College basketball rankings: Alabama up to No. 3, Tennessee makes big jump in AP Top 25

Alabama moved up one spot in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll Monday from No. 4 to No. 3 after a perfect week in SEC play that included a road win over No. 14 Mississippi State and a home win over Georgia to improve to 8-1 in conference play. The Crimson Tide’s rise was aided by a loss by Iowa State, which had been ranked No. 3 for two consecutive weeks, after it stumbled twice this week in Big 12 play with losses to Arizona and Kansas State and fell to No. 8.

Alabama began the season ranked No. 2 and fell in the poll each of the first four weeks of the regular season to as far as No. 10 after a 6-2 start to the season that included losses to Purdue and Oregon. Since December, however, it has won 13 of its last 14 games led by the highest-scoring offense in college basketball.

Bama’s rise has been one of the biggest storylines in the SEC this season, overshadowed only by rival Auburn’s dominance all season. Auburn remained at No. 1 in the AP poll Monday for a fourth consecutive week and is the unanimous No. 1 for a third consecutive week after earning all 62 first-place votes.

Duke, on the heels of an 87-70 win over rival North Carolina over the weekend, remained at No. 2 for a third consecutive week, extending its stay in the top five to nine weeks. The Blue Devils did not pick off any first-place votes from the No. 1 Tigers but earned a season-high 1,488 points in the poll, up from 1,484 a week ago.

AP Top 25

1. Auburn (62)
2. Duke
3. Alabama
4. Tennessee
5. Houston
6. Florida
7. Purdue
8. Iowa State
9. Michigan State
10. Texas A&M
11. Marquette
12. St. John’s
13. Texas Tech
14. Kentucky
15. Missouri
16. Kansas
17. Memphis
18. Maryland
19. UConn
20. Arizona
21. Wisconsin
22. Mississippi State
23. Illinois
24. Michigan
25. Ole Miss

Also receiving votes: Clemson 182, Saint Mary’s 136, Louisville 86, Creighton 50, Oregon 39, UCLA 26, New Mexico 23, Drake 18, Gonzaga 11, Utah St. 8, Vanderbilt 4, Baylor 3, George Mason 3, Texas 1, Oklahoma 1.

KU falls after biggest blown lead

Kansas is tracking toward a finish outside of the top three in its conference in back to back seasons for the first time in 40-plus years — after starting both last season and this season as the preseason No. 1. It fell in the poll this week five spots to No. 16, its lowest ranking of the season, after a 1-1 week in which it squeezed out a close home win over UCF and fell on the road 81-70 at Baylor — after gagging away a 21-point lead. The 21-point blown lead is the program’s largest on record. 

Texas Tech, Maryland make big moves

The two biggest risers in the AP poll this week were Texas Tech, which moved from No. 22 to No. 13, and Maryland, which went from unranked to No. 18. It’s the highest ranking for Texas Tech since the final AP poll in 2021-22. It’s Maryland’s first appearance in the poll since the 2022-23 season and highest ranking since climbing to No. 13 in Week 5 that season.

How about Missouri?

Don’t let Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee and Florida distract you from brilliance elsewhere in the SEC. The league also has five more ranked teams including Missouri, which moved up to No. 15 this week. It marks the highest ranking for a Missouri basketball team in the AP poll this late in the season since 2011-12.