Baylor leads combined men’s and women’s college basketball rankings
With less than a month remaining before NCAA brackets are revealed in both men’s and women’s basketball, it’s time to examine which schools are doing it best in both realms. The Baylor Bears and Lady Bears are both in position to make major noise in March, with a fighting chance to become the first school to win national titles in both versions of the game since UConn did it in 2014.
Which other schools made our updated list?
Previous rank: 4
Rankings: AP No. 1 (men), AP No. 2 (women)
Men: Baylor has been arguably the best team in men’s college basketball for more than a month, since a double-digit win at Kansas. The Bears have one of the elite defenses in college basketball and maybe the best perimeter group in the country, led by All-American candidate Jared Butler. They host Kansas this weekend in what could be the biggest game of the season so far. A win there probably would seal up the Big 12 regular-season title for Baylor. — Jeff Borzello
Women: Baylor keeps chugging along in a Big 12 Conference it has dominated for much of the past decade. The Lady Bears are seeking their third consecutive perfect record in the league, and fifth overall. On Tuesday, Baylor beat Texas Tech for Kim Mulkey’s 600th career victory. The Lady Bears have a balanced offensive attack, led by sophomore NaLyssa Smith, and one of the country’s best defenses, led by senior Lauren Cox. At this point, as long as they stay healthy, they’re likely to head into the NCAA tournament with just one loss — which was in November on a neutral court to current No. 1-ranked team South Carolina, and Cox was out because of injury. — Mechelle Voepel
Previous rank: 3
Rankings: AP No. 7 (men), AP No. 7 (women)
Men: The Big Ten is a mess right now. Seven teams entered the league’s Tuesday night slate sporting records of 8-6 or better. But Maryland has been the exception within the chaos, enjoying the most consistent run in the league. The Terps extended their winning streak to eight games with a thrilling 67-60 win at Michigan State on Saturday, and extended it by outlasting Northwestern on Tuesday. It hasn’t always been pretty for Mark Turgeon’s squad. The Terps have won three Big Ten games by two points or fewer. But Jalen Smith and Anthony Cowan Jr., have powered a program that is playing some of the best defense in the country. — Myron Medcalf
Women: This might be the deepest version of the Big Ten we’ve seen in some years, but Maryland is making the regular-season race look distinctly familiar. The Terps hit their stride at the right time, beating Iowa, Northwestern and Indiana twice during an 11-game winning streak. Their scoring margin in Big Ten play is almost equal to the second- and third-best teams combined. And while we’re still talking about a balanced offense, Kaila Charles is putting up numbers more and more commensurate with the preseason All-American talk that surrounded her. — Graham Hays
Previous rank: 6
Rankings: AP No. 2 (men), AP No. 13 (women)
Men: Gonzaga shed the mid-major label over a decade ago. The Bulldogs have been a major player in college basketball for years under Mark Few, and the 2016-17 run to the national title game solidified its status as a premier program. This season’s group has displayed dominant moments similar to those manufactured by that national runner-up squad. The Bulldogs beat rival Saint Mary’s by 30 points on Feb. 8. They beat a good BYU team by 23 points this season. This Gonzaga team is built to make a run to Atlanta and win a national title. — Myron Medcalf
Women: Even as it runs away with the WCC, Gonzaga still has everything to play for. No mid-major team has hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament since the format reverted to the top 16 seeds hosting those games in 2016. Even after a recent loss at Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga is still in position to change that if it avoids any further setbacks. But as was the case a year ago, injuries threaten to derail something special. The team’s second-leading scorer, senior Katie Campbell, will miss the rest of the season because of a knee injury. — Graham Hays
Previous rank: 1
Rankings: AP No. 11 (men), AP No. 5 (women)
