There will be a new No. 1 in the AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll Monday for the first time in six weeks after Tennessee, No. 1 in the rankings since Dec. 9, suffered its first loss. The Vols crashed and burned at Florida, where the Gators handed them a 73-43 serving of humble pie. The loss -- and another perfect week from Auburn -- all but guarantees the Tigers will supplant their SEC foe at the top of the poll.
It will mark the first time since the 2021-22 season that Auburn is ranked No. 1 in the poll, and the fourth time in school history it will have summited the rankings. The other three previous instances all came during the 2021-22 season from Weeks 12-14 before finishing at No. 8.
How much voters punish Tennessee for its loss will be of great interest to the other teams in the rankings that have fought for weeks to move up the board. An ugly loss might hurt the Vols, but their résumé -- No. 3 in defense, top-10 in scoring margin and four Quad 1 wins -- stacks up with just about every other team outside Auburn.
Ahead of Monday's rankings, I crawled into the minds of AP voters to see how they might react to all the latest results: a Tennessee loss, a three-loss week for OU, a 1-1 week for Kentucky. My projected Top 25 is below.
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| 1 | |
| Last week: No. 2 -- Winning in the SEC is a tall task, and winning in the SEC on the road has been even more challenging this season. Yet, Auburn went 2-0 this week on the road (at Texas, South Carolina) by a combined eight points. They lost Johni Broome to injury for a while, but they'll be No. 1 in the poll on Monday. | |
| 2 | |
| Last week: No. 3 -- Iowa State extended its winning streak to 11 Saturday with an 85-84 overtime win at Texas Tech by overcoming a 13-point deficit. The Cyclones have never been ranked higher than No. 3 in the AP poll, but that should change Monday. | |
| 3 | |
| Last week: No. 4 -- Cooper Flagg set an ACC freshman scoring record with 42 points Saturday in an 86-78 win over Notre Dame to extend the team's winning streak to 10 games, tied for the second-longest active streak in the sport. If Duke rises to No. 3, it will be the highest ranking for coach Jon Scheyer since opening the 2023-24 season at No. 2. | |
| 4 | |
| Last week: No. 5 -- I've got Bama moving up to No. 4 here, but it wouldn't surprise me if Tennessee remained ahead of it in the rankings. This team has won eight straight, and its 3-0 start in SEC play is fueled by wins over Oklahoma, South Carolina, and most recently, Texas A&M. | |
| 5 | |
| Last week: No. 6 -- It'd be hard to justify having Tennessee ahead of Florida in the AP poll this week after Florida did unspeakable things to Tennessee in Gainesville all of a few days ago. | |
| 6 | |
| Last week: No. 1 -- Despite an ugly 30-point loss at Florida to open the week, Tennessee likely doesn't fall far from No. 1 after a road win at Texas salvaged the week. Tennessee is 15-1 on the season and still owners of a top-five overall résumé on the season. | |
| 7 | |
| Last week: No. 7 -- Only one game on the week resulted in one mostly stress-free win for Marquette at home, defeating Georgetown 74-66. Marquette has five consecutive wins and will likely be favored by comfy margins in at least its five upcoming games. | |
| 8 | |
| Last week: No. 6 -- A 13-point road loss to Georgia moves Kentucky down this week, but the slide won't be too far after winning at Mississippi State 95-90 on Saturday. | |
| 9 | |
| Last week: No. 11 -- Bill Self's Jayhawks have shaken out of a December funk and opened 2025 with three consecutive wins by an average margin of 28 points -- best among all power programs. It held Cincinnati to 40 points Saturday, and in the process seems to have found something in new starter Shakeel Moore. | |
| 10 | |
| Last week: No. 12 -- Houston leads college basketball in scoring margin despite three losses on the season thanks to three wins in the last two weeks by nearly 27 points per victory. It has the No. 1 defense in adjusted efficiency at KenPom and continues to be a giant pain in every opponent's neck. | |
