NCAA men’s basketball Power Rankings: Duke tops final 2024-25 edition
Our final Power Rankings of the season feature a new No. 1.
Auburn’s loss to Texas A&M on Tuesday opened the door for Duke to take over the top spot. The Blue Devils have looked incredibly dominant over several weeks, winning their past seven games by nearly 32 points per game. If this was purely a résumé debate over the overall No. 1 seed, Auburn would still have the edge given its historically strong Quadrant 1 record. But Duke gets the final No. 1 spot here.
Can the Blue Devils back it up against a desperate North Carolina team on Saturday? The Tar Heels’ win-and-in opportunity is the biggest story in the ACC for the final weekend of the regular season (6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN).
What else is at stake among ranked teams this weekend?
- In the Big East: St. John’s can strengthen its case for a 2-seed if it wins at Marquette on Saturday.
- In the Big Ten: Selection Sunday seeding and a share of the Big Ten regular-season title could be at stake when Michigan visits Michigan State on Sunday.
- In the Big 12: Neither Arizona nor Kansas has shown much consistency this season, and both could use some momentum entering the postseason when the teams meet in Lawrence on Saturday (4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN).
- In the SEC: Alabama at Auburn on Saturday (2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN). Need I say more? A win would keep Alabama’s faint 1-seed hopes alive after its recent struggles.
Now without further ado, our final top 25 ahead of the regular-season finales.
Duke Blue Devils (27-3)
Previous ranking: 2
Duke isn’t showing signs of slowing down as the postseason nears, beating Wake Forest by 33 points Monday, only two points shy of its fourth consecutive 35-point win. The Blue Devils will have to settle for their fourth straight 30-point win, matching the longest streak in program history, per ESPN Research.
Duke has outscored its past six ACC opponents by 180 points, which is the biggest scoring margin in the conference’s history over a six-game span.
Next seven days: at North Carolina (March 8), ACC tournament
2. Auburn Tigers (27-3)
Previous ranking: 1
Auburn was surprisingly noncompetitive against Texas A&M on Tuesday, never leading, and trailing by three or more possessions for the majority of the second half. The Tigers had their worst defensive performance since a loss to Duke in early December, allowing the Aggies to dominate on the offensive glass with 24 rebounds for 29 second-chance points.
The absence of Denver Jones was noticeable, but Johni Broome not looking superhuman for the second straight game was also difficult for Auburn to overcome. Broome is averaging 8.5 points and 6.5 boards over his past two games.
Next seven days: vs. Alabama (March 8), SEC tournament
Houston Cougars (26-4)
Previous ranking: 3
It’s truly staggering what Houston has done since joining the Big 12 last season. Some questioned whether the Cougars would be able to win at the same consistently high level they did in the AAC, but they have somehow taken it to a new level. They are 33-4 in the regular season, which is even more impressive considering they started 1-2 last season.
Including its three conference tournament games in 2023-24, Houston has played 40 games against Big 12 competition over the past two seasons. Four of those have gone to overtime, but in the other 36, the Cougars have had an opponent reach 70 points only twice. Twice!
Next seven days: at Baylor (March 8), Big 12 tournament
Florida Gators (26-4)
Previous ranking: 5
Though Florida’s overall collection of wins doesn’t touch Auburn’s resumé, it’s hard to top the Gators’ high-end victories over Auburn, Tennessee and Alabama — with the ones over the Tigers and Crimson Tide coming in true road games. There’s not a team in the country with a better pair of road wins than Florida. And with Wednesday’s losses by Alabama and Tennessee, Todd Golden’s team has the inside track toward the NCAA tournament’s final 1-seed on Selection Sunday alongside Auburn, Duke and Houston. Advancing to the SEC tournament title game could clinch it.
Next seven days: vs. Ole Miss (March 8), SEC tournament
Tennessee Volunteers (24-6)
Previous ranking: 6
Tennessee’s buzzer-beater win over Alabama on Saturday looked to put the Volunteers in the driver’s seat for a 1-seed in the NCAA tournament, but losing at Ole Miss in the final seconds Wednesday puts them behind Florida in the race. Statistically, it was actually their worst defensive performance of the season, allowing the Rebels to score 1.23 points per possession despite shooting just 5-for-19 from 3-point range. The Vols were dominated on the offensive glass and outscored in the paint 46-20.
Next seven days: vs. South Carolina (March 8), SEC tournament
St. John’s Red Storm (26-4)
Previous ranking: 7
RJ Luis Jr. belongs on end-of-season All-America teams and is a viable contender for Big East Player of the Year. Kadary Richmond stole the headlines for much of February, but Luis never really slowed down — and after sitting out one game and not looking 100% in the next one because of injury, Luis has returned to top form. He had 24 points against Butler last week, then followed it up with 21 points and six boards against Seton Hall this past Saturday. Most importantly for the Johnnies, he has also shot 8-for-16 from 3 in his past three games.
