College Basketball Couch Power 10 (Feb. 9th)

4 days ago
7 min read

The Couch's recognition of the official start of college basketball season starts the same way it always does: with a crushing loss for Duke

Are you down right now? Stuck in the cold grey of these winter months? Have the post-Christmas, approaching-Valentine's blues? Perhaps you're reeling from the fact that future Hall of Famer Drake Maye was practically blown to bits in the Super Bowl last night?

Well, whatever your reason may be, if you're like me, you may need a pick-me-up, and you might find it in the form of the realization that we are 5 WEEKS AWAY from March Madness!!!! That's right, in just about a month, the various conference tournaments give way to the best postseason in American sports.

Real ones will know I do a companion piece for these rankings throughout the college football season that start from the very beginning and go all the way to the end of the season; I love college basketball, too, but I’m never locked in from the start the way I am with college football. The holidays and the long tail of the college football and NFL postseasons often prevent me from tuning into the season with fervor the way I do with college football, until right around now. This time last year, between my favorite soccer team dominating the Premier League and the futility of my favorite college basketball team, the emotional investment didn’t really click until late March, to be honest.

So leave it to a classic game, in the greatest rivalry in the sport, between two of its most historic programs, with a thrilling finish to reignite my passion and interest in the sport this year. Okay, I’m burying the lede a little bit: as a lifelong Tar Heel, it was of particular importance to me when Seth Trimble’s buzzer-beating 3 helped UNC beat evil Duke. As I reported to many, I yelled so hard when it happened, I got lightheaded and almost passed out. But I don’t think it’s a stretch to say probably just about everyone who wasn’t a Duke fan was willing to see the romance in this time-old rivalry delivering yet again, with the underdog team trailing the entire game until the 0.4 second mark, instigating pandemonium and a court rush in one of the sport’s biggest and most famous arenas.

It wasn’t enough to upset the order of operations in the ACC or even on Tobacco Road, as you’ll see shortly. But it was enough to elicit cries of “We are so back!!!”. both from Tar Heel fans, and from fans of the sport craving a reminder of the unpredictability of college basketball after the brutally uninteresting tournament we were “treated” to last year. So here’s to a brighter 2026 than 2025, in all regards! True to form for the world of college sports at large, it's been a wild and unpredictable season. Despite this, I’ll try my hand at ranking the top teams based on what they’ve done to date:

1. Arizona

As I write this, the # 1 Wildcats are in a dogfight in Kansas, so we'll see if the perfect season holds up, but up to his point, there can be little doubt that Tommy Lloyd's Wildcats have been the class of college basketball this season. It's not just that they're unbeaten, it's that they're unbeaten despite playing 6 ranked teams, and more often than not, absolutely blowing the doors of their competition (see: their 37-point win on Saturday, on the road against a decent Oklahoma State team).

2. Michigan

Michigan's performances have looked an awful lot like Arizona's, and the Wolverines would have every right to claiming the top spot were it not for the fact that they've actually lost a game; somewhat shockingly, in fact, to unranked Wisconsin. That sole blemish aside, Dusty May has assembled what a team resembling the Monstars in his 2nd year in Ann Arbor. Michigan has a massive, unstoppable frontcourt, and have earned 10 'quality wins' already, often by annihilating opponents, at one point beating Auburn, Gonzaga and USC by an average (an AVERAGE!!) of 34 points. Recent Big Ten clashes against Nebraska and Michigan State were much more competitive, but still yielded consecutive Top 10 wins for Big Blue. It's hard to see their momentum stopping any time soon.

3. Connecticut

The recent back-to-back national champions and undisputed premier program of the 2020s thus far are once again in the midst of national title conversations, even with their loss at St. John's last week. That defeat stopped a 17-game winning streak, which began after their only loss, an abnormally narrow (4 points, to be exact) victory for Arizona. That stretch also included wins over ranked BYU, Illinois, Kansas, Florida and Seton Hall teams. This loss aside, I'd say Dan Hurley, who knows a thing or two about winning in March, has another real March contender on his hands.

4. Houston

While Auburn and Florida have mostly been stuck in the SEC’s cannibalistic cycle of beating up on each other, the other two teams from last year's "all 1-seed" Final Four look poised to crash the party again. Reigning runners-up Houston's sole stumbles this year have been by a combined 7 points to ranked Tennessee and Texas Tech teams, both away from home. They've counterbalanced that with a win over the same Texas Tech side, as well as Auburn, Arkansas, and BYU, to keep pace with Arizona, Kansas and Iowa State in a loaded Big 12.