Men: After putting themselves in line for an ACC regular-season title and a clear 2-seed in the NCAA tournament, the Cardinals slipped up at Georgia Tech and Clemson. Jordan Nwora, one of the best scorers in the sport, had a combined seven points on 11 shots in the two losses. Louisville isn’t out of the ACC title hunt just yet, though. One of the bright spots over the past month for the Cardinals has been the emergence of freshman guard David Johnson, who provides Chris Mack with a playmaker at the point of attack. — Jeff Borzello
Women: The Cardinals’ two losses in February — to Florida State and Syracuse — dropped them from the No. 1 seed line but came with the caveat that starter Elizabeth Balogun was out. She was overseas helping the Nigerian national team earn an Olympic berth. With her back in the lineup, the Cardinals upset NC State and clobbered Notre Dame, and regained much of the ground they had lost. A very good defensive team, Louisville has had to spread out its point production more after losing Asia Durr, the No. 2 pick in the 2019 WNBA draft. But they’ve had success with that, especially with the play of guards Dana Evans and Jazmine Jones. — Mechelle Voepel
Previous rank: 2
Rankings: AP No. 14 (men), AP No. 3 (women)
Men: Entering the season, Dana Altman’s program seemed like the clear front-runner to win the Pac-12 crown. But the league has been more competitive than most anticipated with six teams entering Tuesday’s conference schedule with records of 8-5 or better. But good news for Oregon: The Ducks will end their conference slate with three home games and N’Faly Dante, who hasn’t played since mid-January, could return soon to boost the program’s frontcourt depth. — Myron Medcalf
Women: Since suffering a stunning loss to Arizona State on Jan. 10, the Ducks have rattled off 12 straight wins and look every bit the Final Four team that was projected in the preseason. By every meaningful measurement, Oregon has the best offense in the country, and the defense is now the best in the Pac-12. Sabrina Ionescu, who is closing in on becoming the first player, male or female, with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,000 assists in a career, makes it all work, but Ruthy Hebard and Satou Sabally would be No. 1 options on almost any other team. Beating Stanford for a second time this season on Monday probably would sew up a No. 1 seed. — Charlie Creme
Previous rank: 5
Rankings: AP No. 10 (men), AP No. 14 (women)
Men: Is Kentucky finally living up to its preseason No. 2 ranking? The Wildcats aren’t quite that high in the polls (checking in at No. 10 currently), but the team that shocked everyone by losing at home to Evansville in November is definitely looking much better in February. The emergence of Nick Richards as one of the nation’s best all-around big men has been a key catalyst for a rotation that defends, takes care of the ball and even connects on its (rare) 3-point attempts. Tyrese Maxey has been excellent inside the arc as a freshman (particularly in SEC play), and Ashton Hagans blends disruption on defense with outstanding accuracy from the line on offense. UK is peaking at a good time. — John Gasaway
Women: The Wildcats have one bad loss — to Florida on Feb. 2 — but that was without leading scorer Rhyne Howard (fractured finger) in the lineup. She returned Feb. 9 against Arkansas but didn’t look 100 percent despite scoring 20 points, and the Razorbacks won 103-85. Kentucky bounced back from that with one of its best wins of the season, against Mississippi State on Sunday, in which Howard had 26 points and 10 rebounds. The Wildcats still have a rematch left with visiting South Carolina on Feb. 23; the Gamecocks won 99-72 in Columbia, South Carolina, on Jan. 2. But as one of four teams tied for third in the SEC at 8-4, Kentucky has a chance to be one of the top four seeds in the league tournament. — Mechelle Voepel
Previous rank: T7
Rankings: AP No. 8 (men), AP No. 17 (women)
Men: Leonard Hamilton just finds a way to get it done every season in Tallahassee. The Seminoles have depth and length, as usual, plus two blossoming game-changers in Devin Vassell and Patrick Williams. Vassell has come out of nowhere to become a likely first-round pick, and the freshman Williams is starting to live up to the preseason hype. Florida State has made it out of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament each of the past two seasons; the Seminoles are favored to do it again. — Jeff Borzello
