After a turn of events in this past week’s games — where four top-10 teams fell on Saturday — this week’s AP Top 25 was due for some restructuring. Except not too much changed, at least in the top five. Auburn, who survived a scare at No. 23 Georgia on Saturday, held the top spot for the second consecutive week after defeating two ranked opponents without star center Johni Broome. Duke moved up one spot from last week to No. 2 after a 25-point, wire-to-wire win at Boston College Saturday where Cooper Flagg continued making his case for ACC Freshman of the Year.
Despite Iowa State’s 64-57 road loss at then-unranked West Virginia, the Cyclones moved down just one spot. While Alabama, Florida and Tennessee stayed put, Michigan State (16-2) and Houston (14-3) made significant jumps. The Spartans, who defeated Illinois Sunday to remain undefeated in the Big Ten, jumped four spots to No. 8 and the Cougars jumped three spots to No. 7 after a one-point road victory at UCF. Houston puts its 10-game winning streak on the line Tuesday with a matchup against Utah.
Farther down in the poll, Marquette dropped three spots after a narrow two-point loss to unranked Xavier, but hold the No. 10 ranking. Purdue, who falls just outside the top 10 at No. 11, tied Wisconsin for the biggest jump this week following a road win at Oregon. Ole Miss (No. 16 this week) moved up five spots in the poll, and with Wisconsin’s 15-point win at USC, the Badgers now sit at No. 18.
Kansas dropped three spots this week to No. 12 despite a 10-point win over in-state rival Kansas State. Memphis dropped from No. 18 last week to No. 24 this week, and the Mountaineers’ win over Iowa State brings West Virginia to its first appearance. Here’s the full poll, along with the ballot from The Athletic’s CJ Moore:
AP Top 25: Jan. 20
| Rank | Team | Record | Prev | CJ’s vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
17-1 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
2 |
16-2 |
3 |
2 |
|
|
3 |
15-2 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
4 |
15-3 |
4 |
4 |
|
|
5 |
16-2 |
5 |
5 |
|
|
6 |
16-2 |
6 |
6 |
|
|
7 |
14-3 |
10 |
7 |
|
|
8 |
16-2 |
12 |
8 |
|
|
9 |
14-4 |
8 |
12 |
|
|
10 |
15-3 |
7 |
9 |
|
|
11 |
15-4 |
17 |
10 |
|
|
12 |
13-4 |
9 |
11 |
|
|
13 |
14-4 |
11 |
18 |
|
|
14 |
15-3 |
15 |
14 |
|
|
15 |
15-3 |
13 |
15 |
|
|
16 |
15-3 |
21 |
16 |
|
|
17 |
13-5 |
19 |
13 |
|
|
18 |
15-3 |
24 |
20 |
|
|
19 |
13-5 |
14 |
NR |
|
|
20 |
16-3 |
NR |
21 |
|
|
21 |
14-4 |
20 |
19 |
|
|
22 |
15-3 |
NR |
17 |
|
|
23 |
13-4 |
NR |
22 |
|
|
24 |
14-4 |
18 |
24 |
|
|
25 |
14-5 |
NR |
23 |
|
|
NR |
15-4 |
NR |
25 |
Auburn, Duke at the top to stay?
Last year on Jan. 20, Connecticut and Purdue were the top two teams in my rankings. That never changed the rest of the season. We could be at that spot now with Auburn and Duke at the top. Just about every ranking system has those two at the top, and if Auburn can keep winning until Johni Broome returns, I think we may have the top two teams that will ride this out until the very end. Duke is cruising through the ACC, and maybe Auburn goes cold at some point because the SEC is a monster, but I’m about ready to declare these two are the best two and are destined to play each other in the national title game, just like UConn and Purdue. — CJ Moore
Houston, the forgotten team that could crash the party
If you’re looking for a team that could ruin that prediction above, I’d lean Alabama or Florida, but maybe it’s the Coogs. Houston is No. 1 in one predictive metric (Bart Torvik) and what’s held it back in human polls is its lack of a signature win. The predictive metrics love the Cougars because they win big — 13 of their 14 wins are by double digits — and when they lose, it’s close. They’ve lost twice in overtime (Alabama and San Diego State) and lost by just five to Auburn in a game Houston led by nine at one point in the second half.
But, again, Houston is lacking in quality wins. The Cougars have yet to beat a team currently ranked in the Top 25 (change this if West Virginia ends up ranked), but will get an opportunity this week. Houston is at Kansas on Saturday. A win there, and the Cougars are likely to climb in the human polls and will also be in the driver’s seat to repeat as Big 12 champs. — Moore
GO DEEPER
Men’s college basketball Top 25: Lessons from a week of upsets, thrillers
Mizzou, Michigan and Louisville making it tough for future last-place teams
I ranked all three teams this week, which is wild considering all three finished last place in their leagues last year. The transfer portal has made it possible to flip an entire roster and get good fast, but it’s still incredibly difficult. Mizzou is the outlier here, with the other two changing coaches to pull off the turnaround. Dennis Gates coached an 0-18 SEC team last year and is now tied for second place at 4-1. As noted in my weekly Top 25: If the Tigers make the tourney, they’ll become the second team since 2000 to go winless in conference play one season and make the tourney the next. Iowa State pulled it off in 2022, but that was also the result of a coaching change. — Moore
Required reading
(Photo: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
