Every Sunday night, my top 25 rankings will release on Instagram (@collegehoopsoutlet) and an article here releasing shortly after. Check out my reasoning behind my rankings here and leave any discourse or comments in my comment section on Instagram.

After just one week, I tried not to vary too much from my preseason thoughts on teams, but there were a handful of instances where my preseason thoughts didn’t quite align with what happened on the court. Overall, it was a great week of hoops, with battles between Baylor and Gonzaga, UNC and Kansas, and Auburn and Houston highlighting the first few slates. Week Two will bring us the Champions Classic on Tuesday night (Michigan State/Kansas and Kentucky/Duke) and a clash on Friday at Mackey Arena between Alabama and Purdue.

#1 Gonzaga (Preseason: #4)

If you fell asleep early on Monday night, you missed the first top 10 matchup of the season and an absolute obliteration in Spokane. The Zags dominated ranked Baylor from start to finish in a 101-63 blowout with five players scoring in double figures. I watched all 40 minutes of this one and even in a blowout it was extremely exciting, with the Zags seemingly scoring every possession and Joe Few providing everyone a laugh at about 2:00 a.m. ET when he was the victim of a posterizing dunk from VJ Edgecombe. They followed that up with a home victory Sunday afternoon against Arizona State, although that one took all 40 minutes and was an all-out battle with Bobby Hurley’s squad. In my eyes though, it’s hard to value the basketball we’ve seen played so far and not put the Zags at #1.

#2 Auburn (PS: #5)

Another team to pick up a top 10 win, Auburn toppled Houston at the Toyota Center in one of the best college basketball games we’ll see all year. Freshman point guard Tahaad Pettiford was the story Saturday night, scoring 21 points and hitting tough shot after tough shot. Johni Broome filled the stat sheet against the Cougars as well, finishing with 20 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks. This team also dominated Vermont 94-43 earlier in the week in a game that showed the offensive capabilities this team has along with their defensive prowess. In between the wins was a fight on a plane fiasco, but I’ll just assume you’ve all heard enough about that already.

#3 Kansas (PS: #2)

“How did you move Kansas down after they beat UNC?” is probably the question you’re asking me right now, but the most honest response I can give you is the fact that I was just extremely impressed by Gonzaga and Auburn. The Jayhawks started the season off with a dominant victory over Howard and then compounded that with a thrilling win over UNC in one of the best atmospheres you’ll see in college basketball this season. Kansas blew a 20-point lead in that one, but Zeke Mayo and Hunter Dickinson did the heavy lifting to get this team back and front and close out a ranked win.

#4 Alabama (PS: #3)

Once again, a case of “I was simply more impressed with other teams”, Alabama drops one spot to four for me. The Crimson Tide beat down on UNC-Asheville on opening night, but Sun Belt favorites Arkansas State provided a good test on Friday night. The Tide struggled mightily from three in that one, shooting just 6-31 from behind the arc, but still found a way to get it down. Their visit to Mackey Arena on Friday should give us a better idea of how both Alabama and Purdue will look this season.

#5 Houston (PS: #1)

My preseason number one team, Houston, went 1-1 on opening week, opening with a dominant win over Jackson State followed by the loss to Auburn. Obviously, I still think this is an elite team, but when you match up with a team that plays defense just as strong and physical as you, you need to separate yourself on the offensive side of the floor. That’s where the Cougars came up short in week one, but I think as Milos Uzan gets comfortable and LJ Cryer and Emanuel Sharp evolve as scorers, this team gets even better. It’s hard not to mention J’Wan Roberts as well, who will prove to be one of the 20 best players in the sport this season with his impact on both sides of the ball.

#6 Duke (PS: #7)

I’ve only got to see highlights thus far, but the way it looks is that Duke is as good as advertised. On opening night, the boys from Cooper Flagg’s home state, Maine, came down and received a 96-62 beatdown. The Blue Devils followed that win with a just as dominant showing against Army, winning 100-58. Freshman Kon Knueppel was the leading scorer in both matchups, scoring 22 against Maine and 15 against Army. Knueppel and Flagg should only continue to grow as freshmen, and this is a team that should be peaking in March.