5. Duke

UConn's not the only team whose long unbeaten streak ended with a road loss in a big game last week: Duke's 10-game winning run (and unbeaten road record) fell as Seth Trimble's 3-pointer splashed through the net at the buzzer. But, while I will absolutely crow about that Tar Heel victory for the rest of my dadgum life, the fact remains that Duke is a very good team with a very good body of work so far. Their two losses came to two ranked teams by a combined 4 points, and leading a resurgent ACC to go along with non-conference wins over Florida, Michigan State, Kansas, and Arkansas is proof of their capability of going deep again this March.

6. Nebraska

In a year that's seen Indiana win a college football National Championship, might we be in for a Freaky Friday situation with one of their Big Ten conference mates? Nebraska, a football powerhouse in the past, does not exactly have a rich history in basketball, but after a 20-0 start to the season, were one of the biggest headlines in the sport this year. That undefeated start included 7 'quality wins,' including over in-state rivals Creighton and Top 10 conference foes Illinois and Michigan State. The perfect season did end with back-to-back losses in the last week+, but it's hard to even fault them much for those losses. They came on the road by 3 to an often-impenetrable Michigan side, and to an Illinois team they'd already beaten, and both were with multiple starters missing due to injury.

7. Iowa State

Kansas has so consistently dominated the Big 12 over the years, with Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas State up there with them in the past, and Baylor, Houston and Texas Tech the better part of this last decade, and now another huge program Arizona joining the mix last year. Amidst all the big names, it's often easy to forget just how consistently good Iowa State has been over the last 10-15 years as well, and here we are yet again, with the Cyclones quietly entering the last month of the season with a Top 10 pedigree. T.J. Otzelberger's squad absolutely exploded out of the gates, beating Rick Pitino's St. John's in Vegas, dominating Creighton and then annihilating preseason # 1 Purdue by 25 points. Their 16-0 start crashed hard with a big loss on the road to Kansas, followed by a road upset at middling Cincinnati. But Iowa State's recovered well from the solitary blip, winning 5 conference games in a row by an average of 22 points. A defining stretch awaits now, with a tricky road game at TCU tomorrow followed by 3 straight ranked matchups in Kansas, Houston, and BYU.

8. Purdue

Most of the inaugural 2026 Power 10 sees us as pretty in line with the AP and Coaches polls, but we diverge on Purdue, who sits well outside the Top 10 in the real polls. In fairness, trying to rank the tier of 5 very good Big Ten teams gets hard after accounting for Michigan. But the 2024 runners-up and preseason # 1 have played a harder schedule than any other Top 10 team besides the Wolverines, and have as many highlights as lowlights. Yes, there was the monster defeat against Iowa State, as well as the recent 3-game slide, two of those to unranked opponents. But none of their losses have been unforgivable at all, and to go with them, they've notched dominant wins over Alabama, Texas Tech and Auburn. The Boilermakers do need to start making noise in a crowded conference soon, though, and that opportunity will come quickly with a road trip to Nebraska tomorrow, and visits from both Michigan teams in the next week.

9. Michigan State

And speaking of one of those Michigan teams, yes, Sparty is still having a hell of a season themselves, even as their archrivals have stolen the headlines (and the first game of the series) this year. Michigan State was on top after the first month of the season, kicking their non-conference slate off with comfortable wins over Arkansas, Kentucky and North Carolina. A close loss to Duke didn't deter their momentum much, but a tough conference slate did: a New Year's Day loss to Nebraska and a recent two-game slide against Michigan and Minnesota bookended an otherwise 10-0 clip in the Big 10. That said, Saturday's gutsy, wild win over a Top 5 Illinois team showed their championship potential yet again, and the schedule opens up for them considerably the next couple weeks, giving them a chance to rediscover their mojo for a brutal season-ending stretch.

10. Miami (Ohio)

If you've kept up with this piece over the years, you know I love to reserve the # 10 spot for an overachieving mid-major, and the first Power 10 of the year has a perfect candidate to keep the tradition alive: 24-0 Miami of Ohio! Yes, the RedHawks have had a delirious season, with a real shot at being the last unbeaten team in college basketball (Arizona is losing with 3 minutes remaining as I type this), even after playing in-state rivals Akron, who apart from The Biggest Basketball Game In Ohio(tm) are 10-0 in conference and 20-4 overall. Sure, Miami has played the 337th-ranked schedule in America! Sure, several of those wins required late heroics! Sure, they'd probably get spanked by the 11th best team in the Big Ten! Who cares?? 24-0 is a remarkable feat for a school of their stature and with their resources, and they show no signs of slowing down any time soon. Give them their flowers.

Just missed: Illinois, North Carolina, Kansas, Vanderbilt, Saint Louis, eternal legend Seth Trimble