Top 25 player rankings: Big Ten leads way with eight players on updated men’s list

Welcome to our updated rankings of the top 25 players in men’s college basketball. We last conducted this exercise in the preseason, and much has changed since then.

In fact, it might be more accurate to say everything has changed.

True, players such as Kofi Cockburn, Chet Holmgren, E.J. Liddell and a few others are still listed in the same vicinity as where they were found before. But, for the most part, this latest top 25 represents a complete makeover.

The season has demanded a makeover in our understanding of the game’s top performers, starting at the very top. Even as player evaluations become more precise, and even as the top 10 or so high school recruits yet again become the top 10 or so draft picks a year later, we can still be surprised by the performances we see in college basketball.

Think of this update as a tribute to the power of surprise. Here are the top 25 players of 2021-22 so far: