NCAA Men's Basketball Power Rankings: Houston surges into the top tier - ESPN

Are we ready to put Houston in the elite tier of college basketball this season?

Auburn and Duke have been staples at the top of our Power Rankings for several weeks, with Iowa State in the mix. And while Tennessee has faded, Alabama and its ultratalented roster is moving up. But Houston also belongs in this discussion.

The Cougars lost three games in November and fell dramatically in the standings, clocking in as low as No. 17 in the Associated Press poll. And because of their schedule, they didn't play any opponent that would move the needle — until Saturday at Kansas, when they surged back from down six points in the final seconds of both regulation and overtime to come out of Allen Fieldhouse with a win, which they followed up with a comfortable victory at West Virginia on Wednesday.

Houston's metrics have maintained a spot in the upper class of teams this season. Even after the three losses, the Cougars didn't fall below No. 5 at KenPom. Now they're No. 1, ahead of both Auburn and Duke. And BartTorvik has them atop his rankings, too.

Sure, the win at Kansas is really the only marquee victory Houston has so far this season, but a 13-game winning streak with 11 double-digit wins over that stretch earns Kelvin Sampson's team a place in the top tier of the sport.

Previous ranking: 1

After entering last weekend as a game-time decision, Johni Broome has played 66 minutes in two games and looks like he never missed any time.

Broome had 16 points, 13 boards and 4 blocks off the bench against Tennessee on Saturday, then put up 26 points (20 in the second half), 16 rebounds and 3 blocks in Wednesday's win over LSU — his ninth 20-10 game this season, tied for the most in Division I. He also became the first Division I player