| 11 | |
| Last week: No. 10 -- Winning at Oklahoma should largely help offset whatever points Texas A&M is docked by voters for losing a close one vs. Alabama over the weekend. The Aggies have won nine of their last 10. | |
| 12 | |
| Last week: No. 9 -- A 68-66 loss at Villanova this week will hurt the Huskies' chances of remaining in the top 10. They won at Georgetown on Saturday but still aren't quite up to full strength with Liam McNeeley nursing an ankle injury. | |
| 13 | |
| Last week: No. 15 -- Penn State made Oregon earn it Sunday on the Nittany Lions' home floor, and the Ducks did just that in a nail-biter to wrap up a 2-0 week with two road wins over Big Ten opponents. Ducks are 15-2. | |
| 14 | |
| Last week: No. 16 -- One of only two Big Ten teams still perfect in conference play, Michigan State went on the road Friday and beat the Ohio State Buckeyes on their floor. Sparty hasn't allowed more than 70 points in five consecutive outings. They are figuring out their identity in real time. | |
| 15 | |
| Last week: No. 18 -- With two teams in this range taking losses this week, Gonzaga will be back on the rise by default after comfortable wins over San Diego and Washington State this week. It is 5-0 in WCC play. | |
| 16 | |
| Last week: No 14 -- A small but largely insignificant dip for Mississippi State is coming Monday after falling by five at home vs. Kentucky. That's a missed opportunity, but the Bulldogs looked like they belonged vs. a team that has been in the top 10 most of the season. | |
| 17 | |
| Last week: No. 13 -- With freshman star Kasparas Jakucionis sidelined, Illinois fell at home Saturday to unranked USC in an ugly loss. It may hurt the Illini in the rankings short term, but long term, Jakucionis and Illinois should be fine. | |
| 18 | |
| Last week: No. 20 -- Don't look now, but Purdue is quietly snatching souls in Big Ten play. It beat Nebraska 104-68 on Sunday for its fifth consecutive win -- all of which have come by at least 18 points. | |
| 19 | |
| Last week: No. 19 -- Memphis nearly gave one away at home vs. East Carolina but held off the Pirates to remain perfect (3-0) in AAC action. | |
| 20 | |
| Last week: No. 24 -- Michigan's resurgence under first-year coach Dusty May continued this week with wins over UCLA and Washington. Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf continue to look tremendous down low, and the Wolverines have great depth at guard with Nimari Burnett and Tre Donaldson stepping up this week. | |
| 21 | |
| Last week: No. 23 -- Ole Miss moves up a handful of spots this week after wins over Arkansas and LSU to improve to 3-0 in SEC play. The Rebels go on the road Tuesday to face red-hot Alabama. | |
| 22 | |
| Last week: No. 25 -- It took a last-second shot, but Utah State downed Boise State on Saturday night by a final score of 81-79 to stay perfect in MWC play. The Aggies are 16-1 and squarely out of the shadows of a sleeper, trending closer and closer toward being considered a serious factor in March. | |
| 23 | |
| Last week: NR -- Aside from a three-game skid to start December, Wisconsin has consistently played at a top-25 level -- and may be rewarded for doing so this week after extending its winning streak to five games. They beat Rutgers and Minnesota this week and have overcome an 0-2 start in Big Ten play. | |
| 24 | |
| Last week: NR -- Voters banished Arizona from the poll in Week 5, and the Wildcats have not been ranked since. That absence may end this week after beating ranked West Virginia on the road and holding off UCF at home. They've won six in a row dating back to mid-December. | |
| 25 | |
| Last week: NR -- Will it happen?! It should! Georgia very well could be in the top 25 for the first time since the 2010-11 season (!!) after defeating two ranked teams (Kentucky, Oklahoma) at home this week. UGA is 14-2 on the season, with its only two losses coming to Marquette and Ole Miss. | |
Projected to drop out: Oklahoma, UCLA, West Virginia