Auburn a unanimous No. 1, Duke now No. 2; Michigan St into top 10, Louisville ends AP Top 25 drought

 

[January 21, 2025]  By JOHN MARSHALL

A wild week of upsets and court stormings led to a massive shakeup in the AP Top 25.

One constant: Auburn.

The Tigers were the unanimous pick at No. 1 in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll released on Monday, holding on to the top spot following a week in which 19 ranked teams lost at least once — including seven teams in the top 10.

Auburn claimed the program's second No. 1 ranking last week and won both its games despite playing without injured big man Johni Broome. The Tigers rolled over 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 its games last week and swapped places with No. 3 Iowa State, which blew out No. 12 Kansas but lost to No. 23 West Virginia. Alabama and Florida rounded out the top five despite each losing a game last week.

Only three teams — Alabama, Florida and No. 6 Tennessee — held the same spot from a week ago. The chaotic week allowed No. 8 Michigan State to move into the top 10 for the first time this season and No. 22 Missouri into the poll for the first time since 2022-23.

Louisville's climb
Louisville has made quite a turnaround under first-year coach Pat Kelsey.

The Cardinals won a combined 12 games the previous two seasons, but are playing some of their best basketball in years. Following a three-game skid, Louisville has won eight straight to move into the poll 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 Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013.

Rising Red Storm
No. 20 St. John’s moved back into the poll this week and has its highest ranking since reaching No. 15 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 win 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 through 19 games since opening 17-2 (ultimately 20-2) in 1985-86. And the Johnnies are 7-1 in Big East play for the first time since opening 8-1 in 1998-99.

Auburn guard Chad Baker-Mazara (10) celebrates after an NCAA college basketball game against Georgia, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/Kathryn Skeean)

Rising and falling
No. 11 Purdue and No. 18 Wisconsin had the biggest jump among the teams in the poll, each climbing six spots. No. 16 Ole Miss is up five places after splitting games against No. 4 Alabama and No. 14 Mississippi State.

No. 24 Memphis had the week's biggest drop, losing six places after losing to Temple and beating Charlotte. Two-time NCAA champion UConn lost five places to No. 19 after seeing its 28-game home winning streak end in a 68-63 loss to Creighton.

Welcome back
No. 22 Missouri is ranked for the first time this year after ending Florida's 16-game home winning streak and posting an 18-point win over Arkansas. No. 23 West Virginia is back in the poll after taking down Iowa State.

Louisville had not been ranked since reaching No. 25 on Jan. 25, 2021.

Farewell (for now)
Three ranked teams lost both of their games last week and dropped out of the poll.

Gonzaga lost to Oregon State and Santa Clara, falling out of the AP Top 25 for the first time since early last year. Georgia dropped out from No. 23 following losses to Tennessee and Auburn. Baylor, No. 25 a week ago, is out after after losses to Arizona and TCU.

Utah State's stint in the AP Top 25 lasted two weeks. The Aggies dropped out from No. 22 following a 65-62 loss to UNLV.

Conference watch
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 Atlantic Coast each had two ranked teams, with American Athletic and Mountain West conferences at one each.

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AP Sports Writer Mike Fitzpatrick contributed to this story.

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