MY NEW COLLEGE BASKETBALL POWER RANKINGS

KENTUCKY IS ON THE MOVE AGAIN

Stop me if you've heard this before: There are very few teams in the rankings playing better than Kentucky right now.

The Wildcats notched their fifth consecutive victory Tuesday, hammering Mississippi State. That comes on the heels of an impressive road win at Auburn over the weekend. The loss to Duke in the season opener seems like ages ago, and the only two losses since then are away from home, against Seton Hall and Alabama by a combined three points.

Ashton Hagans was clearly a catalyst for Kentucky's midseason turnaround, but the maturation of freshman Tyler Herro into a blossoming go-to guy on the perimeter has been huge. PJ Washington, who was tremendous Tuesday, has been an impact player at both ends of the floor. John Calipari has had to sift through different players from his bench, but he's getting improved play from Nick Richards lately as well. An athletic shot-blocker and rebounder who can score on put backs is the perfect complement to the physicality and experience of Reid Travis.

At this point, the SEC feels like a Tennessee vs. Kentucky battle -- and the first round of that bout takes place in Lexington on Feb. 16.

Could all this come to an end for Kentucky this weekend against Kansas? Sure, but it's clear the Wildcats are heading in the right direction at the right time.

Four teams had a chance to be ranked No. 1 at some point in the past week. Duke started the week in that spot but relinquished it after a home loss to Syracuse. Michigan replaced the Blue Devils at No. 1 but dropped after a loss to Wisconsin on Saturday. Tennessee moved up for the time being but likely would have been jumped had Virginia defeated Duke. Of course, that didn't happen, and the Vols remain at No. 1.

But the top four from last week are still the same, just in a different order. So what differentiates them right now?

Tennessee, Virginia and Michigan each have one loss, but the Volunteers have the most impressive victory of the bunch: a neutral-court victory over Gonzaga. Their nonconference schedule was also significantly better than either the Cavaliers' or Wolverines'. All three have similar records against Quadrant 1 opponents, although Virginia is starting to stack up a long list of good wins (Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Maryland, and Florida State). Virginia is No. 1 in BPI and strength of record, as well as on KenPom.

How does Duke fit in? The Blue Devils are, qualitatively, the most talented team in the country, and have the highest ceiling of anyone. They just beat Virginia without starting point guard Tre Jones. They already own wins against Texas Tech, Kentucky, Florida State, Auburn, Indiana and Clemson. Having two losses keeps them a slight notch below Tennessee for now, though.

Interestingly enough, all of the top three teams -- Tennessee, Duke, Virginia -- have somewhat softer schedules over the next few weeks, so the pecking order could remain unchanged ... for the time being.

1. TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS (17-1)  Previous ranking: 2 This week: Beat Vanderbilt 88-83 (OT) on Wednesday, vs. West Virginia (Saturday, 4 p.m. ET on ESPN)

The Volunteers' time at No. 1 was nearly short-lived, as they needed a late comeback in regulation to force overtime and eventually pull it out against Vanderbilt. Grant Williams had one of the best individual performances of anyone in the country this season, finishing with 43 points, eight rebounds and four blocks -- including a 23-for-23 effort from the free-throw line.

2. DUKE BLUE DEVILS (16-2)  Previous ranking: 3 This week: Beat Pittsburgh 79-64 on Tuesday, vs. Georgia Tech (Saturday, noon ET on ACC Network)

Tre Jones missed his second game in a row Tuesday, but Mike Krzyzewski took down Pittsburgh and his protégé, Jeff Capel. The Blue Devils' stars have taken up the playmaking mantle with Jones sidelined, as Zion Williamson dished out seven assists, while RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish combined for another seven. Worth noting: Duke's bench didn't make a single shot Tuesday.

3. VIRGINIA CAVALIERS (17-1)  Previous ranking: 4 This week: Beat Wake Forest 68-45 on Tuesday, at Notre Dame (Saturday, 1 p.m. ET on CBS)

Virginia bounced back from its first loss of the season with a vintage defensive effort. The Cavaliers held Wake Forest to 45 points and under 31 percent from the field -- with the Demon Deacons scoring just 0.74 points per possession. After allowing more than 1 point per possession in their previous two games, Coach Tony Bennett will be much happier with that performance.

4. MICHIGAN WOLVERINES (18-1)  Previous ranking: 3 This week: Beat Minnesota 59-57 on Tuesday, at Indiana (Friday, 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1)

Did it leave his hand? Was it still in his hand? The referees counted Charles Matthews' winning basket against Minnesota on Tuesday, giving Michigan a bounce-back victory after its first loss of the season Saturday. The Wolverines head on the road for three of their next four games and four of their next six. A combined 10 points on 4-for-13 shooting from Matthews and Poole might not get it done next time.

5. GONZAGA BULLDOGS (19-2)  Previous ranking: 5 This week: Beat Santa Clara 98-39 on Thursday

Gonzaga fell two points short of its biggest margin of victory this season, beating Santa Clara by "only" 59 points on Thursday night. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, that margin ties the largest margin of victory in a conference game in the past 10 seasons. In a somewhat unusual side note, all 53 of Gonzaga's first-half points came from its starters.

6. MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS (18-2) Previous ranking: 6 This week: Beat Maryland 69-55 on Monday, beat Iowa 82-67 on Thursday, at Purdue (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET on CBS)

Michigan State might be the hottest team in college basketball right now. The Spartans are nearing the end of a stretch that saw them play five road games in a seven-game span, and they've handled it with aplomb. On Thursday night, they beat Iowa by 15 on the road, three days after beating Maryland by 14 at home. Purdue in West Lafayette awaits Michigan State on Sunday.

7. KANSAS JAYHAWKS (16-3)  Previous ranking: 9 This week: Beat Iowa State 80-76 on Monday, at Kentucky (Saturday, 6 p.m. ET on ESPN)

After Kansas' four-point victory Monday night over Iowa State, the Jayhawks now have not won a game by double digits since December -- and have won only three games by double digits since November. Dedric Lawson once again carried Kansas on Monday, adding to his Wooden Award candidacy: 29 points, 15 rebounds. That was his 13th double-double of the season.

8. KENTUCKY WILDCATS (15-3)  Previous ranking: 9 This week: Beat Mississippi State 76-55 on Tuesday, vs. Kansas (Saturday, 6 p.m. ET on ESPN)

And here comes Kentucky. The Wildcats handled Mississippi State with ease Tuesday, for their fifth win in a row. PJ Washington made it a point in the offseason to work on his face-up game, and he had his best day from the perimeter since mid-November. Washington made three 3-pointers, while also scoring 21 points, grabbing six rebounds and blocking four shots.

9. NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS (15-4)  Previous ranking: 10 This week: Beat Virginia Tech 103-82 on Monday

North Carolina received a monster performance from its two stud freshmen Monday night, as Coby White and Nassir Little combined for 50 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists in arguably the Tar Heels' most impressive outing of the season. While White's stat line stood out more, Little emerging as a consistent contributor will dictate how deep the Tar Heels can go in March.

10. NEVADA WOLF PACK (19-1)  Previous ranking: 11 This week: Beat Colorado State 100-60 on Wednesday.

Another dominant second-half performance for Nevada in a blowout win over Colorado State. Jordan Caroline was the star for the Wolf Pack, but Porter continued to be an X factor for Eric Musselman. The biggest positive for Nevada was its perimeter performance. The Wolf Pack were shooting 27.6 percent from behind the arc in Mountain West play before Wednesday; they went 13-for-27 against Colorado State.

11. HOUSTON COUGARS (19-1)  Previous ranking: 12 This week: Beat East Carolina 94-50 on Wednesday, at Tulsa (Sunday, 2 p.m. ET on ESPNEWS)

After a handful of closer-than-expected games, Houston took care of business easily on Wednesday night. The Cougars had their best offensive performance since the season opener against Alabama A&M and their second-best defensive performance of the season, only behind a December game against Coppin State. That adds up to a 44-point win.

12. VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (15-3)  Previous ranking: 14 This week: Lost to North Carolina 103-82 on Monday, vs. Syracuse (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET on ESPN)

Through the nonconference portion of the season and the start of ACC play, Virginia Tech's improvement on the defensive end of the floor was the highlight of its 14-1 start. In the past three games, though, the Hokies have allowed 255 points on 200 possessions. Granted, two of those contests were against Virginia and North Carolina, but they allowed the Cavaliers and Tar Heels to make a combined 29 3-pointers. That's simply not good enough

13. MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES (17-3)
Previous ranking: 15 This week: Beat DePaul 79-69 on Wednesday, at Xavier (Saturday, 2 p.m. ET on FS1)

Markus Howard hadn't been all that productive in his career against DePaul heading into Wednesday. As a sophomore, he totaled just 23 points in three games against the Blue Demons; as a freshman, it was 22 points in two games. He erased those demons (no pun intended) on Wednesday, finishing with 23 points and nine assists in a 10-point win.

14. LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (14-5) Previous ranking: Unranked This week: Beat NC State 84-77 on Thursday, vs. Pittsburgh (Saturday, 2 p.m. ET, ACC Network)

NC State generally beats teams by forcing turnovers and getting out to score in transition. On Thursday, Louisville forced the Wolfpack into 23 turnovers en route to the Cardinals' fourth straight win. Malik Williams is continuing to become more of a factor since moving into the starting lineup five games ago. He has totaled 27 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in his past two games.

15. MARYLAND TERRAPINS (16-4) Previous ranking: Unranked This week: Lost at Michigan State 69-55 on Monday, vs. Illinois in New York (Saturday, noon ET, BTN)

We probably should have moved them in the rankings after last week, as the Terrapins' résumé is impressive right now. They're 8-4 against Quadrant 1 and 2 opponents, including wins over Wisconsin, Nebraska, Indiana and Ohio State. Their computer numbers are also solid. They need to get through the next two games before a brutal five-game stretch: at Wisconsin, at Nebraska, vs. Purdue, at Michigan, at Iowa.

16. BUFFALO BULLS (17-2) Previous ranking: 11 This week: Lost to Northern Illinois 77-75 on Tuesday, at Kent State (Friday, 6:30 p.m. ET on CBSSN)

Buffalo began its stretch of five road games in a seven-game span with a last-second loss to Northern Illinois on a layup with 0.6 seconds remaining. It's just the Bulls' second loss of the season and first in MAC play -- but it also begins to minimize their margin for error. We're still a long way from Buffalo bubble talk, but the Bulls need to take care of business away from home.

DROPPED OUT: Texas Tech (No. 13), Iowa State (No. 16)