College basketball insider Jon Rothstein sees Alabama, Auburn, and Duke in similar rarified air so far during the 2024-25 regular season.

Highland School (Va.) five-star Nate Ament was in Knoxville on Tuesday night. The 6-foot-9, 185-pound forward, a longtime Duke basketball offer holder who now ranks No. 4 overall on the 247Sports 2025 Composite, watched the visiting No. 12-ranked Kentucky Wildcats defeat the No. 8 Tennessee Volunteers, 78-73.

Duke, Auburn, and Alabama lead championship odds with strong potential. Despite setbacks, missing the Final Four could disappoint given their depth and talent.

The buzz around Khaman Maluach entering college centered on his 7-foot-2 size, incredible wingspan and ability to block shots. While he's been a deterrent for opponents around the rim -- Duke ranks second in 2-point defense nationally -- Maluach is also starting to come on as a consistent offensive piece.

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UConn and Kansas opened the 2024-25 season as the teams with the best odds of winning the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Those two programs were followed by Duke, Alabama, Houston to round out the top five. UConn currently has the 17th-shortest odds (45-1) to win the tournament,

Texas Tech made its Top 25 season debut at No. 22 after beating Cincinnati and Oklahoma State to run its Big 12 winning streak to four games. Vanderbilt entered the poll at No. 24 for the first time since Dec. 7, 2015, as the women's team also cracked the poll this week for the first time since 2014.

Alabama coach Nate Oats sent a message with the benching of star Mark Sears. Here's what Oats said of his decision to bench Sears vs. LSU:

Despite Iowa State ’s 64-57 loss at then-unranked West Virginia, the Cyclones moved down just one spot. While Alabama, Florida and Tennessee stayed put, Michigan State (16-2) and Houston (14-3) made significant jumps.

Plus, the 6-foot-9, 185-pound five-star, sitting No. 4 overall on the 247Sports 2025 Composite, is set to return to Duke for the Blue Devils' home bout against the archrival UNC Tar Heels on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPN).

No. 2 Duke moved up a spot after winning both of its games last week and swapped places with No. 3 Iowa State, which blew out No. 12 Kansas but lost to No. 23 West Virginia. Alabama and Florida rounded out the top five despite each losing a game last week.

Between mounting pressure, coaching changes and roster turnover, these college football teams cannot be ignored.