College basketball rankings: Gonzaga moves up, Auburn soars to No. 5 in AP Top 25 poll after opening week

The Tigers jumped six spots and the Bulldogs moved up to No. 4 in this week's AP Top 25

By Kyle Boone

Nov 11, 2024 at 1:14 pm ET • 1 min read

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Top-10 teams in the preseason AP Top 25 poll had a combined 16-3 record to tip off the first week of college basketball, with all three losses – Houston to Auburn, Baylor to Gonzaga and North Carolina to Gonzaga – coming at the hands of teams ranked 11th or higher in the preseason poll. The resulting fallout was a major reshuffling in the first in-season AP Top 25 on Monday, with Auburn's leap to No. 5 qualifying as the biggest riser of the week.

Auburn began the season ranked No. 11 but made a statement Saturday in downing No. 4 Houston, 74-69, despite a noisy 24 hours leading into the game that included an in-flight fight. The Tigers dominated Vermont 94-43 in their season-opener then impressively fought from a deficit late vs. Houston on Saturday to topple the Cougars and their top-ranked defense. Houston as a result dropped four spots to No. 8.

The top three of the AP poll remained the same with No. 1 Kansas, No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 UConn standing pat after perfect weeks. But Houston's loss was Gonzaga's gain, as the Bulldogs leapt two spots to No. 4. Gonzaga dismantled then-No. 8 Baylor in its opener, 101-63, and won by a comfortable margin over Arizona State to wrap up the week Sunday.

Elsewhere in the top 10, Duke and Arizona each moved up one spot to No. 6 and No. 9, respectively, while North Carolina coming off a road loss to No. 1 Kansas fell one spot to No. 10.