The biggest week of the college basketball season to date is upon us with Thanksgiving tournaments across the country offering a robust slate of measuring stick games for programs.
And while you could still throw out the fact that it’s early, this week is a key time to bolster résumés, a time the committee could look back on in March when putting together the field of 68 teams for the NCAA Tournament.
Conferences have a fairly good idea by Christmas how many bids they’ll accumulate for March Madness, and this is a week when many marquee teams will face off against high-majors. This week is a chance to move the needle, because if you’re through this week without any marquee wins, you’re down to essentially three weeks to do so.
Look at the Maui Invitational alone on Monday, when Auburn and Iowa State meet in a matchup of Final Four contenders. While there’s not much harm done to the loser of that game, the winner likely books a date with North Carolina (who faces Dayton on Monday) to get yet another major résumé booster.
On the other side of the Maui bracket, Penny Hardaway and Memphis get their shot against the back-to-back reigning national champion UConn Huskies, as Dan Hurley’s team faces its first real tests this week, with Michigan State potentially in the Maui semis and any of Auburn, Iowa State or UNC in the potential final. For Tom Izzo’s team, which currently sits outside my Top 25, a must-win comes Monday against Colorado.
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Meanwhile, in Florida on Monday, Dusty May’s Michigan team meets Virginia Tech (6 p.m. ET on FS1) followed by Xavier and South Carolina on FS1 from the Fort Myers Tip-Off. I would be fascinated by Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf going up against Zach Freemantle and Jerome Hunter in the frontcourt in a Wolverines/Musketeers championship game, not to mention Tre Donaldson against new Xavier star Ryan Conwell in the backcourt. My prediction is that we get May vs. Sean Miller Wednesday night in Florida.
We’re in for a treat on Tuesday night in Las Vegas, as Kansas squares off with Duke in the Vegas Showdown, a one-off event between the two teams who will meet in the 2025 Champions Classic, while Houston will take on Alabama in the Players Era Festival. The Blue Devils really impressed on the defensive end in Friday’s 69-55 win at Arizona, holding the Wildcats to their lowest regular season total in points in the four-year Tommy Lloyd Era.
A team that was first in offensive rebounds and second chance points per game (22 apiece in each category) was held to just six offensive boards and eight second chance points. The length and versatility of Jon Scheyer’s team was on display, and Cooper Flagg was outstanding with 24 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Between his leadership and Kon Knueppel not being afraid to take and make clutch 3s, Duke overwhelmed Arizona and made Caleb Love’s life a nightmare defensively. That vaults the Blue Devils back into my top-10.
There are many other highlights to Feast Week, with my 15th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers meeting Louisville in the Battle 4 Atlantis opener on Wednesday. Mike Woodson’s team is 4-0 but has not been tested yet and needs consistency from Mackenzie Mgbako, Oumar Ballo and Malik Reneau. Myles Rice has shown he can be counted on to lead the way.
The Atlantis bracket is also headlined by Gonzaga, Arizona and Providence, which hope to have senior Bryce Hopkins make his season debut this week coming off an ACL injury.
Thanksgiving is headlined by a marquee women’s showdown, as Chloe Kitts and reigning national champion South Carolina take on star center Audi Crooks and Iowa State (1:30 p.m. ET on FOX).
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On the men’s side, Purdue meets NC State in the Rady Children’s Invitational, a battle of Final Four teams from last season. Then BYU meets Ole Miss (both games will be on FS1). The title game and consolation matchup will tip off on FOX on Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET from San Diego, with all four of those teams trying to validate where they stand in my Top 25, or why they belong in next week’s rankings.
The Players Era Festival, which runs Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, will not only feature Alabama and Houston, but a Creighton team trying to bounce back from a loss to Nebraska, a Texas A&M team that is led by Wade Taylor, as well as Oregon and Rutgers, two teams that are just outside of my rankings.
My big winners from this past week: Tennessee and Marquette.
The Volunteers beat Virginia and Baylor by a combined 37 points en route to the title in the Baha Mar Hoops Championship. The big takeaway: Rick Barnes has crushed it in the transfer portal yet again with Chaz Lanier, who scored 25 first-half points and drilled seven 3-pointers vs. Baylor.
The Golden Eagles won at Maryland, commanded Purdue by 18 points and beat an improved Georgia team on a neutral court by 11 in a nine-day span, taking care of business and getting powered by a national player of the year candidate in Kam Jones. For Shaka Smart to lose Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro and be off to Marquette’s first 6-0 start since 2011 is exceptional.
With that, here’s my updated Top 25.
