The AP Top 25 college basketball poll released Monday featured Tennessee holding on to its No. 1 ranking despite a strong surge from No. 2 Auburn. The Volunteers received 41 first-place votes, while the Tigers snagged the other 21 votes for the top spot.
Last week, Auburn received 12 first-place votes from the voters. The Tigers are coming off an 87-69 win over Purdue last week to strengthen their case as the top team in the country. Auburn has won its last four games since suffering its first loss earlier this month to Duke on the road.
Kentucky dropped six spots to No. 10 following an 85-65 loss to Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic last weekend. The Wildcats entered last weekend having won their last three games since suffering their first loss to Clemson in the ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge.
Ohio State used a dominant second-half effort to cruise by Kentucky to notch the biggest win of coach Jake Diebler’s early tenure with the program.
AP Top 25
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week’s ranking:
Also receiving votes: Maryland 119, Dayton 108, Drake 91, St. John’s 90, Memphis 65, Michigan 50, Georgia 45, Pittsburgh 27, West Virginia 26, Missouri 25, Ohio St. 23, North Carolina 20, Clemson 18, Arizona St 13, Utah St. 9, Wisconsin 9, Indiana 8, Texas Tech 8, St. Bonaventure 4, Penn St. 3.
Auburn closes the gap for No. 1
Last week, Auburn received 12 first-place votes from the voters. This week, the Tigers got nine more first-place votes to shrink the gap for the top-ranked team in the country. Tennessee (rightfully) remains No. 1, but Auburn is on its heels. The Tigers have one of the best overall résumés, and it’s hard to see anyone but Bruce Pearl’s program jumping to No. 1 if Tennessee were to lose in the immediate future.
Oklahoma should be ranked higher
Oklahoma has been one of the more surprising teams this season. The Sooners are off to a 12-0 start to the season and are coming off a dramatic win over Michigan last week. Oklahoma dropped one spot in last week’s poll and moved up just two spots this week. Although Oklahoma’s (current) résumé isn’t as strong as some of the other teams ahead of them in the poll, there’s a strong case for the Sooners (at minimum) to be ranked in the top 10. It was surprising when Oklahoma dropped last week, and it’s even more shocking that the voters aren’t ranking the Sooners higher. The good news is that Oklahoma will have a chance to boost its résumé soon when SEC play begins.
The SEC remains dominant in the polls
For the first time since at least the start of the 2012-13 season, one league has at least 10 teams ranked in the Top 25. That conference would be the SEC, which features five teams ranked in the top 10 and 10 teams ranked overall. Arkansas and Mississippi State both re-entered the poll this week. Mississippi State upset Memphis on the road and Arkansas won its fifth consecutive game last week. The main takeaway is the SEC is going to be a gauntlet.
