Tennessee, Oklahoma soar in new Power 36 rankings for men’s college basketball

As the 2023 men’s college basketball season continues, jaw-dropping moments and must-see matchups have altered the rankings of top teams. Andy Katz returns with his Power 36 rankings and previews, entering Week 6 of college basketball.

Power 36:

1. Arizona (1): The Wildcats destroyed Wisconsin and looked every bit the part of a title contender.
2. Kansas (2): The Jayhawks took down their rival Missouri and are back on track.
3. UConn (3): The Huskies used their second gear to excel past North Carolina in New York.
4. Purdue (4): The Boilermakers had a strong bounce-back week by beating Iowa at home and Alabama in Toronto.
5. Baylor (5): The Bears are getting no love nationally. This is a legit title contender as well.
6. Houston (6): The Big 12 is loaded with the Cougars as a threat as well.
7. Clemson (8): The Tigers are looking like the team to beat in the ACC after wins over South Carolina at home and TCU in Toronto.
8. Marquette (10): The Golden Eagles are primed to be UConn’s top challenger in the Big East.
9. Oklahoma (20): Yes, the Sooners are playing like a top-10 team right now. They are undefeated after a strong week, pounding Providence at home and beating Arkansas in Tulsa.
10. North Carolina (7): No shame in losing to UConn in the Garden.
11. Creighton (13): The loss to Colorado State in Kansas City seems to be more of an outlier than the norm.
12. Tennessee (33): The Vols looked like the team that beat Wisconsin earlier in the season. The hangover of a struggling trip to Honolulu seems to be gone. They ran past Illinois to reset their season.
13. Illinois (16): The Illini beat FAU in New York City but then ended the week with a late second-half drop at Tennessee. Overall, a solid 2-1 three-game road sweep that started with a win at Rutgers.
14. Colorado State (12): The Rams lost their first game of the season to Saint Mary’s, but it came with a depleted roster due to injuries.
15. FAU (9): The Owls lost to Illinois at MSG. The effort and the scoring were there, but the defense needs to tighten going forward.
16. Texas (11): The Longhorns have played a tough slate and the two losses are to two of the best teams in the country UConn in NYC and at Marquette.
17. James Madison (17): The undefeated Dukes opened the Sun Belt with a road win at Old Dominion.
18. Kentucky (25): The Wildcats got the win over Penn by finding another level in the second half in Philadelphia.
19. Gonzaga (15): The Zags had a late-game loss at Washington. They will get the toughest test since the Maui Invitational opener against Purdue when they play UConn on Friday in Seattle.
20. Ole Miss (23): Chris Beard has the Rebels rolling and still undefeated after a win at UCF on Sunday.
21. Virginia (22): The Cavs have won four in a row and are back to where they belong — a real contender in the ACC.
22. Duke (30): The Blue Devils are not healthy, but managed to run away from Charlotte.
23. Auburn (32): The Tigers crushed Indiana and are starting to…