AP voters this week have a tough decision to make at the top of their respective ballots. Does Tennessee, ranked No. 1 the last two weeks, get deference for being the top-ranked team and hold steady at No. 1 after a perfect week in which it went 1-0 and beat Western Carolina 84-36 to remain unbeaten? Or does Auburn, ranked No. 2 the last three weeks but destroying every team in its path, get the nod and leap the Vols?
It may come down to a philosophical discussion for voters. Tennessee has done nothing as the No. 1-ranked team to lose its status. In the last two weeks, it has defeated Miami, Illinois and Western Carolina and in the process improved to 11-0.
However, Auburn has done plenty to warrant consideration for the No. 1 spot. That includes an NCAA-leading six Quad 1 wins on the season, four wins over ranked opponents and a Saturday thumping of a good Purdue team by 18 points.
If there were no weekly AP polls and Monday was the first ranking of the season, the answer at No. 1 would likely be obvious. Auburn has a 6-1 record in Quadrant 1 games on the season; it ranks No. 1 in the NET, at KenPom and BartTorvik; and this week alone it beat Georgia State by 41 and Purdue by 18.
But the decision is not made in a vacuum. And while Auburn likely will, and should, close the gap on Tennessee this week, I expect AP voters will keep the Vols at No. 1 and Auburn at No. 2. There's a strong case for either, and neither is necessarily right or wrong. But Tennessee has not done anything to deserve falling from No. 1. I don't expect it will.
The below is how I expect AP voters will react to the No. 1 ranking and the rest of the Top 25 this week in our weekly Tomorrow's Top 25 Today.
| 1 | |
| Last week: No. 1 -- Tennessee should remain at No. 1 this week after it beat Western Carolina at home by 48 points in its lone outing. Record: 11-0 | This week's results: defeated Western Carolina 84-36 | |
| 2 | |
| Last week: No. 2 -- Despite injuring his shoulder vs. Georgia State earlier in the week, star Johni Broome didn't miss a beat in Saturday's demolition of Purdue, finishing with 23 points and 11 boards in the win. Auburn has six Quad 1 wins on the season, two more than any other team and double the likes of Tennessee and Duke. Record: 11-1 | This week's results: defeated Georgia State 100-59; defeated Purdue 87-69 | |
| 3 | |
| Last week: No. 3 -- Iowa State played just once this week in what amounted to an exhibition vs. Morgan State. The Cyclones won by 27 on Sunday in their nonconference finale. Record: 10-1 | This week's results: defeated Morgan State 99-72 | |
| 4 | |
| Last week: No. 5 -- Duke freshmen Kon Knueppel, Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach combined for 46 points Saturday in a road drubbing of Georgia Tech to improve to 10-2 on the season. Blue Devils should be on the rise following a Kentucky loss Saturday. Record: 10-2 | This week's results: defeated George Mason 68-47; defeated Georgia Tech 82-56 | |
| 5 | |
| Last week: No. 6 -- Alabama is 4-0 in the month of December after two wins this week, including a Sunday win over Kent State in its penultimate nonconference game. The Crimson Tide have the top offense in college hoops on a points-per-game basis. Record: 10-2 | This week's results: defeated North Dakota 97-90; defeated Kent State 81-54 | |
| 6 | |
| Last week: No. 7 -- No team has more wins on the season than Todd Golden's Florida Gators, who are 12-0 on the year after a 2-0 week and a contender to jump into the top five this week. Record: 12-0 | This week's results: defeated North Carolina 90-84; defeated North Florida 99-45 | |
| 7 | |
| Last week: No. 8 -- The preseason No. 1 Jayhawks extended their winning streak to two games after opening December with a two-game skid in road losses to Creighton and Missouri. Zeke Mayo's coming on strong for KU with conference play starting next week. Record: 9-2 | This week's results: defeated Brown 87-53 | |
| 8 | |
| Last week: No. 4 -- Kentucky laid its first egg of the Mark Pope era on Saturday in a 20-point loss to unranked Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic. That should dock the Wildcats considerably this week, but their body of work should keep them in the top 10. Record: 10-2 | This week's results: lost to Ohio State 85-65 | |
| 9 | |
| Last week: No. 11-- Once left for dead after a dreadful three-game stretch in Maui, UConn is now red hot and rolling into Christmas as a potential top =010 team with wins in each of its last six outings. Record: 10-3 | This week's results: defeated Xavier 94-89; defeated Butler 78-74 | |
