For most of the season, the goal of these power rankings has been to combine an evaluation of a team’s performance in the moment with its resume to date. I’m often reluctant to be too reactive to any single result, erring toward a team’s total body of work.
But for the last power rankings as the final check-in before Selection Sunday, the only thing that really matters is how a team is playing right now. This week’s top 25 is a ranking of who I trust the most heading into the NCAA Tournament, without as much consideration for record or seedings.
Dropped out: Maryland (15), Alabama (17), Richmond (22), Michigan State (23), Louisville (25)
Tier 1: National title contenders
UCLA, USC, UConn, South Carolina, Texas
Ben Pickman and I had this discussion last week, and at that point, five teams seemed like realistic title contenders. That number still feels right, but UCLA replaces Notre Dame in this tier after the Bruins won the Big Ten tournament. The fear with the Bruins heading into Indianapolis was that they had no-showed their biggest game of the season, continuing a troubling trend. However, when UCLA was faced with adversity yet again against USC, the Bruins showed a newfound resolve. They bounced back from a double-digit second-half deficit and showed themselves to be…
