ROTHSTEIN 45: WEEK 18

This week’s Rothstein 45 is now live!

Check out our rankings below:

1. Houston: 29-2.

2. UCLA: Should be the No. 1 seed in the West Region.

3. Alabama: Haven’t been the same team since the Brandon Miller situation emerged.

4. Kansas: Still in play to be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

5. Purdue: Brandon Newman is emerging.

6. Marquette: Averaged 96.5 points in two games this season against St. John’s.

7. Texas: 16-7 under Rodney Terry.

8. Arizona: Still Final Four good.

9. Gonzaga: On a collision course for a rubber match with Saint Mary’s.

10. Miami: 8-1 when Wooga Poplar scores in double figures.

11. UConn: Could play five of its next seven games at Madison Square Garden.

12. Kansas State: Jerome Tang is a National Coach of the Year candidate.

13. Baylor: Was humbled on Saturday by Iowa State.

14. Indiana: The best team this program has had since 2016.

15. Virginia: Tony Bennett has won at least a share of four of the last six ACC regular season titles.

16. Tennessee: The postseason ceiling is lower without Zakai Zeigler at point guard.

17. Xavier: Officially moving forward without Zach Freemantle.

18. Saint Mary’s: Aidan Mahaney could emerge as a March darling.

19. Creighton: The No. 3 seed in this week’s Big East Tournament.

20. Texas A&M: 17-2 in its last 19 games.

21. TCU: Should burn the tape from Saturday’s loss at Oklahoma.

22. San Diego State: Has won three of the last four Mountain West regular season titles under Brian Dutcher.

23. Duke: Has had at least one starter out in seven of their eight losses.

24. Maryland: Will be interesting to monitor on a neutral court.

25. Pitt: Will play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.

26. Kentucky: A nightmare matchup for a 1 or 2 seed in the Round of 32.

27. Providence: Had one of its worst weeks ever under Ed Cooley.

28. Northwestern: Chris Collins is the Big Ten Coach of the Year.

29. Iowa: Could go to the Elite Eight or lose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

30. NC State: Will play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.

31. Illinois: Mercurial.

32. Michigan State: It’s Tom Izzo’s month.

33. Iowa State: Proved on Saturday against Baylor that it’s not dead just yet.

34. Arkansas: Younger and more talented, but not better than the past two seasons.

35. Florida Atlantic: 28-3.

36. Missouri: Dennis Gates has made the Tigers nationally relevant.

37. Memphis: Took Houston to the wire on Sunday at FedEx Forum.

38. USC: Boogie Ellis is playing like an All-American.

39. Rutgers: Trending downward.

40. Boise State: Can’t afford a bad loss at the Mountain West Tournament.

41. West Virginia: Erik Stevenson has been a revelation via the transfer portal.

42. Mississippi State: Has work to do in the SEC Tournament.

43. Oklahoma State: Needs to win at least one game in the Big 12 Tournament.

44. Penn State: Picked up back-to-back wins on the final possession.

45. Nevada: Playing with fire after a pair of losses to Wyoming and UNLV.

Jon Rothstein has been a college basketball insider for CBS Sports since 2010 and a contributor to the CBS Broadcast Network since 2016. He joined FanDuel in 2022 as a Content Creator. Rothstein is also the host of the College Hoops Today Podcast via Compass Media Networks.