We're trending toward an awfully familiar situation at the top of the 2022 recruiting class rankings: Kentucky and Duke finishing at No. 1 and No. 2.
Arkansas looked set to crash the party earlier this fall after landing top-10 prospects Nick Smith and Jordan Walsh in a three-week span. Eric Musselman's Razorbacks jumped Kentucky, which was No. 2 at the time, and closed the gap on top-ranked Duke.
Kentucky hit back with top-10 prospect Cason Wallace, the No. 2-ranked point guard in the class. With Wallace in the fold, Kentucky vaulted past Duke and Arkansas to move to No. 1. Shaedon Sharpe remains in the 2022 class for now, although what happens once he enrolls at Kentucky after the first semester remains to be seen.
The biggest riser since our last class rankings update was Alabama, which went from outside the top 25 to inside the top five, at No. 4 overall. The Crimson Tide had five-star Jaden Bradley -- the No. 1 point guard in the country -- in the fold entering November, then closed in a major way. Five-star forward Brandon Miller committed, followed by ESPN 100 frontcourt pieces Noah Clowney and Rylan Griffen. Junior college transfer Nick Pringle also pledged to Nate Oats' program.
Kansas adding Ernest Udeh to its top-five class and UCLA signing five-star Adem Bona were enough to keep it within striking distance of the top tier.
With only nine ESPN 100 prospects still uncommitted -- including zero five-stars -- it's unlikely we're going to see much movement in the winter and spring. But there are some things to watch: