Auburn has moved to No. 1 in men’s basketball poll, marking its second time at the top in the program’s history. Georgia, another Southeastern Conference (SEC) team, is also in the rankings for the first time in 13 years.
Bruce Pearl’s Auburn Tigers (15-1) earned 60 out of 62 first-place votes, climbing one spot after the previous No. 1, Tennessee, suffered its first loss of the season to Florida, ending its five-week run at the top. Auburn had been ranked No. 1 once before in January and February of 2022, during a three-week stretch, and this is the third team to claim the top spot this season.
Auburn’s only loss came in early December against Duke, but they have since won eight consecutive games. There is still no update on when star forward Johni Broome will return to the court after injuring his ankle in a victory over South Carolina.
With Auburn’s rise to No. 1, the SEC is again a dominant presence in the rankings, with nine teams in the AP Top 25. This includes three teams in the top five and five teams in the top 10.
Iowa State moved up one spot to No. 2, its highest ranking ever, followed by Duke, Alabama, and Florida. Both Duke and Florida earned one first-place vote each.
Tennessee (15-1), who had been No. 1 since December 9, was the last unbeaten team in Division I before suffering a 30-point loss to Florida. Although they bounced back with a win over Texas, the Volunteers dropped five spots to No. 6.
Marquette stayed in the same position at No. 7, followed by Kentucky, preseason No. 1 Kansas, and Houston to complete the top 10.
Rising in the rankings, No. 12 Michigan State and No. 20 Michigan had the largest jumps of the week, moving up four spots. Florida and No. 17 Purdue climbed three spots each.
In total, 15 teams moved up in this week’s poll.
On the other hand, Tennessee experienced a notable drop, but the biggest decline came from No. 19 Illinois, who fell six spots after losing at home to Southern California. Defending two-time national champion UConn also dropped five spots after losing to Villanova, landing at No. 14.
In total, six teams dropped in this week’s rankings.
There were some new teams entering the rankings this week. No. 23 Georgia, No. 24 Wisconsin, and No. 25 Baylor made their way into the poll. For Georgia, it has been a long time since they were ranked.
Mike White’s Bulldogs (14-2) earned their first AP Top 25 ranking since January 2011 when they spent one week at No. 24. That had been their only time ranked since the 2002-03 season, but they recently defeated both No. 6 Kentucky and No. 17 Oklahoma, marking their first back-to-back wins over ranked opponents since the 2006-07 season.
Both Wisconsin and Baylor had spent multiple weeks in the poll earlier this season.
On the other hand, West Virginia (No. 21) and UCLA (No. 22) fell out of this week’s rankings.
As for conference representation, the SEC had nine ranked teams, marking the fifth time this season with that many ranked teams. This includes No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 15 Mississippi State, and No. 21 Mississippi. The Big Ten had six ranked teams, while the Big 12 had four. The Big East had two ranked teams, and the Atlantic Coast, West Coast, American Athletic, and Mountain West conferences each had one team ranked.
