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

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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…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/auburn-unanimous-no-1-duke-181202191.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2025-01-20 18:12:00

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