NCAA Basketball: Tennessee, Baylor, Illinois rise in latest top 25 power rankings

Every passing week draws us closer to the NCAA Tournament. As a result, each passing week is also filled with important results for teams all across the nation. The excitement of March Madness is what fuels the energy in this sports, but 68 teams still have to earn their tickets to the dance and we’re certainly in that period of time where these teams need to be at their best.

Not only have we crossed the halfway point of February, we’re also less than a month away from the Selection Committee revealing this year’s bracket. They’ll be closely watching hundreds of games over these next few weeks, making important decisions based on what they’ve seen from these teams. Game-winning shots, outstanding performances, and thrilling team moments continue to pile in, with every team hoping to better their own standing.

Much of the focus in the nation is on the top teams, though of course there’s plenty of exciting basketball in nearly every facet in this sport. We don’t hear much about the smaller mid-major leagues and we rarely hear the special stories from those teams, at least until they get their chance at the Big Dance. At the same time, our eyes are drawn to leagues like the Big 12 and SEC, both having competitive, thrilling seasons, while the Mountain West continues to be a ridiculously competitive battle as well.

The NCAA Tournament is not today’s focus. Instead, we’re providing the weekly update to our Top 25 rankings, meaning we are in fact focusing on the nation’s top teams of the moment. It’s a list that changes on a weekly basis, meaning some of these teams could well fall apart before March Madness begins. We’re not here to conjecture on the future; we’re just presenting these teams and sharing where they stand after this past week, so let’s get right into it.