Top 25 and 1: Duke falls to No. 4 after loss to North Carolina

I usually spend the few hundred words that top each update of the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings on a specific game, team or player. I rarely focus on days.

But what a day that was!

Absolutely incredible.

The first Saturday of February looked good on paper, as Matt Norlander and I discussed on Friday’s episode of the Eye On College Basketball Podcast. But good things on paper don’t always yield results. Sometimes they’re duds. But Saturday was anything but thanks to (among other things) A) North Carolina beat Duke 71-68 on a last-second 3-pointer by Seth Trimble, B) Michigan State beat Illinois 85-82 in overtime thanks to a 26-point, 15-assist effort from Jeremy Fears Jr., C) Houston won at BYU in a game with multiple expected top-10s NBA draft choices, and D) Kentucky continues its turnaround with a 74-71 win over Tennessee that pushes Mark Pope’s Wildcats to 8-1 in their past nine games.

Anatomy of a comeback: How UNC erased a 13-point deficit to stun Duke in a rivalry thriller

Kyle Boone

I could go on, but I’m sure you get what I mean.

If Super Bowl Sunday is just as good as College Basketball Saturday, we’re in for a treat when the Seahawks and Patriots take the court. Regardless, Arizona remains No. 1 in Sunday morning’s updated Top 25 and No. 1 for the 29th day in a row thanks to Saturday’s 84-47 loss to Oklahoma State that dropped the Wildcats to 23-0.

And you know what’s next, right?

Yes, Big Monday should be a televised appointment with top-ranked and undefeated Arizona heading to Allen Fieldhouse to play the projected No. 1 pick of the 2026 NBA Draft (Darryn Peterson) and Kansas. As Rock Chalk Blog noted on XArizona, the first visiting No. 1 team to enter Allen Fieldhouse in the Bill Self Era, will try to become the first opponent to ever beat Self at home in a Big Monday game.

So far, he is 38-0 in such games.

Monday’s tip is set for 9:00 PM ET.

Top 25 and 1 rankings