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Three new teams climbed into the top five of the latest CBS Sports College Basketball power rankings, led by fast-rising St. John’s and Texas Tech. The Red Storm and Red Raiders moved up nine and 10 spots to No. 4 and No. 5 this week. St. John’s rise comes after a 70-64 statement win over Marquette on Tuesday that claims control of the Big East for the Red Storm and marks their 15th win in 16 outings.
Texas Tech’s ascension was fueled by a huge 82-81 road overtime win over No. 6 Houston in Houston. The Red Raiders followed that up with a 73-59 home victory over Baylor to give them a 9-2 Big 12 record — one off the leading pace set by Houston and Arizona — and a 9-1 mark in the 2025 calendar year.
While the results have been similar, the paths the Red Raiders and Red Storm have taken to ascend their respective conference standings couldn’t be more different. St. John’s has boasted the most efficient defense in the sport since Jan. 1, per BartTorvik.com data (and the No. 167 offense in that span), while Texas Tech has struck more of a balance with the No. 10 offense and No. 17 defense.
“This is a very unique team,” St. John’s coach Rick Pitino said Tuesday. “This is a relentless defensive team. They defy statistical data almost every single game.”
No Big East team shoots worse from 3-point range than St. John’s. And only one Big 12 team, Houston, shoots it better from 3-point range than Texas Tech.
That’s the beauty of basketball in a nutshell. There are different ways to win at the highest level. And while the contrast between the two is large, the results of late have largely been the same.
Let’s get to this week’s rankings with Duke and Auburn once leading the way and Kentucky and Iowa State — consistent top-10 teams in this space most of the season — dropping all the way out.
College Basketball Power Rankings
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