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Kentucky jumped four spots to No. 6 and Kansas fell four spots to No. 11 on Monday in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll as part of a reshuffling in the latest rankings. The Wildcats’ rise gives them their highest standing in the poll since Week 7 after defeating previously-unbeaten Florida on Saturday in a shootout, while Kansas fell out of the top 10 for the first time all season after a 1-1 week that began with a 62-61 home loss to West Virginia.
Kentucky’s move up in the poll strengthened what has been a strong start to the season for the SEC, which owns the top two — No. 1 Tennessee and No. 2 Auburn — as well as No. 5 Alabama, No. 9 Florida and No. 10 Texas A&M. Of the 25 ranked teams, nine hail from the SEC — three more than the Big Ten, which has the second-most ranked teams with six.
Kansas’ fall to No. 11 is just as notable after starting the year ranked preseason No. 1 for a second consecutive year. KU unraveled at the end of last season because of injuries and depth issues but did not drop out of the top 10 until March. It’s the earliest in a season a No. 1-ranked KU team has fallen out of the top 10 under Bill Self and the fourth time it has happened in the five times Self had a preseason No. 1 team in Lawrence.
Meanwhile at the top of the poll, Tennessee for the first time since becoming the No. 1 team in the poll in Week 6 strengthened its standing at the top over No. 2 Auburn. The Vols, who are the only remaining undefeated team in college basketball, earned 45 first-place votes to Auburn’s 15 after it was split 41 to 20 a week ago. It’s the fourth consecutive week that only two teams — both of them being Tennessee and Auburn — earned first-place votes.
Falling out of the poll this week was Cincinnati, Arkansas and Baylor. Their spots were filled by newcomers West Virginia, Michigan and Utah State, which entered the mix at No. 21, No. 24 and No. 25, respectively. It’s the first time West Virginia and Utah State have been ranked all season and the first time Michigan has been in the poll since Week 7.
Here’s this week’s AP Top 25 rankings followed by takeaways from the poll.
AP Top 25
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week’s ranking:
Also receiving votes: Pittsburgh 91, Arkansas 62, Nebraska 62, Baylor 32, Wisconsin 31, St. John’s 27, San Diego St. 26, Cincinnati 22, Clemson 19, Maryland 7, Georgia 6, St. Bonaventure 6, Texas Tech 6, Indiana 6, Missouri 5, Arizona 3, Dayton 1, Georgetown 1, Vanderbilt 1, Xavier 1.
Illinois big riser of the week
No team rose more in this week’s poll than the Illinois Fighting Illini, who moved up nine spots to No. 13. The Illini went on the road and defeated Oregon 109-77 on Thursday then turned around and grinded another roadie out, 81-77 at Washington, to wrap their week on the west coast. It’s the highest ranking for Illinois (11-3, 3-1 Big Ten) all season after popping in and out of the polls over the last month.
SEC dominance continues
Tennessee and Auburn’s standing at No. 1 and No. 2 remains emblematic of the SEC’s stronghold on the sport right now. The league again led all conferences with nine ranked teams in the Top 25, which included three of the top five and six of the top 10.
The Big Ten had the next-most with six, and the Big 12 had four.
Here’s a look at the breakdown by league.
Ranked teams by conference
- SEC: 9
- Big Ten: 6
- Big 12: 4
- Big East: 2
- ACC: 1
- AAC: 1
- WCC: 1
- MWC: 1
UConn claws its way back
For the first time since a three-game meltdown at the Maui Invitational in late November, UConn — the back-to-back national champions — are once again inside the top 10 of the AP poll. The Huskies beat Providence 87-84 on Sunday to extend their winning streak to eight and in the process improved their record to 12-0 on the season in games played in the continental United States. UConn never fell out of the top 25 but dropped to as low as No. 25 in early December before steadily rising back to No. 9 this week, its highest ranking in the poll since Week 5 on Nov. 25.
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