| 10 | |
| Last week: No. 9 -- After a 1-2 skid to open December, Marquette rallied this week with two big wins over conference foes and should hold steady inside the top 10 once again. Record: 11-2 | This week's results: defeated Butler 80-70; defeated Xavier 72-70 | |
| 11 | |
| Last week: No. 10 -- The only blemish on Oregon's résumé remains a close home loss to UCLA in the final second. The Ducks are 11-1 on the year and were 1-0 on the week. Record: 11-1 | This week's results: defeated Stanford 76-61 | |
| 12 | |
| Last week: No. 12 -- Texas A&M has gone nearly a month since its last loss with six wins and counting entering its next game on Saturday vs. Abilene Christian. Record: 10-2 | This week's results: defeated Houston Christian 77-45 | |
| 13 | |
| Last week: No. 14 -- A sweet season got a little sweeter this week with OU taking down ranked Michigan to validate an already solid start to its season. Sooners should be on the rise once again this week. Record: 12-0 | This week's results: defeated Michigan 87-86; defeated Central Arkansas 89-66 | |
| 14 | |
| Last week: No. 13 -- Two wins this week over sub-200 KenPom teams won't move AP voters one way or another. Gonzaga's next game is a big one, though, as it goes on the road to face UCLA on Saturday in Inglewood. Record: 9-3 | This week's results: defeated Nicholls 102-72; defeated Bucknell 86-65 | |
| 15 | |
| Last week: No. 15 -- Houston has won four-straight by at least 20 points after a 4-3 start. Its conference play begins next Monday. Record: 8-3 | This week's results: defeated Toledo 78-49; defeated Texas A&M CC 87-51 | |
| 16 | |
| Last week: No. 17 -- In a deep year for the SEC, Ole Miss has quietly flown under the radar and started 11-1. Its nonconference schedule has been soft, but it has been nearly perfect the first month-plus. Record: 11-1 | This week's results: defeated Southern 74-61; defeated Queens 80-62 | |
| 17 | |
| Last week: No. 19 -- Cincinnati scored its second-largest win of the season Sunday in an 84-49 defeat of Grambling State. The Bearcats open Big 12 play on Dec. 30 with Kansas State. Record: 10-1 | This week's results: defeated Dayton 66-59; defeated Grambling State 84-49 | |
| 18 | |
| Last week: No. 20 -- The only slip-ups on the season for Michigan State are to then-No. 1 Kansas and Memphis in November by eight points each. Now 10-2, Sparty looks like it is settling in as a sleeper contender in the Big Ten. Record: 10-2 | This week's results: defeated Oakland 77-58; defeated Florida Atlantic 86-69 | |
| 19 | |
| Last week: NR -- Mississippi State took it to Memphis on Saturday in a stunning win on the Tigers' turf by a comfortable 13 points. Record: 11-1 | This week's results: defeated Central Michigan 83-59; defeated Memphis 79-66 | |
| 20 | |
| Last week: No. 16 -- An 18-point loss to Auburn over the weekend likely costs Purdue a bit in this week's poll but shouldn't be enough to push the Boilermakers out of the rankings entirely. Record: 8-4 | This week's results: lost to Auburn 87-69 | |
| 21 | |
| Last week: NR -- Maryland has done enough to be ranked in the Top 25 and should resurface in the poll this week after embarrassing Syracuse in a 27-point win that was an even bigger blowout than the final score indicates. Record: 10-2 | This week's results: defeated Saint Francis 111-57; defeated Syracuse 87-60 | |
| 22 | |
| Last week: No. 18 -- UCLA coughed up a 16-point second-half lead over North Carolina on Saturday to suffer its second loss of the season and first since Nov. 8. Record: 10-2 | This week's results: defeated Prairie View A&M 111-75; lost to North Carolina 76-74 | |
| 23 | |
| Last week: No. 23 -- SDSU's first outing in 10 days on Saturday was a beatdown of cross-state foe Cal, 71-50. Its conference play officially kicks into action this week. Record: 8-2 | This week's results: defeated Cal 71-50 | |
| 24 | |
| Last week: NR -- Rick Pitino's Red Storm rolled on the road to Providence on Friday and escaped with a two-point win to improve to 2-0 in its start to Big East play. Record: 10-2 | This week's results: defeated DePaul 89-61; defeated Providence 72-70 | |
| 25 | |
| Last week: No. 22 -- Dayton might be in jeopardy of falling out of the poll this week after a loss to Cincinnati and a close-shave win at home over UNLV. Record: 10-3 | This week's results: defeated UNLV 66-65; lost to Cincinnati 66-59 | |
Projected to drop out: Clemson, Michigan, Memphis