Auburn and Duke continue to hold the top two spots in the latest Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for the third consecutive week, while Maryland has made a return to the rankings after nearly two years. Bruce Pearl’s Auburn Tigers (20-1) maintained their No. 1 position for the fourth week in a row and were once again the unanimous choice. Auburn has dominated the rankings, receiving 246 out of 248 first-place votes in the past month, while also remaining undefeated in the tough Southeastern Conference, which features nine ranked teams. Auburn’s sole loss came to Jon Scheyer’s Duke Blue Devils (19-2), who currently boast the nation’s longest winning streak of 15 games after a decisive victory over rival North Carolina.
Alabama moved up to No. 3, followed by Tennessee climbing four spots to No. 4 in a top tier with a strong representation from the SEC. Houston moved up to No. 5 despite an overtime loss to Texas Tech, which ended their 33-game home winning streak. Florida, Purdue, Iowa State, Michigan State, and Texas A&M rounded out the top 10.
Texas Tech had the most significant rise among last week’s ranked teams, moving up nine spots to No. 13 after defeating TCU and Houston. Two-time defending national champions UConn climbed six places to No. 19, while Missouri jumped five spots to No. 15.
Mississippi State experienced the largest drop, falling eight spots to No. 22 after home losses to Alabama and Missouri. Iowa State also had a challenging week, sliding five spots after losses to Arizona and Kansas State. Kansas and Illinois dropped five spots each as well.
Maryland, Arizona, and Michigan were the new additions to this week’s poll, entering at No. 18, No. 20, and No. 24 respectively. Maryland’s Terrapins (17-5) earned their first ranking in nearly two years after a four-game winning streak, including victories over Illinois and Wisconsin. Arizona (15-6) returned to the rankings following an impressive run of 11 wins in 12 games, while Michigan (16-5) made a comeback after previous appearances earlier in the season.
Oregon, Louisville, and Vanderbilt dropped out of the poll this week after suffering losses. The SEC continued its strong presence in the poll, with at least nine teams featured for the seventh consecutive week. The SEC has also dominated the top 10, with half of the teams hailing from the conference in eight out of nine weeks.
In any given week this season, there were six ranked teams in the Big Ten after Maryland joined the ranks. The Big 12 followed with five, while the Big East had three. Additionally, the Atlantic Coast and American Athletic conferences each had one ranked team. Stay informed with poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season by signing up here: AP college basketball – https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
