Purdue Still #1 in College Basketball

Not even a loss to Indiana was enough to knock the Purdue Boilermakers from atop the weekly College Basketball Top 25.

Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 25 points and blocked five shots leading #21 Indiana to a 79-74 win over top-ranked Purdue on Saturday. Indiana improved to 16-7 on the season. For the Hoosiers, it’s their first victory over a No. 1 ranked team in 10 years. For the Boilermakers (21-2) their body of work was enough to keep them on top.

There’s one thing for certain. Parity is alive and well in College Hoops with any number of teams capable of cutting down the nets in April. The No. 1 ranking in the AP poll has already rotated several times, with  Purdue and Houston among the teams occupying the top spot.

Here’s a look at the conferences that could produce the next National Champion.

The Big 12

Simply put this league is loaded with talent. In fact don’t be surprised if eight or nine teams receive invites to the Big Dance. Kansas, Kansas State, Texas, Iowa State, Baylor and TCU are all either currently ranked or have been residents in the Top 25. The Big 12 which in reality only has 10 teams has produced the last two national champs; Baylor in 2021 and Kansas in 2022. In 2019, Texas Tech played in the national title game before falling to eventual champion Virginia in overtime.

Big 10

Purdue is head and shoulders above the rest thanks in large part to Player of the Year frontrunner Zach Edey. The Boilermakers were one of two league teams along with to reach the round of 16 last year. The league will be well represented again this season. Indiana is ranked 23^rd this week and Rutgers, Illinois and Northwestern will vie for attention.

Pac-12 and West Coast Conference

Arguably the top four teams in the West are Arizona, UCLA, Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga. The Gaels are coming off a 78-70 overtime victory over Gonzaga on Saturday.  The Bruins (10-2) lead the Wildcats (10-3) by a half game in the Pac-12 standings. USC and Utah are trending up which could lead a Pac-12 stampede into the NCAA tournament