ROTHSTEIN 45: Week 8

Updated: Sep 10, 5:00pm UTC

This week’s Rothstein 45 is now live!

Check out our rankings below:

1. Purdue: Buy stock in Trey Kaufman-Renn.

2. UConn: Got 23 points off the bench against Georgetown.

3. Houston: Should rip through the American Athletic Conference.

4. Kansas: Has emerged — again — as the favorite in the Big 12.

5. Texas: 3-0 under Rodney Terry.

6. Arizona: Tommy Lloyd is 45-5 as a Division 1 head coach.

7. Gonzaga: Nolan Hickman continues to emerge as a floor general.

8. Alabama: Jahvon Quinerly still seems far from 100 percent.

9. Tennessee: Josiah-Jordan James has only appeared in five games due to injury.

10. Arkansas: Will begin SEC play without Nick Smith Jr. (knee).

11. Virginia: Only averaging 60.5 points in its last four games.

12. Baylor: Adam Flagler and LJ Cryer remind me of Tweety Carter and LaceDarius Dunn in 2009-10.

13. UCLA: Jaylen Clark is averaging 19 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.5 steals over his last four games.

14. Miami: On an eight-game winning streak.

15. Kentucky: Will make a jump in January.

16. TCU: Undefeated at full strength.

17. Wisconsin: Steven Crowl is leading the Badgers in assists (3.5).

18. Indiana: Jalen Hood-Schifino controls the ceiling.

19. Duke: Jeremy Roach had five turnovers against Wake Forest.

20. Mississippi State: Opens SEC play against Alabama and Tennessee.

21. Maryland: Julian Reese needs to get healthy.

22. Illinois: Terrence Shannon Jr. is 1-13 from three-point range in his last three games.

23. Auburn: Tre Donaldson had seven assists and just one turnover against Washington.

24. Marquette: Let one slip away at Providence.

25. Charleston: Made 14 three-point shots against Coastal Carolina.

26. Ohio State: Incredibly balanced.

27. Iowa State: Has held seven of its 11 opponents to 60 points or fewer.

28. Xavier: Colby Jones has 20 assists and just two turnovers in his last three games.

29. North Carolina: 6-1 in games where Leaky Black scores seven or more points.

30. Memphis: UIC transfer Damaria Franklin has 25 points in three games.

31. West Virginia: Haven’t truly helped or hurt themselves yet.

32. Missouri: Moved the needle against Illinois.

33. New Mexico: 12-0.

34. Michigan State: Joey Hauser is averaging 19 points in his last two games.

35. San Diego State: Will begin Mountain West play on Wednesday against Air Force.

36. Creighton: 8-3 with Ryan Kalkbrenner in the lineup.

37. Texas Tech: Freshman guard Pop Isaacs is a gem.

38. Virginia Tech: Stubbed its toe at Boston College.

39. Arizona State: San Francisco ruined Bobby Hurley’s Christmas.

40. Iowa: The home loss to Eastern Illinois was an abomination.

41. Penn State: Jalen Pickett is the best guard in the Big Ten.

42. Kansas State: Nae’Qwan Tomlin is a problem.

43. Rutgers: Elite defensively.

44. Saint Mary’s: One of six WCC teams with at least 10 wins.

45. UNLV: EJ Harkless is averaging 19 points in his last three games.

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.