Rise and Shine: February Climbers

By Sam Federman

UTRGV MBB

Here are some of the teams that have risen the most in KenPom since 1/25

UTRGV

The Vaqueros are up from 187th to 134th over the last few weeks as Kahlil Fennell's second year is turning into a resounding success. The former Mark Pope BYU assistant has UTRGV on an 8-game winning streak and has won four in a row by double digits. The winning streak started by knocking off McNeese. Vaqueros take on Stephen F. Austin on Saturday.

App State

I've been talking about App State's rise for a while now. From 298 in KenPom on December 3 all the way up to 168, Dustin Kerns has a legit Sun Belt contender behind the league's best defense. Their interior with Luke Wilson and Michael Marcus does an excellent job, while Kasen Jennings and Alonzo Dodd is a great backcourt duo. Mountaineers are winners of seven in a row.

Texas State

Another Sun Belt team that has won five in a row, the Bobcats are up from 284 in KenPom to 245 over the last few weeks. From 4-6 in the conference all the way to 8-6 with a win over Troy on Wednesday.

A FEW FIRST YEAR COACHES NEXT

Samford

Lennie Acuff has had 30 years of success as a head coach, so it's not surprising to see his team start to round into form as March nears. The Bulldogs are up from 257th in KenPom to 215th after a fourth straight win, averaging 83 points per game on the streak.

Fordham

The story you're not hearing enough about in the A-10 is that Mike Magpayo, despite four players leaving the program before December hit, has Fordham at 13-12 and 167th in KenPom. That's a higher KenPom rating than every Fordham team since 2017 except for the one that won 25 games in 2022-23. The Rams have been moving and shaking the A-10 standings with wins over GW and Saint Joseph's.

Sacramento State

I cannot believe that I'm typing this. Mike Bibby has the Hornets playing well. Winners of 5 of the last 8 with the last loss coming by just one to Portland State. It is worth noting that all five wins in that stretch have come at home. Mikey Williams doesn't need to be superhuman for this team, but Prophet Johnson has become that, scoring 29. 30, 27, 26, and 35 in the last five wins.

HIGH-MAJOR TEAMS

Marquette

The Golden Eagles are inching back into the Top 100 race. Usually, Marquette tends to fall off around this time of year, but Shaka Smart's team is playing its best basketball.... which still isn't great! Close losses to Seton Hall and Villanova on the round surround blowout wins over Creighton and Butler. If Nigel James decides to stay at Marquette next year, he'll be an early contender for Big East Player of the Year. Still just 4-10 in the Big East.

Georgetown

Ed Cooley is blessed to have won four of his last five games, including road wins at Providence and Butler.

Florida State

After a disastrous 0-5 ACC start, Florida State has gone 4-2, beating Miami on the road, sweeping the California teams in Tallahassee, and then beating Notre Dame in South Bend. The only two losses are by three points each to SMU and Virginia. Luke Loucks' team is playing better ball, but they're still a long way away from relevance.

LOOKING AT JUST EFFICIENCY MARGIN CHANGE

Florida

The Gators have only gone up six spots in KenPom, but have risen their efficiency margin more than every team in the sport besides UTRGV in this stretch. Florida is the favorite to win the SEC title, sitting at 9-2 in conference play and winning four in a row, all by at least 19 points. Legit national title contender

Central Michigan

Another first year coach, Andy Bronkema, has the Chippewas playing better later in the season, but still has a lot of work to do.

NJIT

In the vacuum that is the 2025-26 America East, NJIT has claimed four straight wins to get to 8-2 and sole possession of first place. The 13 wins already this season is the program's most since 2018-19. The Highlanders went 6-26 in AE play in Grant Billmeier's first two years, but have eclipsed that win total in just ten games. One of the toughest jobs in college basketball. Incredible story on Warren Street.

Houston (and Louisiana)

Houston is being Houston again. No shock that the Cougars have responded well to the Texas Tech loss with five wins in a row. They're allowing just under 60 ppg in that winning streak as well. Meanwhile, former Houston assistant Quannas White has won four games (and 5 out of 6) in a row with Louisiana after a 4-15 start.