Auburn secured its position at the top of the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball rankings for the sixth week in a row following its victory over rival Alabama.
The Tigers, boasting a record of 23-2, garnered 59 of the 60 first-place votes cast in Monday’s poll. This dominance comes after a setback against Florida on February 8, where Auburn had previously held a unanimous No. 1 ranking for three consecutive weeks. Despite that loss, Auburn managed to maintain its top position last week, with most of the first-place votes shifting towards Alabama, along with some going to Florida and Tennessee.
The recent win in a highly anticipated matchup between the top two teams solidified Auburn’s standing, coinciding with the NCAA Tournament selection committee announcing Auburn as the No. 1 overall seed in its early rankings.
Florida, which had been tied with Duke in third place the previous week, claimed the No. 2 ranking, accompanied by the only remaining first-place vote available. Alabama dropped to No. 4, while Houston, Tennessee, Texas A&M—achieving its highest ranking since December 2017—followed suit along with Iowa State, Texas Tech, and St. John’s to complete the top 10.
Among those teams, Texas Tech experienced the one significant change, moving up three spots to reach the top 10 for the first time in three years. Coach Grant McCasland has successfully led his team to only two losses since the beginning of 2025, making a remarkable comeback in the polls after starting as unranked earlier in the season.
Michigan made a notable move this week, soaring eight positions to No. 12 after defeating Purdue and extending its winning streak to six games.
In addition, Missouri climbed six spots to land at No. 15, and Wisconsin, Clemson, and Maryland each ascended five places, contributing to a total of 12 teams that improved their rankings from the prior week.
On the other hand, Memphis faced the most significant drop this week, plummeting eight spots to No. 22 following an overtime loss to Wichita State that ended their eight-game winning streak.
Purdue, Arizona, and Kansas also experienced setbacks, each falling six ranks, while Mississippi dropped by five spots, resulting in ten teams being removed from last week’s rankings.
Meanwhile, Louisville re-entered the poll at No. 25, marking its return for the second time this season following a brief absence. First-year coach Pat Kelsey has led the Cardinals to their first 20-win season since 2019-20, with the team only suffering one defeat since mid-December.
Creighton, standing at No. 24, fell out of the rankings for the second time this season after a brief return last week.
As for conference performance, the Southeastern Conference boasted the highest representation with nine teams, including three in the top four and five within the top 10. The Big 12 and Big Ten each placed five teams, though the Big 12 featured three in the top 10, while the highest-ranked Big Ten team was at No. 11. The Atlantic Coast Conference had three teams, followed by two from the Big East and one from the American Athletic Conference.