Women: The Seminoles have been one of the harder teams to get a read on this season. They started 13-0, then lost a heartbreaker to Syracuse on an overtime buzzer-beater: a perfectly executed inbounds play with six-tenths of a second left. It seemed to take some confidence away from the Seminoles, and started a stretch where they have gone 7-5. Florida State is coming off a tough 66-64 loss at Duke on Sunday, but three of the Seminoles’ remaining four games are against teams in the bottom part of the ACC. So they still have a good shot at being a top-four seed in the league tournament, as they’re currently in a three-way tie for third at 9-5 with Duke and Virginia Tech, who face each other on Feb. 27. Florida State is led by three seniors — Kiah Gillespie, Nicki Ekhomu and Nausia Woolfolk — who will be playing with a definite sense of urgency in these final weeks of the regular season. — Mechelle Voepel
Previous rank: 9
Rankings: AP No. 24 (men), AP No. 11 (women)
Men: The metrics like Arizona a lot more than the Wildcats’ traditional résumé would appear, but this team has as high a ceiling as anyone. Nico Mannion and Josh Green form a talented backcourt, and fellow freshman Zeke Nnaji has been a breakout performer this season. One of the keys, however, has been Stone Gettings. Since inserting the former Cornell transfer into the starting lineup, Arizona is 7-2. — Jeff Borzello
Women: The Wildcats have used the confidence gained from last season’s WNIT championship run and a somewhat easy nonconference schedule to exceed expectations. A three-game losing streak when things got a little more difficult in early January didn’t derail Arizona, and now a top-four Pac-12 finish looks likely. The combination of coach Adia Barnes and junor guard Aari McDonald, who would be a favorite for conference player of the year if she didn’t play in the same league as Sabrina Ionescu, have transformed this program. Arizona is a lock to reach its first NCAA tournament since 2005. — Charlie Creme
Previous rank: Unranked
Rankings: AP No. 20 (men), AP No. 20 (women)
Men: Luka Garza might win national player of the year honors and, even if he does not, the takeaway for Iowa fans is that they have a star who’s dominant enough to raise that question. The junior has been tearing up the Big Ten, and his performance has shown no signs of dropping off when the Hawkeyes play on the road. Garza is the cornerstone of an Iowa offense that nevertheless receives significant additional contributions from Joe Wieskamp. Defense is not this group’s strong suit, but the Hawkeyes can score with anyone. — John Gasaway
Women: Iowa turned a lot of heads when it beat Maryland in early January. It will have to hope it can keep that attention after getting routed in the rematch against the Terrapins. That 34-point setback was Iowa’s second loss this season by 20-plus points. Even if it was an expected win, it was still good to see Iowa bounce back against Wisconsin this past weekend. Kathleen Doyle put up 22 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds in that game to keep her Big Ten player of the year candidacy on stable footing. — Graham Hays
Previous rank: Unranked
Bracketology seeds: No. 2 (men), No. 9 (women)
Men: This isn’t the most breathtaking team that Duke has had under Coach K and the team doesn’t have a transcendent star like Zion Williamson. But the Blue Devils are clearly national title contenders. They have quality wins over Kansas and Florida State. And they haven’t lost a game since Jan. 18. Sure, the jokes about the Stephen F. Austin loss will persist. But that’s a weird blip on a great season. With Cassius Stanley and Vernon Carey Jr., a Wooden Award candidate, on the floor together, Duke has made 56% of its shots inside the arc, per hooplens.com. — Myron Medcalf
Women: The Blue Devils looked well on their way to a second consecutive season missing the NCAA tournament, going 15-15 last season. On Jan. 9, they were 7-8, having lost five in a row and coming off a dispiriting 66-63 defeat at Virginia in which they surrendered a late 12-0 run to the Cavaliers. But that was rock bottom, and the Blue Devils have been climbing since. They’ve won eight of their past 10, including an upset of then-No. 14 Florida State on Sunday, and might have played their way back into the NCAA tournament. They have a rematch with Virginia this week, and they should be favored, but the last three games — versus NC State, Virginia Tech and North Carolina — could be challenging. If they maintain their momentum, it will complete a big turnaround, and seniors Haley Gorecki and Leaonna Odom deserve a lot of the credit. — Mechelle Voepel
Previous rank: Unranked
