After surviving a potential upset bid from Illinois on Saturday, Tennessee is projected to maintain its No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 poll on Monday. The Volunteers improved to 10-0 with a last-second win over the Fighting Illini after Jordan Gainey converted a coast-to-coast layup at the buzzer to give his team a 66-64 win.
The very top of the poll shouldn't change much. Tennessee, Auburn, Iowa State, Duke and Kentucky should all hold firm to keep the same top-five as last week. After that, there could be some shakeup inside the top 10. Florida moved to 10-0 with a statement win over Arizona State on Saturday, and that victory should help the Gators move up further inside the top 10.
Florida won't be the only team that gets a bump. UConn got back on track with a 77-71 win over No. 8 Gonzaga for its fourth consecutive victory. After going 0-3 at the Maui Invitational and nearly dropping out of the rankings entirely, the voters are likely to give the two-time reigning national champions a boost in the rankings.
Here's how we project the new AP Top 25 poll to look on Monday after last week's games.
| 1 |  |
| Last week: No. 1 — It wasn't pretty, but Tennessee remained unbeaten after surviving an upset bid from Illinois. After the Fighting Illini tied the game at 64 with less than six seconds remaining, Gainey raced down the floor and scored at the buzzer to give his team the win. It's hard to see Tennessee dropping. Record: 10-0 | This week's results: defeated Miami 75-62; defeated Illinois 66-64 | |
| 2 |  |
| Last week: No. 2 -- Had Tennessee lost to Illinois, Auburn would be the clear-cut No. 1 team in the rankings. The Tigers made a statement in Atlanta on Saturday with a blowout victory over Ohio State . Auburn big man Johni Broome would be the national player of the year if the season ended today. Record: 9-1 | This week's results: defeated Ohio State 91-53 | |
| 3 |  |
| Last week: No. 3 -- Iowa State defeated in-state rival Iowa earlier in the week and knocked off Omaha on Sunday to improve to 9-1. The Cyclones' lone loss this season came against Auburn in the Maui Invitational. Record: 9-1 | This week's results: defeated Iowa 89-80; defeated Omaha 83-51 | |
| 4 |  |
| Last week: No. 4 -- Duke got off to a slow start against Incarnate Word but pulled away in the second half. The Blue Devils have won their last four games since losing to Kansas last month in Las Vegas. Record: 8-2 | This week's results: defeated Incarnate Word 72-46 | |
| 5 |  |
| Last week: No. 5 -- The voters should probably move Kentucky to No. 4 this week (due to the Wildcats' head-to-head win over Duke earlier this season), but I could see them keeping the top five the same. The Wildcats knocked off in-state rival Louisville 93-85 to improve to 10-1 in Year 1 of the Mark Pope era. Record: 10-1 | This week's results: defeated Colgate 78-67; defeated Louisville 93-85 | |
| 6 |  |
| Last week: No. 9 -- Florida improved to 10-0 with a statement 83-66 win over Arizona State. The win over the Sun Devils in Atlanta is probably the Gators' best win on their résumé thus far. Florida's next game is against North Carolina at the Spectrum Center. Record: 10-0 | This week's result: defeated Arizona St. 83-66 | |
| 7 |  |
| Last week: No. 7 -- Alabama took care of business at home against Creighton on Saturday. The Crimson Tide got a much-needed boost to their rotation when star transfer Chris Youngblood appeared in his first game this season. Youngblood finished with five points in 16 minutes in his Alabama debut. Record: 8-2 | This week's result: defeated Creighton 83-75 | |
| 8 |  |
| Last week: No. 10 -- After losing back-to-back games to Creighton and Missouri , Kansas responded with a 75-60 win at home over NC State . The Jayhawks face Brown next week before starting Big 12 play against West Virginia at the end of December. Record: 8-2 | This week's result: defeated NC State 75-60 | |
| 9 |  |
| Last week: No. 13 -- Oklahoma is quietly putting together one of the most impressive starts of any team in the country. The Sooners improved to 10-0 with a 80-65 win over in-state rival Oklahoma State on Saturday. Oklahoma should enter the top 10 after receiving a nice boost in the rankings last week. Record: 10-0 | This week's result: defeated Oklahoma State 80-65 | |
| 10 |  |
| Last week: No. 6 -- Dayton upset Marquette 71-63 on Saturday giving the Golden Eagles their second loss of the season and likely causing them to drop a few spots in the rankings. Marquette has lost two of its last three games. Record: 9-2 | This week's result: lost to Dayton 71-63 | |
| 11 |  |
