking everyone around for much of the first few weeks of the season, Gonzaga was on the receiving end of its own medicine, as Michigan on Wednesday beat the Zags 101-61. I did not see that coming. Rarely do we see face-plants like that from teams like this. Gonzaga gets dinged considerably but still top-10 overall. Last week: 3 | |
| 9 |  |
| Mark Byington has Vanderbilt 8-0 for the first time since 2007-08 after another big win Friday -- this one over Saint Mary's. The Commodores have six double-digit scorers on the season and hilarious depth that even some of college basketball's royalty might envy. Last week: NR | |
| 10 |  |
| UConn stands pat in the Power Rankings this week after rebounding from its 71-67 loss to Arizona with a 72-49 beatdown of Bryant at home earlier this week and a 74-61 win over Illinois on Friday. It travels to KU for a true road test Tuesday. Last week: 10 | |
| 11 |  |
| BYU dropped out of the Power Rankings after falling to UConn in mid-November but it is back comfortably in the mix after consecutive double-digit wins over Wisconsin and Miami in its last two outings. Last week: NR | |
| 12 |  |
| Reports of Kansas' death were premature, as it turns out. Despite playing without Darryn Peterson this week, the Jayhawks won three games in three days, culminating with an impressive 81-76 win over Tennessee. The backcourt duo of Melvin Council and Tre White have stepped up in a big way in Peterson's absence. Last week: NR | |
| 13 |  |
| Michigan's 40-point win over Gonzaga and Tennessee's five-point loss to Kansas on Wednesday overshadowed what was arguably the best win of the week in Vegas: Tennessee's 76-73 win over No. 3 Houston. The Vols are playing well despite coming off a loss. And per usual, they are doing it playing some of the best defense in college basketball. Last week: NR | |
| 14 |  |
| There's lots of room for this Houston team to improve this season. So far they are playing their C+ game. That should be scary for the rest of the sport. Cougars are 7-1 on the season. Last week: 7 | |
| 15 |  |
| First-year coach Darian DeVries pushed his Indiana team's hot start to 6-0 this week after downing the Hoosiers' highest-rated opponent yet, Kansas State, by a cool 17 points. IU's 6-0 for the first time since 2022-23. Last week: NR | |
| 16 |  |
| Speaking of first-year coaches, Iowa's Ben McCollum -- the previous successor to the aforementioned DeVries at Drake who is in his first season in Iowa City -- has the Hawkeyes cruising into December. They are 7-0 coming off wins this week over Ole Miss and Grand Canyon. And with the way Bennett Stirtz is playing, something tells me this team'll be a constant feature in this space all season. Last week: NR | |