Bracketology seeds: No. 4 (men), No. 9 (women)
Men: Somehow the word still is not getting out about this Creighton offense, but scoring this prolific and shooting this accurate can’t stay (relatively) unnoticed for long. The Bluejays have easily the Big East’s best offense in conference play, and Greg McDermott is working wonders with three versatile performers who are (almost) always on the floor. Marcus Zegarowski, Ty-Shon Alexander and Mitch Ballock are hitting their shots and sharing the ball. There is no one Doug McDermott-level star, but maybe there doesn’t need to be one. — John Gasaway
Women: The Bluejays were good enough to withstand four games without senior star Jaylyn Agnew (concussion) and are the only Big East team to beat league leader DePaul. Agnew, who is second in the conference at 19.7 points per game, is now back. She scored 28 points against Seton Hall over the weekend and leads a veteran team that starts two seniors and a pair of juniors who all average double-figure scoring. With a manageable schedule the rest of the way, Creighton has a chance to get to second place in the conference but is already well situated for the postseason. — Charlie Creme
Previous rank: 12
Bracketology seeds: No. 6 (men), No. 7 (women)
Men: Like rival Michigan, Ohio State has bounced back from a poor January performance. The Buckeyes have won five of six and have reestablished themselves as a potential top-25 team and threat to win a couple of games in March. Remember, this is a team that pummeled Villanova and Penn State, and beat Kentucky in the first half of the season. The offense revolves around Kaleb Wesson, who draws attention from defenses and then finds shooters on the perimeter. — Jeff Borzello
Women: The Buckeyes already surpassed last season’s win total, a season in which the bottom fell out following Kelsey Mitchell’s departure to the WNBA. A victory this past weekend at Indiana, added to a résumé that already included a win against Louisville, should give Ohio State at least a little breathing room when it comes to the postseason bubble. While leading scorer Dorka Juhasz barely cracks the Big Ten’s top 20 in points per game, eight Ohio State players average between 7.3 PPG and 12.8 PPG. — Graham Hays
Previous rank: Unranked
Bracketology seeds: No. 2 (men), No. 13 (women)
Men: Dayton isn’t going anywhere, folks. The Flyers continue to dominate the competition, winning 15 in a row after Tuesday night’s victory at VCU. Obi Toppin has established himself as one of the clear favorites for the Wooden Award, and could be a top-10 pick in June’s NBA draft. Toppin and point guard Jalen Crutcher spearhead one of the nation’s best offenses, which has been transformed under Anthony Grant this season. — Jeff Borzello
Women: Dayton paid the price for a difficult nonconference schedule, absorbing big defeats against the likes of UConn and South Carolina. But the Flyers now look like the case study for why that sort of schedule is a worthwhile investment. Unbeaten in conference play, they need one win in their final four games to earn the Atlantic 10 regular-season title outright. All of that despite not having a player among the top five in scoring, rebounding or assists in the league. The bad news is even 16-0 in the conference would leave them in very shaky at-large territory for the NCAA tournament. — Graham Hays
Previous rank: 20
Bracketology seeds: No. 8 (men), No. 7 (women)
Men: Off-court uncertainty persists in a men’s program that, less than a year ago, suspended the head coach “indefinitely” as a result of an FBI investigation. But Will Wade returned, and, in on-court terms, this team is definitely a threat in March. The Tigers just get more chances to score than their opponents, thanks to the low-turnover ball handling of Skylar Mays and Javonte Smart, and the offensive rebounding of Darius Days and Emmitt Williams. — John Gasaway
Women: The Tigers suffered a huge loss when an ACL injury in a Feb. 2 game against Texas A&M ended senior forward Ayana Mitchell’s college career. LSU still won that game, and also beat Missouri and Tennessee in the next two. But Mitchell’s absence might have caught up with LSU in a loss Sunday to Auburn, and next up is South Carolina. Even if the Tigers drop that as expected, they have winnable games remaining against Georgia, Vanderbilt and Arkansas. They’re currently in that four-way tie for third with Arkansas, Texas A&M and Kentucky, so LSU has its fate in its hands in terms of getting one of the top four seeds in the SEC tournament. A lot is now riding on the shoulders of juniors Khayla Pointer and Faustine Aifuwa. — Mechelle Voepel
