A wild week of upsets and storming the courts led to a massive upset in the AP Top 25.
A constant: Auburn.
The Tigers were the unanimous No. 1 pick in the Associated Press men’s college basketball poll released Monday, holding on to the top spot after a week in which 19 ranked teams lost at least once, including seven teams in the top 10.
Auburn earned the program’s second No. 1 ranking last week and won both of its games despite playing without injured big man Johni Broome. The Tigers beat No. 14 Mississippi State, 88-66, and survived a late comeback to beat then-No. 19 Georgia, 70-68.
No. 2 Duke moved up a spot after winning both of their matches last week and swapped places with No. 3 Iowa Statewho blew up number 12 Kansas but lost to No. 23 West Virginia. Alabama And Florida completed the top five despite each losing a game last week.
Only three teams – Alabama, Florida and No. 6 Tennessee – occupied the same place a week ago. The chaotic week allowed No. 8 Michigan State to enter the top 10 for the first time this season and No. 22 Missouri in the poll for the first time since 2022-23.
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Louisville has made a real turnaround under first-year coach Pat Kelsey.
The Cardinals have won a total of 12 games over the previous two seasons, but are playing some of their best basketball in years. After three skids, Louisville won eight in a row to enter the ballot for the first time in four years at No. 25. Last week, the Cardinals won at Syracuse for the first time in eight years and capped the week by sweeping Virginia for the first time since joining the ACC in 2013.
Rising red storm
St. John’s, 20th, returned to the poll this week and posted its highest ranking since reaching 15th on Dec. 29, 2014, under coach Steve Lavin. The Red Storm, in their second season under Rick Pitino, moved into first place in the Big East with their victory over Seton Hall and Marquette’s loss to Xavier. They haven’t won a share of the Big East regular season title since 1992.
St. John’s (16-3) is off to its best start in 19 games since opening 17-2 (eventually 20-2) in 1985-86. And the Johnnies are 7-1 in the Big East for the first time since opening 8-1 in 1998-99.
Go up and down
No. 11 Purdue and No. 18 Wisconsin saw the biggest gain among the teams in the poll, each climbing six spots. No. 16 Ole Mademoiselle is up five spots after splitting games against No. 4 Alabama and No. 14 Mississippi State.
No. 24 Memphis had the biggest drop of the week, dropping six spots after losing to Temple and beating Charlotte. Two-time NCAA champion UConn fell five spots to 19th after seeing its 28-game home winning streak end with a 68-63 loss to Creighton.
No. 24 Wisconsin vs. USC Highlights | FOX College Hoops
Glad to see you again
No. 22 Missouri is ranked for the first time this year after ending Florida’s 16-game winning streak at home and recording an 18-point win over Arkansas. No. 23 West Virginia is back in the polls after beating Iowa State.
Louisville had not been ranked since reaching 25th on January 25, 2021.
Goodbye (for now)
Three ranked teams lost both of their games last week and were eliminated from the ballot.
Gonzaga lost to Oregon State and Santa Clara, falling out of the AP Top 25 for the first time since the start of last year. Georgia dropped to 23rd after losses to Tennessee and Auburn. Baylor, No. 25 a week ago, is out after losses to Arizona and TCU.
Utah State’s move into the AP Top 25 lasted two weeks. The Aggies dropped to 22nd after a 65-62 loss to UNLV.
Eve of the conference
The SEC has eight ranked teams after Georgia dropped out of the poll, including five in the top 10.
The Big Ten was next with six, followed by the Big 12 with five. The Big East and ACC each had two ranked teams, with the American Athletic and Mountain West conferences having one each.
Here is the complete AP Top 25:
1. Auburn
2. Duke
3. Iowa State
4. Alabama
5. Florida
6. Tennessee
7. Houston
8. Michigan State
9. Kentucky
10. Marquette
11. Purdue
12. Kansas
13. Texas A&M
14. Mississippi State
15. Oregon
16. Ole Mademoiselle
17. Illinois
18. Wisconsin
19. UConn
20. Saint John
21. Michigan
22. Missouri
23. West Virginia
24. Memphis
25. Louisville
Associated Press reporting.
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