NCAAM Breakdown: Houston is Back at No. 1

Baylor has games against Kansas State and Texas while Marquette is at Creighton, Iowa State at Texas, Providence at UConn, and Indiana at Purdue. They are among huge showdowns to keep an eye on as teams position themselves for March Madness.

Purdue’s Zach Edey (-4000) is the overwhelming front-runner in the national player of the year odds.

Looking at the Las Vegas odds, No. 2 Houston (+650) is favored to win the national title. Alabama (+800), Purdue (+1000), Kansas (+1200), and UCLA (+1200) are the other top contenders.

The NCAA selection committee revealed the top 16 seeds last week with Alabama the top overall seed. Houston, Purdue, and Kansas also were listed as No. 1 seeds. Things could change when the March Madness bracket is announced next month.

Let’s check the latest college basketball news, stats, injury reports, and college basketball lines. We’ve got plenty of NCAA basketball picks for you to consider.

Cougars Roaring

Houston returned to the top of the Associated Press poll with a pair of wins as well as recent losses by Alabama and Purdue.

The Cougars have won seven straight games after holding off the upset-minded Memphis Tigers behind 20 points and 12 rebounds from J’Wan Roberts.

Houston has opened up a 2½-game lead in the American Athletic Conference standings as the Cougars are closing in on the regular-season conference title.

Houston failed to cover in its last two games and in four of the last six.

This is Houston’s third time at the top of the polls. On each of the first two occasions, the stay lasted for only two weeks. Purdue leads the way with seven weeks at No. 1 followed by Houston, North Carolina (three weeks), and Alabama, which was a 1-and-done. Houston received 48 first-place votes while No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Kansas picked up seven No. 1 votes each.

POLL ALERT: Houston back to No. 1 in men’s AP Top 25, Alabama at No. 2; Northwestern makes season poll debut at No. 21.

Full poll: https://t.co/ZJG5mgWZhI pic.twitter.com/GlKnQj4Fii

— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) February 20, 2023

The biggest move among teams in the top 25 in each of the last two polls was Providence going from 24th to 20th while Northwestern went from being among teams receiving votes to landing at No. 21. Iowa State dropped four spots to No. 23.

Struggling Contenders

Purdue and Tennessee are among the top contenders in the race for the national title. However, neither the Boilermakers nor the Volunteers are playing like Final Four teams.

Purdue dropped three of four games before bouncing back with a win over Ohio State, with national Player of the Year front-runner Edey leading the way with 26 points and 11 rebounds

Tennessee has dropped three of its last four games, the lone win being a 68-59 victory against then-No. 1 Alabama before losing to unranked Kentucky for the second time this season.

The recent struggles dropped Tennessee into a tie for third place in the SEC standings.

Races Heating Up

The best conference races heading down the stretch are in the ACC, Big 12, and the Big East.

In the ACC, just a game separates Virginia, Miami, and Pittsburgh while the top six teams are a combined 80-6 at home.

Pittsburgh leads all Division I men’s programs with a 19-7-1 record against the college basketball odds.

Kansas and Texas are tied atop the Big 12 standings, Baylor is just a game back with Iowa State and Kansas State two games out of first place.

Tuesday could be a moving day in the Big 12 with Baylor playing at Kansas State and Iowa State traveling to meet Texas.

In the Big East, Marquette is currently a game ahead of Creighton, Providence, and Xavier. Creighton can make things even more interesting when the Golden Eagles come to Omaha on Tuesday.

Updating the NET Rankings

Despite playing just five Quad 1 games, Houston continues to top the NCAA NET Rankings followed by SEC rivals Alabama and Tennessee.

A pair of West Coast Conference teams (No. 7 Saint Mary’s and No. 10 Gonzaga) are in the top 10 while Kansas is sixth. The Jayhawks lead the way with 13 Quad 1 wins, with the 18 Quad 1 games the most in the nation.

The most intriguing team in the top 10 could be UConn.

The Huskies are eighth in the NET rankings even though they are fifth in the Big East standings.

Six of the top 21 teams hail from the Big 12 while the Big East has four of the top 25.

Team of the Week

• Kansas Jayhawks

The defending national champions looked to be headed to a home loss to rival Baylor as the Jayhawks trailed by 13 points at halftime.

DaJuan Harris had all 14 of his points in the second half as Kansas scored 55 points after halftime and won 87-71.

The Jayhawks also topped Oklahoma State 87-76 with freshman Gradey Dick leading the way with 26 points.

Player of the Week

• Julian Strawther, Gonzaga Bulldogs

Teammate Drew Timme might be the Gonzaga player who dominates the headlines, but Strawther had 58 points in wins over Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine.

Strawther has three straight 20-point games with 13 3-pointers for the Bulldogs as they remain a game back of first-place Saint Mary’s in the WCC standings.

Game of the Week

• Texas vs Baylor

  • Date, time: Saturday, Feb. 25th, 2:00 p.m. ET

Take your pick among the Big 12 games. The importance of the game could be altered if Texas and Baylor lose on Tuesday.

The top two scoring teams in the Big 12 could be ready to put on a show as both seek to remain in contention for the regular-season title in the conference.

Texas topped Baylor 78-71 in the first meeting of the season with Timmy Allen leading the way with 18 points.