1. Kansas Jayhawks (5-0)
Have the Jayhawks looked like the best team in the country? Not necessarily, and I do have questions about their perimeter shooting. It just doesn’t feel like the transfer portal additions have fully gelled yet. But then again, they’re 5-0 with wins over North Carolina and Michigan State, and Hunter Dickinson is so dominant. He had 15-and-15 in Tuesday’s win over UNCW.
2. UConn Huskies (4-0)
Alex Karaban is performing like an All-American for the reigning back-to-back national champions, averaging 16.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game while shooting a whopping 64% from the floor through the first four games of the season. The Huskies get their first real tests this week at the Maui Invitational. A semifinal against Michigan State followed by a final with Auburn, Iowa State or North Carolina would be must-see TV.
3. Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-0)
The 5-0 Zags face West Virginia on Wednesday in the Battle 4 Atlantis, then either Louisville or Indiana. I expect Mark Few’s team to win this event. Graham Ike, Khalif Battle and Braden Huff are all averaging at least 14 points per game. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 in KenPom offense.
4. Tennessee Volunteers (6-0)
Zakai Zeigler is the perfect point guard to set up Lanier, with Zeigler notching nine assists in Friday’s win over Baylor. Jordan Gainey is proving to be a spark plug off the bench, totaling 16 points in the victory. Tennessee is 6-0 with three wins over high-major opponents away from home. I’ll take the experience, defense, proven scoring of Lanier and the coaching of Barnes in the SEC title race.
5. Auburn Tigers (4-0)
Can the Tigers sustain the type of performance they had in the win over Houston? We’ll find out this week. A massive matchup comes Monday when they meet Iowa State. It’s imperative that Johni Broome capitalizes on a potential frontcourt advantage and that Tahaad Pettiford supplies some of his microwave scoring ability.
6. Marquette Golden Eagles (6-0)
Senior stretch forward David Joplin has dealt with some early season ups and downs in the shooting department — until Saturday in the Bahamas. He was scalding-hot, with a career-high 29 points on six made 3s in an 80-69 win over Georgia. The Golden Eagles have a pair of buy games this week before visiting No. 5 Iowa State on Dec. 4.
7. Houston Cougars (3-1)
When the Cougars find a hot perimeter shooter, it absolutely changes everything because of how great they are on defense year in and year out. Emanuel Sharp shot 5-for-5 from 3-point land in an 80-44 win over Hofstra on Friday. They’ll need more of that shot-making in a mammoth game Tuesday against Alabama in Las Vegas. It offers a window of redemption for the Cougars to get that big win after coming up short to Auburn.
8. Kentucky Wildcats (5-0)
The 5-0 Wildcats are one of the nation’s best scoring teams, ranking No. 11 in KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency. UK beat Jackson State, 108-59, on Friday behind 17 made 3-pointers and a combined 43 points from Otega Oweh and Koby Brea.
9. Duke Blue Devils (4-1)
The Blue Devils are back in my top-10, and honestly, this still feels low to me. But the head-to-head loss to Kentucky is why I have them at No. 9. This team ranks first in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency, and for good reason. Khaman Maluach makes such an impact when he’s in the game and Syracuse transfer Maliq Brown was very good on that end of the floor in the win over Arizona. Jon Scheyer’s team needs consistent guard play. When Tyrese Proctor, Caleb Foster and Sion James deliver it, this team can beat anybody.
10. Iowa State Cyclones (3-0)
The Cyclones will have wonderful opportunities to rise in the rankings this week, starting with a game against Auburn to start a loaded Maui Invitational. Saint Mary’s transfer Joshua Jefferson and sophomore Milan Momcilovic must hold their own against Broome of the Tigers, and I think it will be key for the Cyclones against any marquee opponent to have Tamin Lipsey playing like the best guard on the court. I think Auburn will be favored by a bucket or so against Iowa State, but that’s a complete pick ’em game.
11. Purdue Boilermakers (5-1)
12. North Carolina Tar Heels (3-1)
13. Alabama Crimson Tide (4-1)
14. Wisconsin Badgers (7-0)
15. Cincinnati Bearcats (5-0)
16. Xavier Musketeers (5-0)
17. Indiana Hoosiers (4-0)
18. Florida Gators (6-0)
19. Baylor Bears (4-2)
20. Arkansas Razorbacks (4-1)
21. Texas A&M Aggies (4-1)
22. Creighton Bluejays (4-1)
23. Ole Miss Rebels (5-0)
24. Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-0)
25. BYU Cougars (5-0)
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him at @John_Fanta.
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