Though it seems there's a lot of parity across college basketball this season, all of the major conferences have standout teams that are either undefeated or have a single loss:
- Michigan State, 9-0 in the Big Ten
- Houston, 8-0 in the Big Twelve
- Duke, 10-0 in the ACC
- Auburn, 6-0 in the SEC
- Marquette and St. John's, both 9-1 in the Big East
Most of these teams, however, have played the much easier part of their conference slate and the road is about to get harder.
Michigan State (9-0 Big Ten, 18-2 overall)
The Spartans have a gaudy record after winning 13 straight games. But let's look at who they have beaten in the Kenpom Top 25:
Pre-conference season: No one
Conference play: #10 Illinois, 80-78 at home
So it's no surprise that they've played the easier part of their Big Ten schedule. The hard games are extremely back-loaded, too: six of their final seven foes are Kenpom Top 25: @#11 Illinois, #7 Purdue, @#20 Michigan, @#21 Maryland, #17 Wisconsin, #20 Michigan.
The Spartans will probably be in control when that stretch starts, but by the end?
Houston (8-0 in Big 12, 16-3 overall)
The Houston Cougars are playing great, up to #2 in Kenpom and Strength. But until they beat Kansas in double overtime, they really didn't have any great wins. They lost to Auburn, Alabama, and San Diego State in the pre-conference season, and the best team they beat was #80 Notre Dame.
So far in the Big 12 they've had 1 win over top 30 teams: #9 Kansas. (They also beat #31 BYU, to be fair).
How many top 30 teams left to play in the next 11 games? #12 Texas Tech, #26 Baylor, @#16 Arizona, #5 Iowa State, @#12 Texas Tech, #9 Kansas, and @#26 Baylor.
So one down and seven to go for the Cougars.
Duke (10-0 in the ACC, 18-2 overall)
Unlike the other teams, Duke has a few solid pre-conference wins: #1 Auburn and #16 Arizona. And in ACC play so far, they've beaten four teams in the top 75: #24 Louisville, #49 SMU, #34 Pitt, and #75 Wake Forest.
They have six more in the 2nd half of the ACC season, which is not exceptionally imbalanced. But they also face #11 Illinois in New York, their toughest opponent since Auburn!
So it doesn't look like Duke's ACC dominance is at risk, but their schedule is going to be harder over the 5 weeks than it was the 5 previous weeks, that's for sure.
Auburn (6-0 in the SEC, 18-1 overall)
The Tigers are the clear #1 team in the country and their résumé is unasailable: wins over #2 Houston, #5 Iowa State, and #7 Purdue in the pre-conference season, and wins in the SEC over four top-40 teams.
But they're only 6 games into an 18-game SEC schedule, so they've just got more sheer work to go than the other conference leaders. And it's tough work, too, compared to any other conference. The Tigers have seven games left against Kenpom top 25 opponents: #22 Ole Miss (road and home), #4 Florida, #8 Alabama (road and home), #19 Kentucky (road), #18 Texas A&M (road)
If Auburn remains #1 they'll definitely have earned it.
Marquette (9-1 Big East, 18-3 overall)
St. John's (9-1 Big East, 18-3 overall)
The Big East has co-leaders as of 1/30/2025, and both have moderately tougher roads ahead.
Marquette has faced three top 50 teams in Big East play (going 2-1) and has 5 left.
St. John's has faced three top 50 teams (going 2-1) and has 5 left.
So both have a tougher path, but equivalent to each other. What's the difference over the next 10 games?
The answer is, the teams haven't played each other, and they do twice before the end of the season. They meet at St. John's next Tuesday (Feb. 4), and again on Saturday March 8.
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