The unpredictable nature of college basketball continues to catch Top 25 teams off guard through conference play, leading to massive upsets from start to finish each week. The past seven days have been no different.
With losses from top to bottom, some teams who feared the setback they thought they faced could actually hold steady in the rankings given the other results which followed. Those which split the week can even make a case to move up in some cases.
As the dust settles on another chaotic week of college basketball, here is a predictive look at what the 2024-25 AP Poll Top 25 could look like on Monday.
Predicted AP Poll Top 25
1. Auburn (Last Week: 1)
Auburn continues to dominate in the SEC, picking up two more wins against LSU and Ole Miss. The Tigers now have plenty cushion between themselves and the rest of the pack in college basketball.
2. Duke (Last Week: 2)
Duke picked up one of the two most important victories on their schedule, defeating North Carolina at home. The Blue Devils also knocked off NC State to start the week, helping build the win streak total.
3. Alabama (Last Week: 4)
Alabama benefits from the losses of those around them, slotting up again after taking care of business against Mississippi State and Georgia in SEC play. The Crimson Tide now return to the range where they started the season.
4. Purdue (Last Week: 10)
Purdue continues their slow and steady move up the Top 25 rankings which is aided by a win against in-state rival Indiana this week. The Boilermakers have made their case with steady play to capitalize on the upsets around them
5. Tennessee (Last Week: 8)
Tennessee dropped a game early in the week against Kentucky, but rebounded well with a blowout win against Florida which also served as revenge for the lopsided result in the first meeting between the two.
6. Florida (Last Week: 5)
Florida split results this week, beating Georgia before suffering a blowout loss against Tennessee. The Gators split the season series with the latter, despite neither game being competitive.
7. Houston (Last Week: 6)
Houston got a road win against West Virginia in the midweek slate, but failed to capitalize on the losses around them on Saturday when they lost against Texas Tech at home. The Cougars remain in the mix in the Big 12, but give up ground.
8. Iowa State (Last Week: 3)
Iowa State slipped up in Big 12 play, not once but twice over the past seven days. The first loss came against Arizona in overtime, the second was a blowout against a struggling Kansas State team.
9. Michigan State (Last Week: 7)
Michigan State started the week off with a win over Minnesota, but then took a loss on the road against USC over the weekend. The Spartans win streak comes to an end and so does their rise up the Top 25 rankings.
10. Texas A&M (Last Week: 13)
Texas A&M has an opportunity to rise into the Top 10 of the AP Poll this week thanks to upsets around them, while they took care of business against Oklahoma and South Carolina to avoid some of the few resume-hurting losses in the SEC this season.
Predicting 11-25
10. Marquette (Last Week: 9)
12. St. John’s (Last Week: 15)
13. Kansas (Last Week: 11)
14. Kentucky (Last Week: 12)
15. Missouri (Last Week: 20)
16. Texas Tech (Last Week: 22)
17. Memphis (Last Week 19)
18. Oregon (Last Week: 16)
19. Wisconsin (Last Week: 17)
20. Mississippi State (Last Week: 14)
21. Illinois (Last Week: 18)
22. UConn (Last Week: 25)
23. Michigan (Last Week: NR)
24. Maryland (Last Week: NR)
25. Ole Miss (Last Week: 23)
Projected to drop out: Louisville (Last Week: 21), Vanderbilt (Last Week: 24)
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