RotoWire.com used follower counts from Instagram and X to create a social media hype power ranking system for college basketball teams' official accounts. We ranked teams based on percentage growth week-over-week on the platforms, following their previous game. Check out reliable reviews of sports betting apps at RotoWire.com as well.
College Basketball Social Media Power Rankings
Rank | Team | Social Media Growth |
1 |
| 1.670% |
2 |
| 1.484% |
3 |
| 1.215% |
4 |
| 0.904% |
5 |
| 0.852% |
6 |
| 0.716% |
7 |
| 0.676% |
8 |
| 0.628% |
9 |
| 0.613% |
10 |
| 0.611% |
11 |
| 0.476% |
12 |
| 0.474% |
13 |
| 0.428% |
14 |
| 0.427% |
15 |
| 0.420% |
Davidson Wildcats (↑102)
Tulane Green Wave (↑99)
Saint Louis Billikens (↑8)
Seton Hall Pirates (↓1)
Georgia Bulldogs (↓3)
North Texas Mean Green (↑1)
California Golden Bears (↑7)
Virginia Tech Hokies (↑10)
Oklahoma Sooners (↑92)
BYU Cougars (↓11)
Stanford Cardinal (↑36)
Michigan Wolverines (↓6)
Air Force Falcons (↑104)Check our college basketball betting page for more coverage and for odds updates all season.
Which NCAA Men's Basketball Teams Gained the Most Ground Online?
The nation's leading team on social media this week is Andy Enfield's 
SMU Mustangs squad, which started ACC play with a 97-83 upset win at home against 12th-ranked North Carolina on Saturday. That win not only got SMU ranked in the Associated Press poll this week at No. 24, but the Mustangs landed the top spot in our metrics, with 1.670% more followers online.
SMU (12-2 overall, 1-0 ACC) earned its first victory over a ranked opponent this year. The Mustangs lost their only other ranked showdown to No. 17 Vanderbilt (88-69) on Dec. 3. At Caesars Sportsbook, SMU has +3000 odds to win the ACC as of Jan. 6.
Trailing SMU this week on social media were Davidson (+1.484%), Nebraska (+1.215%), Tulane (+0.904%) and Saint Louis (+0.852%). All of them picked up victories over the past seven days.
In Davidson's case, the Wildcats rebounded from an Atlantic 10 opening game loss to Duquesne (89-83 in double OT) by beating Saint Joseph's, 62-56, Saturday in Philadelphia to snap a three-game skid.
Fred Hoiberg's 
Cornhuskers continued their historic start.
Nebraska (15-0) defeated then-No. 9 Michigan State (58-56) and unranked Ohio State (72-69) to improve to 4-0 in Big Ten play. The Huskers, ranked No. 10 this week, have +2000 odds at FanDuel Sportsbook to win the league title.
Tulane opened American Conference play with wins over East Carolina (79-70) and FAU (69-66), improving to 11-4 overall. The Billikens opened A-10 play with a 102-79 homecourt triumph on New Year's Eve against Saint Joseph's. Saint Louis (13-1) has won seven in a row ahead of Wednesday's road trip to Richmond to play VCU.
Who Else Gained Ground?
Teams rounding out our top 10 in social media engagement metrics were Seton Hall (+0.716%), Georgia (+0.676%), North Texas (+0.628%), California (+0.613%) and Virginia Tech (+0.611%).
Throw in the final five – Oklahoma (+0.476%), BYU (+0.474%), Stanford (+0.428%), Michigan (+0.427%) and Air Force (+0.420%) – to capture this week's top 15 in full, as conference play heats up across the hardwoods of America in the new year.
Check out college basketball futures odds all season to see which teams are hot.
Q&A
Q: Which college basketball team dominated social media growth this week?
A: The SMU Mustangs dominated social media growth this week, ranking first with a 1.670% increase, well ahead of the rest of the field.
Q: Were there any surprising teams in the Top 5?
A: Yes, there were surprising teams in the Top 5, notably Davidson and Tulane, both of which made massive jumps in rank (↑102 and ↑99 spots, respectively), signaling unexpected spikes in fan engagement.
