Which Men’s College Basketball Teams Gained the Most Followers This Week?

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. Also check out reliable reviews of sports betting apps at RotoWire.com any time.

College Basketball Social Media Power Rankings

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Which NCAA Men's Basketball Teams Were Hottest Online?

Though their season ended on at the hands of the Midwest Region's top seed on Saturday, the Saint Louis Billikens regained their spot as our top team in terms of social media growth, at 6.93%.

The Billikens, under coach Josh Schertz, were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament in the second round. SLU beat Georgia 102-77 in the first round, then two days later the Michigan Wolverines pulled away to oust Saint Louis 95-72 in Buffalo.

Much of that social media growth (up 6.93%) for Saint Louis came from the nation's growing fondness for bespectacled big man Robbie Avila. The 6-foot-10 Indiana State transfer shot his way into the hearts and minds of Americans during the team's final month of play. This was despite the team's second-round loss to Dayton in the second round of the Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament and the defeat in the Big Dance against the Wolverines.

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Who Else Gained Ground Online?

Nationally, Schertz's bunch beat out another A10 member, the VCU Rams, on our list of teams with the most social media growth since our last rankings.

The Rams had a +5.22% increase in social media followers. Coach Phil Martelli Jr.'s team won the A-10 tournament, then upset North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 82-78 in overtime, on March 19.

VCU, the No. 11 seed in the South Region, ultimately bowed out to third seed Illinois, 76-55, in the second round.

In third place for social media growth is a team this is still alive in March Madness, the St. John's Red Storm under coach Rick Pitino.

The Red Storm (+5.18%) saw the largest increase of any of the teams that reached this week's Sweet 16 after Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999. St. John's outlasted Kansas, 67-65, in the second round.

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The Best of the Rest

Two more NCAA Tournament men's teams, the South Florida Bulls (up 4.87%) and Nebraska Cornhuskers (+4.39%), round out the top five in our rankings.

Coach Fred Hoiberg's Cornhuskers became the final Power Four team to win a March Madness game in program history by routing Troy in Thursday night's opening round, 76-47. Then on Saturday Nebraska, the No. 4 seed in the South Region, knocked out fifth seed Vanderbilt, 74-72, on a last-second layup in Oklahoma City.

The Cornhuskers are a -135 favorite over Iowa for their third-round game, Thursday in Houston, according to odds at the BetMGM Sportsbook as of March 23. Remember, odds often shift, so check for updates.

Two of the next three teams on our list will join the Red Storm and Cornhuskers in the field of 16 this week. John Calipari's Arkansas Razorbacks (+3.65%, sixth on our list) and Iowa (+3.22%, eighth) have reached the region semifinals. The Commodores (+3.23%, seventh) saw their season end at the hands of the Huskers on Saturday night.

Two more Sweet 16 contenders dot our rankings: No. 14 Texas (+2.16%) and No. 15 Michigan (+2.11%).

Sean Miller's Longhorns team plays Purdue on Thursday evening in San Jose, while the Wolverines play Alabama on Friday night.

According to oddsmakers from bet365 Sportsbook, Texas has +260 moneyline odds of upsetting the Boilermakers. Caesars Sportsbook has Michigan as a -550 favorite to beat the Crimson Tide.

Outside of those two, the team at Fanatics Sportsbook lists St. John's as a +230 underdog against top-seeded Duke on Friday night in Chicago.

Q&A

Q: Which college basketball team dominated social media growth this week?

A: The Saint Louis Billikens reclaimed first place after spending two weeks in second place with a growth rate of 6.93%.

Q: Were there any surprising teams in the Top 5?

A: Yes, there were surprising teams in the Top 5: VCU Rams (up 92 spots), St. John's Red Storm (up 21 spots) and Nebraska Cornhuskers (up 14 spots).