Previous rank: Unranked
Bracketology seeds: No. 5 (men), No. 11 (women)
Men: The Golden Eagles appear poised to return to the NCAA tournament, with Wooden Award candidate and the nation’s leading scorer Markus Howard powering a team that has a chance to finish top-four in the rugged Big East Conference. The next step for Marquette will be positioning itself with a seed that helps it win come March. Sixth-year head coach Steve Wojciechowski is seeking his first career NCAA tournament win in what will be his third trip to the Big Dance. — ESPN staff
Women: With the departure of five starters and a head coach, this was supposed to be a rebuilding season for the Golden Eagles. Someone forgot to tell new coach Megan Duffy. Marquette has won eight of its past nine games and sits alone in second place in the Big East. Junior guard Selena Lott has capitalized on her larger role by more than doubling her scoring average (team-high 14.7 PPG) while shooting at a higher percentage (52.1%). They won’t catch DePaul for the Big East regular-season title, but second place and an NCAA tournament berth are the Golden Eagles’ to lose. — Charlie Creme
Previous rank: Unranked
Bracketology seeds: No. 11 (men), No. 6 (women)
Men: Well, this is a surprise. The men’s team in Tempe was an afterthought entering Feb. 3-4 in the Pac-12 and, seemingly, going nowhere. Since that time, however, Bobby Hurley’s group has played its way into contention for an NCAA tournament bid. Remy Martin and Alonzo Verge Jr. form one of D-I’s more interesting scoring duos, with Verge coming off the bench yet averaging 26 minutes and 14 points. ASU plays at far and away the Pac-12’s fastest tempo and likes to rush opposing offenses into turnovers.— John Gasaway
Women: No one on the roster averages 12 points or has made 50 3-pointers or has over 100 assists, yet the ever-balanced Sun Devils are all alone in fifth place in the best conference in the country and on their way to a seventh consecutive NCAA tournament. Coach Charli Turner Thorne wouldn’t have it any other way. Arizona State is a collective and has been for a long time. A few early stumbles were erased by the wins over Oregon and Oregon State in a three-day span in mid-January; those victories have been the bedrock of ASU’s season. — Charlie Creme
Previous rank: T7
Bracketology seeds: No. 7 (men), No. 10 (women)
Men: First-year head coach Juwan Howard and the Wolverines have stabilized after a midseason malaise, winning five of their past six games, including Sunday’s 24-point win over Indiana. The big key is junior Isaiah Livers, who has been dealing with nagging injuries since late December. Michigan is 11-3 in games Livers has played in full, and just 5-6 with him out or hampered. — Jeff Borzello
Women: The Wolverines still have work to do, but few teams made better use of February. Consecutive wins this month against Iowa, Purdue and Minnesota might be the difference between the WNIT and NCAA. The problem is Michigan is starting to run short of healthy bodies. Already missing double-digit scorer Kayla Robbins with a season-ending ACL injury, the Wolverines had to make do with leading scorer Naz Hillmon (upper body injury) at less than full strength the past two games — both losses. Unfortunately, there is still time to lose the ground gained. — Graham Hays
Previous rank: Unranked
Bracketology seeds: No. 8 (men), No. 10 (women)
Men: Rutgers men’s basketball used to be a punch line of sorts, and fans of other Big Ten programs were not always thrilled that the Scarlet Knights had joined the conference. No one’s second-guessing that invitation now, however, as Steve Pikiell has the program in position for its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1991. Those Big Ten programs that used to look askance at Rutgers now find it exceptionally difficult to score against the likes of Myles Johnson, Ron Harper Jr. and Akwasi Yeboah. On offense, the Knights score most of their points inside the arc, where Johnson, Harper, Caleb McConnell and reserve Jacob Young are both relentless and mutually supporting. — John Gasaway
Women: The Scarlet Knights treat Piscataway like their fortress, losing only twice all season at home. They are 24-4 there over the past two seasons (compared to 16-13 elsewhere). They play three of their final four regular-season games at home, so conditions look favorable for a second consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament. It’s no coincidence that Arella Guirantes was around for both seasons. The Texas Tech transfer still has an outside shot at leading the Big Ten in scoring, something missing from the Rutgers ledger since it joined the league. — Graham Hays
Previous rank: T14th
Bracketology seeds: No. 10 (men), No. 10 (women)
Men: One year after coming within a second or two of the Final Four, Purdue is forcing turnovers at an exceptionally high rate and getting big production in occasionally small doses from Trevion Williams. The sophomore averages a mere 21 minutes, but dominates the boards at both ends of the floor and becomes the focal point of the Boilermakers’ offense. Matt Painter’s team looks to be in fairly good — if not rock-solid — shape for a sixth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. — John Gasaway
Women: Purdue is hanging on for now. The Boilermakers don’t have a truly significant résumé win since the calendar turned to 2020, taking care of business against the bottom half of the Big Ten but still counting a December win at Ohio State as their best conference result. It’s the kind of team that could really use a nice moment in the conference tournament — or even next week at Maryland — to breathe easier. Ae’Rianna Harris, Karissa McLaughlin and Dominique Oden account for 64% of the team’s points in Big Ten play, up from 54% out of conference. — Graham Hays
Previous rank: Unranked
Bracketology seeds: No. 13 (men), No. 15 (women)
Men: Since its Nov. 26 road win at Duke, Stephen F. Austin has suffered losses to only Alabama and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. It is also a terrifying defensive team that has forced turnovers on 28.6% of their opponents’ possessions, the top mark in America. The Lumberjacks have also made 39% of their 3-pointers, also a top-10 mark. Duke didn’t lose to a regular underdog. It lost to, perhaps, the most dangerous mid-major program entering the NCAA tournament. — Myron Medcalf
Women: The Southland Conference is only sending one team to the NCAA tournament, and Stephen F. Austin’s status as the front-runner is tenuous. The Ladyjacks are in first place, but one game separates the top three teams. That matters because the top two finishers in the regular season receive byes into the conference tournament semifinals. That said, Stephen F. Austin has earned its status. Not only does it lead the league with a plus-17.8 scoring margin, it is one of only four teams in the 13-team conference with a positive scoring margin. — Graham Hays
Previous rank: Unranked
Bracketology seeds: No. 16 (men), No. 15 (women)
Men: Robert Morris is actually a game behind Merrimack in the Northeast Conference standings, but Merrimack is transitioning into Division I so the Warriors are ineligible for the NCAA tournament. Robert Morris had won six in a row before losing over the weekend to Fairleigh Dickinson. Despite being just 39, Andy Toole is a battle-tested coach, winning an NCAA tournament game in 2015 and owning two league titles. The Colonials are a balanced group led by AJ Bramah and former Akron transfer Josh Williams. — Jeff Borzello
Women: Robert Morris has the unfortunate distinction of possessing the lowest RPI among teams still unbeaten in conference play. In fact, it is the only such team outside the RPI top 100. The silver lining is that the Northeast Conference is the rare league that still determines tournament hosting duties by regular-season finish. The Colonials will have the opportunity to play themselves into the NCAA tournament at home. Even more than the men’s team, the women are the product of international scouting. Rotation players come from Canada, England, Finland, Japan and Spain. — Graham Hays
Previous rank: T14th
Bracketology seeds: First Four Out (men), No. 3 (women)
Men: The Bulldogs are going to have to win some games and, possibly, catch some breaks to make the field of 68 for a second consecutive year. With about a third of the conference season yet to be played, it looks as if it could go either way for an MSU team that relies on a big three of Reggie Perry, Nick Weatherspoon and Tyson Carter (with Carter coming off the bench since mid-January). Ben Howland’s team started SEC play 0-3, but this group has played its way into tournament contention thanks in part to outworking opponents on both the offensive and defensive glass. — John Gasaway