#7 Tennessee (PS: #9)

Tennessee began the season 2-0 as well, handling Gardner-Webb 80-64 on opening night and then picking up a big road win at Louisville on Saturday. Zakai Zeigler struggled with turnovers in the 77-55 win over the Cardinals, but his overall ability to create for his teammates is what could make this Volunteers team special. We already knew this team would be elite defensively, but with the transfers brought in, this offense could be elite as well.

#8 UConn (PS: #11)

There wasn’t much to complain about in UConn’s opening games, taking down Sacred Heart 92-56 and New Hampshire 92-53. Leading returner Alex Karaban has gotten off to a great start to the year, averaging 18.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 5.5 apg, and 5.5 bpg through the opening week. We’ll have to wait for Feast Week to really judge how UConn will fare this season, as they’ll meet Memphis in round one of the Maui Invitational on November 25th.

#9 Iowa State (PS: #6)

Iowa State was in action just once over the first week of the season, handling Mississippi Valley State 83-44. Obviously not a very good gauge of where this team stands when playing against lower competition, but star guards Tamin Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert both put up good numbers which should be a sign of things to come. Also headed to Maui, the Cyclones will match up with Auburn on November 25th in their first real test.

#10 Arizona (PS: #8)

Arizona began the season with two blowout victories over the past seven days, taking down Canisius 93-64 and Old Dominion 102-44. Leading by 30+ for large portions of both games, we’ve mainly seen balanced attacks by the Wildcats, but Tobe Awaka’s 18-point, 15-rebound performance against Old Dominion excites the prospect of this Arizona frontcourt core for me. The Wildcats visit the Kohl Center for a battle with Wisconsin this Friday for their first power conference matchup.

#11 Texas Tech (PS: #13)

One of the teams I was much higher on than the consensus heading into the year, Texas Tech, was another squad that spent week one warming up against lower tier competition. The Red Raiders defeated Bethune-Cookman and Northwestern State, led by New Mexico transfer JT Toppin, who shot 18-23 from the field in the first two games and averaged 22 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3 blocks on the week. On November 21st, the Red Raiders will take on St. Joseph’s in what should be a pretty exciting matchup, facing off against elite guard Erik Reynolds II.

#12 UNC (PS: #16)

North Carolina went 1-1 on the week, but overall, I was still impressed with their performance, especially the fight they showed in the second half while trailing at Allen Fieldhouse. To begin the week, the Tar Heels struggled with Elon, but RJ Davis turned up in the final minutes to lead the Tar Heels to a 90-76 win. In the game at AFH, the Heels fell 92-89, but the performances by Elliot Cadeau and Seth Trimble should be positives to take away headed into the rest of the season.

#13 Xavier (PS: #10)

I’m slightly retracting my preseason hype for Xavier, but I still think this team starts to click, sooner rather than later. The Musketeers defeated Texas Southern 78-69 and IU Indianapolis (formerly IUPUI) 94-80, but neither win was particularly convincing. Indiana State transfer Ryan Conwell scored 21 and 19 in the contests, going 8-16 from three on the week. His impact next to returner Dayvion McKnight (18 ppg, 5 apg) gives this team two dynamic offensive options in the backcourt, and McKnight’s playmaking ability cam take a jump with Conwell to play off of. Wake Forest heads to the Cintas Center in a game that should catch headlines on Saturday.

#14 Purdue (PS: #18)

Purdue grabbed two double-digit wins in week one, taking down Texas A&M CC 90-73 and Northern Kentucky 72-50 behind big games from Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer. Braden Smith’ scoring hasn’t shown to be leveled up yet, but his playmaking even without Zach Edey is absolutely elite. Smith dished out 22 assists in the first two games, including 15 against Corpus Christi. The Boilermakers host Alabama on Friday, and this is when we’ll find out who they truly are.

#15 St. John’s (PS: #19)

St. John’s impressed me through their first two games, taking down Fordham 92-60 and Quinnipiac 96-73. The Red Storm faced a similar script in both games, starting out a bit slow, but blew the games open, especially in the second half. RJ Luis showed out against Quinnipiac, putting up 24 points and 13 rebounds, and consistency from Luis levels up this backcourt once more. Rick Pitino’s squad will match up with his son Richard’s New Mexico Lobos next Sunday at MSG for a true early season test.

