College basketball rankings: CBS Sports Top 25 and 1 makes multiple top five changes

With January nearing its end, we’re starting to get into crunch time of the college basketball season. CBS Sports released its updated Top 25 and 1 rankings on Wednesday with plenty of change after one of the three remaining unbeaten teams lost on Tuesday.

Nebraska entered a matchup against Michigan with an unblemished 20-0 record, and would fight until the end in Ann Arbord to keep it. But ultimately, the Cornhuskers dropped their first game of the season by a score of 75-72.

Nebraska was No. 2 in last week’s Top 25 and 1 rankings, but dropped to No. 5 this week, allowing for a few other teams to move up. You can check out the full rankings below.

1. Arizona Wildcats

After Nebraska’s loss, Arizona is one of two remaining unbeaten teams in the country along with Miami (OH). Most recently, the Wildcats staved off a comeback from BYU on the road to win 86-83 and preserve its undefeated record on Monday.

Now 21-0 (8-0 Big 12), Arizona has already tied its best start in program history. It can surpass that with a win against rival Arizona State in yet another road game Saturday.

2. UConn Huskies (+1)

Winners of back-to-back national championships in 2023 and 2024, UConn looks once again to be a national title contender for 2026. The Huskies’ only loss this season comes against Arizona, and even that was by only four points.

UConn recently improved to 10-0 in Big East play with an 87-81 victory against Providence on Tuesday. They’re currently 1.5 games ahead of second-place St. John’s in the conference standings and play the Red Storm twice before the season ends.

3. Duke Blue Devils (+1)

Duke is the only team in the country to have as many Quad 1 wins as Arizona with nine so far. The Blue Devils have been dominant of late, winning their past four games by 15 or more points. That included a 83-52 drubbing of Louisville on Monday.

Freshman phenom Cameron Boozer has been making a case for himself as Player of the Year, averaging 23.5 points. 9.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.8 steals this season. He has his sights set on getting Duke back to the Final Four this year for the second straight season.

4. Michigan Wolverines (+1)

Fresh off of the win against Nebraska, the Wolverines moved up a spot in the Top 25 and 1 rankings to No. 4 this week. They now find themselves in a three-way tie with the Cornhuskers and Michigan State for first place in the Big Ten standings.

Morez Johnson Jr. led Michigan with 17 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday’s win, but it was Trey McKenney who hit the go-ahead layup with 1:07 remaining. Things don’t slow down on the schedule for the Wolverines, who are slated to face Michigan State on the road on Friday.

5. Nebraska Cornhuskers (-3)

All good things must come to an end, and so did Nebraska’s 20-game winning streak to start the season on Tuesday against Michigan. Regardless, the Cornhuskers have still separated themselves as one of the better teams in the country to this point in the season and are worthy of a top five ranking.

Nebraska was missing its second and third-leading scorers, Rienk Mast and Braden Frager, in the loss against the Wolverines. It will hope to get both back healthy soon as that likely also played a factor in the results.

6. Gonzaga Bulldogs

A glaring 40-point loss against Michigan is the only blemish for Gonzaga this season as the Bulldogs are well on their way to their 27th straight NCAA Tournament. That is the second-longest active streak in the NCAA behind only Michigan State.

Gonzaga has a solid 3-1 record against Quad 1 opponents and will have a chance to earn another when it faces Saint Mary’s on Saturday. That also has big implications in the WCC standings, where the Gaels are only one game behind the Bulldogs for first place.

7. Michigan State Spartans

Few coaches have been going this as long and as successfully as Tom Izzo, who once again has Michigan State as a title contender this year. The Spartans only two losses so far this season have come against two teams in the top 5 of these rankings, Duke and Nebraska.

Most recently, they escaped Rutgers in overtime on Tuesday as Jeremy Fears poured in a season-high 29 points. A matchup against Michigan on Friday represents a chance to notch perhaps their biggest win of the season so far.

8. Iowa State Cyclones

Iowa State was unbeaten up until about two weeks ago, when it dropped its first game of the season against Kansas. It followed that up with another loss against Cincinnati the next game, but has since gotten back on track with a pair of wins against UCF and Oklahoma State.

Milan Momcilovic had 29 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists in the most recent road win against OSU. The Cyclones next travel to Boulder, where they will face Colorado on Thursday.

9. Illinois Fighting Illini

The Fighting Illini are in the midst of a nine-game winning streak, including taking down then-No. 4 Purdue on the road on Saturday. Freshman Keaton Wagler exploded for 46 points in that win, more than half of Illinois’ total of 88.

Wagler has been impressive this season, leading Illinois with 17.5 points per game in addition to 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He’ll look to keep that momentum going as the Fighting Illini take on Washington on Thursday.

10. Houston Cougars

Houston rounds out the top 10 of the CBS Sports Top 25 and 1 rankings. The Cougars had their 11-game winning streak snapped on Saturday as they lost 90-86 against Texas Tech. This was despite a season-high 42 points to go along with six assists for freshman Kingston Flemings.

As usual under coach Kelvin Sampson, Houston is one of the top defensive teams in the country with just 61.6 points allowed per game. They have an opportunity to get back in the win column as they face TCU on Wednesday evening.

Rest of CBS Sports Top 25 and 1 rankings

11. Texas Tech Red Raiders
12. BYU Cougars
13. Vanderbilt Commodores
14. Kansas Jayhawks
15. Purdue Boilermakers
16. Arkansas Razorbacks
17. Florida Gators
18. Virginia Cavaliers
19. Clemson Tigers
20. Saint Louis Bilikens
21. Louisville Cardinals
22. Alabama Crimson Tide
23. St. John’s Red Storm
24. SMU Mustangs
25. Miami (OH) Redhawks
26. North Carolina Tar Heels