A week filled with unexpected outcomes and enthusiastic crowd celebrations brought significant changes to the AP Top 25 college basketball rankings. Amid the turmoil, one team remained steady: Auburn.
The Tigers emerged as the clear No. 1 choice in the latest men’s college basketball poll released on Monday, maintaining their top position after witnessing 19 ranked teams face at least one defeat throughout the week, including seven from the top 10. Auburn, which secured its second-ever No. 1 ranking last week, managed to win both of its games while missing key player Johni Broome. The team dominated No. 14 Mississippi State with a score of 88-66 and narrowly edged out then-No. 19 Georgia, winning 70-68 despite a late-game push from their opponents.
Duke, holding the No. 2 ranking, ascended one spot due to its undefeated week. This resulted in a swap with Iowa State, which went down to No. 3 after a decisive victory over No. 12 Kansas, yet suffered a loss against No. 23 West Virginia. Alabama and Florida maintained positions in the top five, even after each team faced a loss last week.
The hierarchy saw little continuity as only three teams—Alabama, Florida, and No. 6 Tennessee—remaining in their previous spots. The chaotic week of basketball provided opportunities for No. 8 Michigan State to crack the top 10 for the first time this season and for No. 22 Missouri to re-enter the rankings for the first time since the 2022-23 season.
Louisville has also experienced notable improvement under the leadership of first-year coach Pat Kelsey. After winning only 12 games over the past two years, the Cardinals have now secured eight consecutive victories, marking their return to the rankings at No. 25 for the first time in four years. Among their recent achievements, Louisville won at Syracuse, breaking an eight-year streak and completed a sweep of Virginia, the first since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference back in 2013.
Meanwhile, No. 20 St. John’s climbed back into the rankings, achieving its highest position since December 29, 2014, while under coach Steve Lavin. In its second season with Rick Pitino, the team is now leading the Big East following a victory over Seton Hall and Marquette’s loss to Xavier, aiming for their first Big East regular-season title since 1992. With a current record of 16-3, St. John’s boasts its best start in decades, and they are 7-1 in Big East play for the first time since commencing the 1998-99 season with a similar record.
The biggest ascending teams this week included No. 11 Purdue and No. 18 Wisconsin, each jumping six ranks. No. 16 Ole Miss also rose five spots after splitting their games against No. 4 Alabama and No. 14 Mississippi State.
No. 24 Memphis saw the most significant decrease in the rankings, plummeting six positions after a loss to Temple, despite a win over Charlotte. The two-time NCAA champions, UConn, also faced a tumble, dropping five slots to No. 19 after their 28-game home winning streak was snapped by Creighton.
Additionally, No. 22 Missouri is making a return to the rankings, having ended Florida’s 16-game home winning streak and defeating Arkansas by 18 points. No. 23 West Virginia also made a comeback to the polls following an impressive victory over Iowa State. Louisville hadn’t been ranked since January 25, 2021, when they were last positioned at No. 25.
Unfortunately, three teams that were ranked experienced the same fate, losing both of their games and thus falling out of the rankings. Gonzaga lost to both Oregon State and Santa Clara, marking their first absence from the AP Top 25 since early last year. Georgia fell out from No. 23 after defeats against Auburn and Tennessee, while Baylor, who was ranked at No. 25 a week ago, also exited following losses to Arizona and TCU. Utah State’s brief tenure in the AP Top 25 lasted just two weeks as they dropped out from No. 22 due to a narrow loss to UNLV.
In terms of conferences, the SEC had a strong showing with eight ranked teams following Georgia’s exit, including five teams in the top 10. The Big Ten followed with six ranked teams, while the Big 12 had five. The Big East and Atlantic Coast conferences each secured two teams in the rankings, with the American Athletic and Mountain West conferences each having one.
