ROTHSTEIN 45: Week 2

This week’s Rothstein 45 is now live!

Check out our rankings below:

1. North Carolina: Pete Nance is only averaging 6.5 points in his first two games.

2. Gonzaga: Showed incredible resolve against Michigan State. 

3. Creighton: Appointment television.

4. Houston: Jarace Walker was dominant in the Veterans Classic against St. Joe’s.

5. Kentucky: Oscar Tshiebwe’s health remains a major question.

6. UCLA: Jaylen Clark is a problem.

7. Duke: Will have its first test on Tuesday in the Champions Classic against Kansas. 

8. Baylor: Keyonte George is special.

9. Kansas: Who plays center?

10. TCU: Not the same team without Damion Baugh.

11. Texas: Can make a major statement against Gonzaga on Wednesday.

12. Indiana: Friday’s game at Xavier will be a litmus test. 

13. San Diego State: Jaedon LeDee is the real deal.

14. Michigan State: Outplayed Gonzaga for the majority of 40 minutes. 

15. Arkansas: Will Nick Smith (knee) play in next week’s Maui Invitational?

16. Tennessee: Was completely out of sync against Colorado. 

17. Auburn: 10 players are averaging double figure minutes.

18. Villanova: Lost to Temple for the first time since 2012. 

19. Purdue: Hosts Marquette on Tuesday in the Gavitt Games. 

20. Xavier: There’s not many frontcourt combinations better than Zach Freemantle and Jack Nunge. 

21. Texas A&M: Buy stock in Wade Taylor IV.

22. Arizona: Has tallied 54 assists on 68 made field goals in its first two games. 

23. Virginia: Shooting 48 percent from three-point range as a team. 

24. UConn: Has to get healthy before the PK85. 

25. Michigan: Hunter Dickinson is averaging 26.5 points and 9.5 rebounds.

26. Alabama: Made a statement against Liberty.

27. Western Kentucky: Luke Frampton is 11-13 from three-point range. 

28. Miami: Norchad Omier is averaging 13 rebounds.

29. Oregon: Friday’s loss to UC Irvine was one of the worst losses of the Dana Altman era.  

30. Seton Hall: Will get a test from Iowa on Wednesday in Newark.


31. Saint Louis: Yuri Collins has 27 assists and just five turnovers through two games. 

32. Dayton: Will visit UNLV on Tuesday. 

33. Ohio State: Brice Sensabaugh is a star. 

34. Texas Tech: 31 assists and 32 turnovers through two games. 

35. Illinois: Baylor transfer Dain Dainja is averaging a double-double.

36. Virginia Tech: Mike Young coaches offense as well as anyone in the sport.

37. USC: Playing for the first time in years without a dominant big man. 

38. Notre Dame: Freshman J.J. Starling was huge down the stretch against Youngstown State.

39. St. John’s: Joel Soriano is making an impact on the glass. 

40. Florida: Kyle Lofton only has one turnover in 47 minutes. 

41. Providence: Will play one game outside of New England before Dec. 17th.

42. Wisconsin: Tyler Wahl looks like one of the best players in the Big Ten.

43. Wyoming: Hanging on for dear life without Graham Ike.

44. Iowa: Buy stock in Payton Sandfort. 

45. Marquette: This feels like one of Shaka Smart’s teams from VCU.

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.