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

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 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, with KU earning 44 of a possible 62 first-place votes and four other teams earning at least two first-place votes. But previously-ranked No. 4 Houston’s loss and poll drop four spots was Gonzaga’s gain this week, as the Bulldogs leapt two spots to No. 4 and took the Cougars’ spot. 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.

New to the Top 25 this week is Ohio State and St. John’s, which entered the poll at No. 21 and No. 22, respectively. It marks the first time since January 2023 the Buckeyes have been ranked and the first time St. John’s has been ranked since January 2019. 

AP Top 25

1. Kansas (44)
2. Alabama (6)
3. UConn (7)
4. Gonzaga (3)
5. Auburn (2)
6. Duke
7. Iowa State
8. Houston
9. Arizona
10. North Carolina
11. Tennessee
12. Baylor
13. Purdue
14. Creighton
15. Marquette
16. Indiana
17. Cincinnati
18. Arkansas
19. Kentucky
20. Florida
21. Ohio State
22. St John’s
23. Texas A&M
24. Rutgers
25. Ole Miss

Also receiving votes: Illinois 144, Texas Tech 102, Wake Forest 84, Xavier 78, Texas 51, Michigan St. 41, BYU 26, Kansas St 24, UCF 20, Mississippi St. 15, New Mexico 15, Oregon 14, North Florida 14, Miami 14, Clemson 13, VCU 12, Memphis 8, Wisconsin 6, Grand Canyon 6, Providence 4, Maryland 3, Austin Peay 2, Arizona St 2, South Dakota St. 1, Michigan 1, Columbia 1, Dayton 1.

Big 12 dominating rankings

While three Big 12 teams fell in the latest AP Top 25, the league still showed its strength in numbers near the top led by No. 1 Kansas and three other top-10 teams. No other major conference had more than two teams inside the top 10. 

• 1. Kansas
• 7. Iowa State
• 8. Houston
• 9. Arizona

Baylor (No. 12) and Cincinnati (No. 17) also helped represent the league in the latest poll. Texas Tech just missed the week’s rankings, and both BYU and Kansas State are receiving dozens of votes and positioned to potentially crack the rankings soon.

The SEC is hot on the trails of the Big 12, though, with a total of eight ranked teams in this week’s poll — more than any other conference. The Big 12 had the next-most with six, followed by the Big East and Big Ten with four each. The ACC had two.

Arkansas, Calipari one spot ahead of Kentucky

Which party wins the breakup between John Calipari — former Kentucky coach and now Arkansas coach — will be one of the prominent storylines in the SEC this season and beyond. Early returns are Cal by a hair. His Razorbacks fell two spots in the poll after a 1-1 start to the season to No. 18, but still held a one-spot edge over his former team. Kentucky jumped up four spots after big wins over Wright State and Bucknell to open the season with a big tilt awaiting it Tuesday in the Champions Classic vs. Duke.

Rick Pitino roars back

Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino has his St. John’s Red Storm ranked inside the top 25 of the AP poll for the first time since January 2019 after a 2-0 start to the season. The return to relevance for his program also served as a return to the spotlight for Pitino, who after a trying few years is now the head coach of a ranked team for the first time since the final poll of the 2016-17 season. Pitino at that time was the head coach of Louisville before being fired ahead of the 2017-18 season. He bounced around overseas before returning to coach Iona from 2020-2023, leading to his current gig with St. John’s.