Women: The Bulldogs lost a lot to graduation, especially with center Teaira McCowan, but this is a program that has proven its ability to reload pretty quickly. They’re coming off a frustrating loss at Kentucky on Sunday, but Mississippi State is still 10-2 and in second place in the SEC. If they can finish with victories against Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas and Ole Miss — they’ll be favored in all of those games — they’ll head into the SEC tournament primed for another possible showdown with South Carolina. Post players Rickea Jackson, a freshman, and Jessika Carter, a sophomore, are a strong duo inside who keep improving game by game. — Mechelle Voepel
Previous rank: T17th
Bracketology seeds: No. 3 (men), First Four Out (women)
Men: If he didn’t have to go through Baylor and Kansas, arguably the top two teams in America, Bob Huggins wouldn’t have had a 6-6 Big 12 record entering Tuesday’s game against Oklahoma State (a 65-47 WVU win). West Virginia’s 3-4 in its past seven games is deceptive because three of those losses were against Baylor, Kansas and Texas Tech. But the Mountaineers are America’s top offensive rebounding team and one of its best defensive teams too. — Myron Medcalf
Women: The Mountaineers are trying to avoid missing the NCAA tournament for the third season in a row; they’ve played in the WNIT the past two. They have some work to do at 15-9 overall and 5-8 in the Big 12. Baylor, Iowa State and TCU are among their five regular-season games left, and victories against any of those teams would help, along with a win or two in the Big 12 tournament. Scoring is West Virginia’s biggest issue. The Mountaineers are second in the Big 12 in defense but last in offense. — Mechelle Voepel
Previous rank: 13
Bracketology seeds: First Four Out (men), No. 5 (women)
Men: The Hoosiers couldn’t extend the momentum generated by Bob Knight’s return on Feb. 8 after a 20-year absence stemming from his rift with the university, losing to rival Purdue that day. It was part of a 1-5 stretch over the past six games. They entered the week with a 6-8 record in Big Ten play and fading hopes of an NCAA tournament run, as the criticism of Archie Miller from fans has reached unprecedented levels. — Myron Medcalf
Women: Indiana’s home loss against Ohio State this past weekend remains its only loss this season against a team that isn’t currently ranked. That’s impressive consistency. Unfortunately, even that lone slip looks costly in the pursuit of a top-4 seed in the NCAA tournament and a chance to host postseason games at Assembly Hall. One cause for concern amid the momentum swings of March: While near the top nationally in overall field goal percentage, Indiana barely cracks the top 250 in 3-point percentage. Only UCLA is worse among top contenders. — Graham Hays
Previous rank: T14th
Bracketology seeds: Next Four Out (men), No. 2 (women)
Men: Stanford started the season with ambitious dreams after winning their first four Pac-12 games. But a nosedive ensued after that. The Cardinal are just 1-7 since that tremendous start, falling to the bottom of what seemed like a winnable league. They’ve made just 68% of their free throws in league play. — Myron Medcalf
Women: Whether they’re exploding for their highest offensive output in a conference game in nine years (a 97-64 road win over Utah on Feb. 14) or winning on a buzzer-beater, the Cardinal have won eight of their past nine games since getting routed by Oregon on national TV on Jan. 16. Kiana Williams has been carrying the bulk of the load; she scored 29 points and hit a winning 40-foot 3-pointer on the road to lift Stanford to a 69-66 victory over Colorado on Feb. 16. The junior guard averages a team-high 13.8 points but has been on a tear this month, with 19.6 PPG over five February games.
Stanford sits in sole possession of second place in the Pac-12, but just one game ahead of UCLA, the last team to beat the Cardinal. And things only get tougher. Stanford hosts Oregon State (Friday) and Oregon (Big Monday, ESPN2/ESPN App, 9 p.m. ET) this weekend before closing out the Pac-12 season with an Arizona swing. And we’re still waiting to see if Haley Jones (knee injury) comes back this season. — ESPN Staff
Dropped out: Michigan State (No. 10), Tennessee (No. 11), Arkansas (t14th), NC State (t14th) DePaul (t17th), North Carolina (No. 19), Iowa State (No. 21), South Dakota (No. 22), Colgate (No. 23), Texas Southern (No. 24)