AP Top 25: Auburn rises to No. 1, Tennessee tumbles in men's poll
Auburn has climbed to No. 1 in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll for its second stint at the top in program history, while fellow SEC program Georgia is in the rankings for the first time in 14 years.
Bruce Pearl's Tigers (15-1) claimed 60 of 62 first-place votes to rise one spot Monday after previous No. 1 Tennessee suffered its first loss of the season, falling at Florida, to end a five-week reign at the top. Auburn has been No. 1 only once before in the AP Top 25, during a three-week stint in January and February 2022, and is the third team to sit atop the poll this season.
Auburn's only loss came at Duke in early December and the Tigers have won eight straight games, though there is no word on when star forward Johni Broome might be ready to play after suffering an ankle injury in Saturday's 66-63 win over South Carolina.
The Tigers' rise made them the headliner in another SEC-heavy poll, with the league having nine teams in the AP Top 25 — including three of the top five and five of the top 10.
Iowa State rose one spot to No. 2, reaching its highest ranking in program history, followed by Duke, Alabama and Florida. The Blue Devils and Gators each claimed a first-place vote.
The Volunteers (15-1) had been No. 1 since Dec. 9 and stood as Division I's last unbeaten team before a 30-point loss to Florida. They recovered by beating Texas but still tumbled five spots to No. 6.
Marquette was next at No. 7 as the only team to stay in the same spot from last week, followed by Kentucky, preseason No. 1 Kansas and Houston to round out the top 10.
No. 12 Michigan State and No. 20 Michigan had the week's biggest jumps, each rising four spots. Florida and No. 17 Purdue were next by climbing three positions.
In all, 15 teams that were ranked last week moved up in the latest poll.
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While Tennessee's tumble was notable, No. 19 Illinois had the week's biggest slide by falling six spots after a weekend home loss to USC.
Two-time reigning national champion UConn matched the Vols' five-spot decline, checking in at No. 14 after last week's loss at Villanova.
Six teams that were ranked last week moved down in Monday's poll.
No. 23 Georgia, No. 24 Wisconsin and No. 25 Baylor were the week's new additions. And for Georgia, it's been a while.
Mike White's Bulldogs (14-2) have their first AP Top 25 ranking since spending a week at No. 24 in January 2011. That lone appearance had stood as the program's only time being ranked since the 2002-03 season, but the Bulldogs are coming off a week that featured wins against then-No. 6 Kentucky and then-No. 17 Oklahoma for the program's first back-to-back victories against ranked opponents since the 2006-07 season.
Both the Badgers and Bears have spent multiple weeks in the poll this season.
West Virginia (No. 21) and UCLA (No. 22) joined the Sooners in falling out of this week's poll.
The SEC — which had 10 ranked teams on Dec. 23 and Dec. 30 — had nine ranked teams for the fifth time this season, including No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 15 Mississippi State and No. 21 Ole Miss.
The Big Ten was next with six, followed by the Big 12 with four. The Big East had two, followed by the ACC, West Coast, American Athletic and Mountain West conferences with one each.
Here's the full AP Top 25:
1. Auburn
2. Iowa State
3. Duke
4. Alabama
5. Florida
6. Tennessee
7. Marquette
8. Kentucky
9. Kansas
10. Houston
11. Texas A&M
12. Michigan State
13. Oregon
14. UConn
15. Mississippi State
16. Gonzaga
17. Purdue
18. Memphis
19. Illinois
20. Michigan
21. Ole Miss
22. Utah State
23. Georgia
24. Wisconsin
25. Baylor
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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