Men's college basketball tiers: Ranking 76 teams on NCAA tournament potential - ESPN

In November, we attempted to sort through the layers of a college basketball landscape that includes 364 Division I teams. From national title contenders (the Kansas Jayhawks, Alabama Crimson Tide and UConn Huskies) to potential Cinderellas (the McNeese Cowboys and Bradley Braves, among others) and sleepers, Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf ranked 99 teams into 12 tiers.

Some of those early presumptions still seem valid, but so much has changed over the first two months of the 2024-25 season. Not one of those national title contenders remains in that tier — and instead, a couple of SEC squads have taken their place, as the leaders of the strongest conference in the country right now.

With just more than two months remaining before the NCAA tournament, it felt like a good time to revisit our rankings. This is a snapshot of the current hierarchy in college basketball — but just like last time, the following lists are subject to change.

Jump to:
The locks | Final Four contenders | Tourney threats | Potential game winners | Dangerous bubble teams | Too soon to tell | Comeback hopefuls | Two outliers | Cinderellas

Auburn Tigers
Iowa State Cyclones
Duke Blue Devils

Through two months of the season, it feels as if these three teams have separated themselves. They all rank in the top five of most efficiency-based metrics, and they've all notched wins to prove their worth: Auburn over Iowa State and Houston; Iowa State over Marquette; Duke over Auburn. Houston could make a case based on metrics, but we're still waiting for the Cougars to notch a marquee win before putting them with this quartet.

Auburn has been incredibly dominant, setting metrics records for the midway point of the season. The Tigers beat Houston, they beat Iowa