#college-basketball-rankings

#college-basketball-rankings

Through the first half of last season, Illinois looked like a legitimate Final Four contender. The Fighting Illini started 12-3, with wins over Wisconsin, Missouri, Oregon and Arkansas. But they would go 5-8 in their next 13 games, proving to be something of a paper tiger. In games against Quad 4 opponents, they had the best defensive rating in the country at CBB Analytics. In Quad 1 games, they were 82nd.

Kentucky dropped out of these Power Rankings back on Dec. 4, following a 5-3 start. A day later, the Wildcats lost by 35 points to Gonzaga in Nashville, and it looked like the wheels were falling off. Less than three weeks later, Mark Pope's team returns to the mix. Kentucky has won four straight games, all by double-figures, including 12-point victories over Indiana and St. John's.

Michigan jumped to No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25 men's basketball poll on Monday as rival Michigan State and Iowa State both climbed into the top 10. No. 1 Purdue and No. 2 Arizona remained atop the rankings. The Boilermakers received 40 first-place votes from a 61-person media panel, Arizona got six and Michigan got 15 after its dominating run through the Players Era Championship.