Next seven days: at Marquette (March 8), Big East tournament
Alabama Crimson Tide (23-7)
Previous ranking: 4
Alabama has lost two in a row and four of its past six after dropping back-to-back games against Tennessee and Florida over the past week — and still has a trip to Auburn this weekend. The defeat in Knoxville was a heartbreaker at the buzzer, but the Tide simply didn’t play with enough urgency against the Gators. Alabama allowed 16 offensive rebounds and 19 second-chance points, while also allowing Florida to score 22 fast-break points. The Tide have also seen seven of their past eight opponents score at least 1.04 points per possession, and they rank ninth in the SEC in defensive efficiency.
Next seven days: at Auburn (March 8), SEC tournament
Michigan State (24-6)
Previous ranking: 8
It has been an incredible five-game stretch for Michigan State. On Feb. 11, the Spartans lost for the third time in four games, at home to Indiana. Given what the rest of the Big Ten contenders were doing, it looked as if their title hopes were dashed, especially with Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Maryland and Wisconsin on the docket, with three those matchups on the road. A 3-2 record in those five games seemed like an aggressive goal. Michigan State came out 5-0 record — and with the inside track to the Big Ten regular-season title.
Next seven days: at Iowa (March 6), vs. Michigan (March 9), Big Ten tournament
Texas Tech Red Raiders (23-7)
Previous ranking: 12
If Texas Tech can stay healthy, and if JT Toppin can continue to play as well as he has lately, the Red Raiders are a legitimate Final Four contender. Darrion Williams and Chance McMillian both look fine after sitting out recent games because of injuries, and Toppin is playing at an All-American level. He had 30 points and 14 rebounds in Wednesday’s win over Colorado, the third time in the past month he has posted a 30-point, 10-rebound performance. Over his past eight games, Toppin is averaging 24.4 points and 11.0 rebounds.
Next seven days: at Arizona State (March 8), Big 12 tournament
Wisconsin Badgers (23-7)
Previous ranking: 9
Wisconsin has had two of its worst 3-point shooting performances of the season in its past two games, going 5-for-32 against Michigan State and 5-for-22 against Minnesota. That could be partially attributed to the absence of Max Klesmit, who has sat out the past two games because of a lower-body injury. Even though the Wofford transfer is having by far the worst 3-point shooting season of his career, he is still the team’s second-most prolific perimeter shooter.
John Blackwell has picked up the offensive slack, averaging 22.7 points in his past three games.
Next seven days: vs. Penn State (March 8), Big Ten tournament
Iowa State Cyclones (22-8)
Previous ranking: 10
Iowa State lost only its second game of the season at full strength, falling in double overtime to BYU — the Cougars led by as many as 21 points in the second half before the Cyclones surged back to force the extra period. There are a few potential issues to monitor, but some can be traced to Curtis Jones and Keshon Gilbert not quite performing as effectively as they did earlier in the season. Gilbert is averaging 9.3 points over his past eight games, while Jones is shooting 28.1% from 3 in his past six games.
Next seven days: at Kansas State (March 8), Big 12 tournament
Maryland Terrapins (23-7)
Previous ranking: 19
Maryland notched a massive road win at Michigan on Wednesday, and it was the Terrapins’ perimeter group that was the difference. Michigan’s big man duo of Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin combined for 40 points and 23 rebounds, and Maryland’s wing players Rodney Rice and Selton Miguel outplayed the Michigan guards. Rice had 19 points and four 3s, while Miguel went for 17 points and three 3s. Miguel also notched four steals, sparking a defense that forced 16 turnovers and had 21 points off turnovers.
Next seven days: vs. Northwestern (March 8), Big Ten tournament
Purdue Boilermakers (21-9)
Previous ranking: 20
Though the Boilermakers still need to tighten up at the defensive end, whatever was ailing them on offense probably got out of their system against Rutgers on Tuesday. They scored 100 points, made 18 3-pointers and shot better than 63% from inside the arc.
Braden Smith was terrific — he is averaging 23.0 points and 8.5 assists while shooting 13-for-23 from 3-point range in their past two wins. Taking the entire season into account, the offense hasn’t really missed a beat without Zach Edey. And according to ESPN Research, this is the first season that Purdue reached 100 points in multiple Big Ten games since 1974-75.
Next seven days: at Illinois (March 7), Big Ten tournament
Clemson Tigers (25-5)
Previous ranking: 16
Since scoring 22 points in an upset win over Duke in early February, senior big man Viktor Lakhin has taken his game to another level. He has reached double figures in six of his past seven games, including Wednesday’s 11-point, 13-rebound effort at Boston College. Over those seven games, Lakhin is averaging 16.0 points and 7.1 rebounds after putting up 10.1 points and 6.2 boards in the first 23 games of the season. He also dished out five assists in back-to-back games against Notre Dame and Virginia.
Next seven days: vs. Virginia Tech (March 8), ACC tournament
. Texas A&M Aggies (21-9)
Previous ranking: 15
Texas A&M thoroughly dominated Auburn on Tuesday, leading wire-to-wire — not a bad way to end a four-game losing streak. The Aggies scored the first seven points of the game and never really let the top-ranked Tigers get to within striking distance in the second half. The biggest difference between Tuesday’s win and the preceding four losses? Offensive rebounding. The best offensive rebounding team in the country, A&M grabbed 60% of its missed shots against Auburn.
Next seven days: at LSU (March 8), SEC tournament