#16 Oregon (PS: #17)

Oregon is another team I haven’t been able to catch in action yet this season, but the Ducks have handled business against two very quality mid-major teams. Kwame Evans Jr. was a guy I thought could break out for the Ducks this season, and he started off the year on the right foot with a 23-point outing against UC Riverside. Oregon’s first power conference tests will come the weekend of November 26th, taking part in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.

#17 Baylor (PS: #14)

Scott Drew’s side had the toughest week one schedule of any team in the country and weathered the storm after getting obliterated by Baylor on opening night. At this point, you’ve likely heard enough of the 101-63 loss, so we’ll focus on the positives coming in their 72-67 win over Arkansas in Dallas. Baylor’s zone defense gave the Razorbacks all sorts of problems and offensively the Bears took great care of the ball. The next week of action won’t bring quite as tough of tests, but both St. John’s and UConn remain on the Bears’ non-conference schedule.

#18 Ohio State (PS: UR)

One of the positive surprises on opening night, Jake Diebler’s Ohio State squad looked well put together already. Experienced guard Bruce Thornton was set to be the guy this season, showing out with 20 points in the win against Texas, but newcomers Micah Parrish and John Mobley Jr. were pleasant surprises offensively. Parrish finished with 17 in his first game transferring in from San Diego State, while Mobley lit up the arena with a couple of deep threes to finish with 14 in his first collegiate contest.

#19 Illinois (PS: #22)

Illinois faced off against two in-state opponents in week one, handling both with ease. Will Riley scored 31 in the 112-67 win over Eastern Illinois, while Tomislav Ivisic led the Illini with 18 in the 90-58 triumph over SIUE. The first big test for Brad Underwood’s nearly entire new squad will come in Brimingham on November 20th against Alabama.

#20 Cincinnati (PS: #23)

Cincinnati dominated both of their buy games as well in the opening week, defeating UAPB 109-54 to open the season and following that up with an 83-56 victory over Morehead State. The Bearcats have a relatively light slate over the course of the first month of the season, but I’m excited to see how they matchup with in-state rivals Xavier and Dayton in mid-December.

#21 Michigan State (PS: #24)

All eyes will be on Michigan State this week as they head to Atlanta for the Champions Classic and a matchup with Kansas on Tuesday night. They haven’t had too much to discuss yet this season, picking up easy wins over Monmouth and Niagara, but perhaps the 20-point eruption from Jaxon Kohler against Niagara points to a consistent frontcourt option for the Spartans.

#22 Kentucky (PS: UR)

Kentucky began the Mark Pope era with a bang this week, notching 100 points in wins over Wright State and Bucknell. The Wildcats get an opportunity for their first marquee win of the season in the Champions Classic on Tuesday night against Duke. I have yet to tune into a game, but I’ll be sure to be locked in for the battle against Duke. Kerr Kriisa’s playful shot in an interview towards the hype surrounding Cooper Flagg should feed into the energy going into that one.

#23 Creighton (PS: #21)

Creighton got to 2-0 on the week, but it wasn’t necessarily pretty, especially Wednesday against UTRGV. Ryan Kalkbrenner had the best performance of the young season with 49 points on 22 shots, but the Bluejays’ defense was virtually non-existent for the entirety of that one. The Bluejays have a couple more buy games to heat up the defense before non-conference matchups with Nebraska, San Diego State, Texas A&M, and Kansas.

#24 Florida (PS: UR)

There’s some controversy floating around the Florida program surrounding head coach Todd Golden, but I’ll leave my thoughts on that in a separate place. The Gators battled past South Florida on opening night in Jacksonville and then took down Jacksonville University 81-60. The Gators’ first big test will come in the ESPN Events Invitational on November 28th against Wake Forest.

#25 New Mexico (PS: UR)

There was speculation this New Mexico team would take a step back following the departures of Jaelen House, Jamal Mashburn Jr., and JT Toppin, but this Lobos’ squad has already shown it could be even better. Opening night against Nicholls was perhaps a bit too close for comfort, but the duo of Donovan Dent and Nelly Junior Joseph showed out in a win over UCLA in Henderson. Dent finished with 17 points and eight assists while Joseph notched his 45th career double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.