| Last week: No. 17 -- Texas A&M has looked like a different team since losing to UCF in its season opener. The Aggies knocked off Purdue 70-66 in the Indy Classic for their fifth consecutive win. Record: 9-2 | This week's results: defeated No. 11 Purdue 70-66 | |
| 12 |  |
| Last week: No. 12 -- The Ducks suffered their first loss last weekend on a last-second shot against UCLA . The Ducks have wins over Texas A&M, Alabama and San Diego State. Oregon is in action against Stephen F. Austin on Sunday. Record: 9-2 | This week's game: Sunday vs. Stephen F. Austin | |
| 13 |  |
| Last week: No. 18 -- Is UConn back? The Huskies looked like it in their win over Gonzaga on Saturday. Liam McNeeley scored a team-high 26 points in his team's biggest win of the season to date. UConn has won its last four games since a disastrous showing at the Maui Invitational. Record: 8-3 | This week's result: defeated No. 8 Gonzaga 77-71 | |
| 14 |  |
| Last week: No. 8 -- Gonzaga started the season red-hot with wins over Baylor , Arizona State and San Diego State but has lost three of its last five games. The Bulldogs will likely drop out of the top 10 for the first time this season. Record: 7-3 | This week's results: lost to No. 18 UConn 77-71 | |
| 15 |  |
| Last week: No. 11 -- Purdue entered the weekend 25-1 when Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer combined to score at least 25 points. The Boilermakers' backcourt scored 27 in the loss to the Aggies. Purdue won't fall far, but it wouldn't be surprising if Texas A&M jumped the Boilermakers in the rankings. Record: 8-3 | This week's result: lost to No. 17 Texas A&M 70-66 | |
| 16 |  |
| Last week: No. 15 -- Houston defeated Troy 62-42 in its lone game this week. The Cougars could drop a spot or two because of what other teams behind them in the rankings did this week. Record: 6-3 | This week's result: defeated Troy 62-42 | |
| 17 |  |
| Last week: No. 14 -- Michigan suffered a heartbreaking loss to Arkansas in the Jimmy V Classic. The Wolverines had a chance to tie or win the game on their final possession, but Roddy Gayle Jr . missed a jumper at the buzzer that would've sent the game to overtime. Michigan had won seven consecutive games before that loss. Record: 8-2 | This week's result: lost to Arkansas 89-87 | |
| 18 |  |
| Last week: No. 19 -- Ole Miss has won its last three games since losing to Purdue. The Rebels are coming off a 77-46 win over Southern Miss to move to 9-1. Record: 9-1 | This week's result: defeated Southern Mississippi 77-46 | |
| 19 |  |
| Last week: No. 22 -- Cincinnati snapped a five-game losing streak in the Crosstown Shootout vs. rival Xavier on Saturday. The 68-65 win over the Musketeers helped the Bearcats improve to 8-1. Record: 8-1 | This week's results: defeated Xavier 68-65 | |
| 20 |  |
| Last week: No. 24 -- UCLA didn't allow Arizona to score a field goal for nearly the final nine minutes of game action to seal a 57-54 comeback win over its West Coast rival. The Bruins trailed by as many as 13 points and rallied late behind a big performance from Tyler Bilodeau . UCLA has won its last eight games. Record: 9-1 | This week's result: defeated Arizona 57-54 | |
| 21 |  |
| Last week: No. 21 -- Michigan State was idle this week after moving to 2-0 in Big Ten play with wins over Minnesota and Nebraska before a 10-day break. The Spartans have won six of their last seven games. Record: 8-2 | This week's results: Did not play | |
| 22 |  |
| Last week: NR -- Memphis went into Littlejohn Coliseum and handed Clemson its second loss. A loss to Arkansas State last week could keep Memphis off of some ballots, but the win over Clemson should be enough to move up. Record: 8-2 | This week's result: defeated No. 16 Clemson 87-82 (OT) | |
| 23 |  |
| Last week: No. 16 -- Had Clemson knocked off Memphis at home, it would've gotten consideration to enter the top 10. The Tigers have one of the best wins of any team in the country — a home victory over Kentucky in the ACC-SEC Challenge. Record: 9-2 | This week's results: lost to Memphis 87-82 (OT) | |
| 24 |  |
| Last week: No. 20 -- After losing to Illinois earlier in the week for its third consecutive loss, Wisconsin bounced back with an 83-74 win over Butler . The Badgers will be on the bubble to stay in the rankings come Monday. Record: 9-3 | This week's results: lost to Illinois 86-80; defeated Butler 83-74 | |
| 25 |  |
| Last week: No. 23 -- San Diego State knocked off California Baptist earlier this week for its fourth consecutive win. The Aztecs face Cal on Saturday. Record: 7-2 | This week's results: defeated Cal Baptist 81-75 | |
Projected to drop out: No. 25 Mississippi State
