In Monday’s new poll, Bruce Pearl‘s Tigers received 49 of 61 first-place votes, extending their first stay at No. 1 for a second week, while John Calipari’s Wildcats ascended to No. 5 for the first time in more than two years in the AP Top 25. For the first time in almost three years, the SEC has two top-five teams.
Since losing a double-overtime game to Connecticut in November, Auburn (20-1) has won 17 straight games. The Tigers won a close game at Missouri in their first game at No. 1, then beat Oklahoma at home on Saturday, not to mention the school agreeing to an eight-year contract with Pearl.
“It’s been a nice week,” Pearl joked after the Sooners’ victory.
Kentucky (17-4) jumped seven positions this week after beating Kansas by 18 points on Saturday. This is Kentucky’s best position since the start of the 2019-20 season, when the Wildcats sat at No. 6 in early March after spending one week at No. 1 in the inaugural regular-season poll.
“Every time we play as a team, I don’t think anyone can stop us,” Oscar Tshiebwe, Kansas’ big man, remarked after the Wildcats’ victory. This is the first time the SEC has had two top-five teams since February 2019, when Kentucky and Tennessee were fourth and fifth, respectively.
THE TOP TIER-
Gonzaga stayed in second place and received the remaining 12 first-place votes. Purdue, which had its first No. 1 ranking earlier this season, was ranked third, followed by UCLA. The Bruins started the season at No. 2 and have already spent 11 weeks in the top five, while the Boilermakers have spent nine weeks.
STUMBLE OF CHAMPIONS
After Kentucky, Houston and Arizona were next, followed by reigning national champion Baylor, which has fallen after a 15-0 start and a 21-game winning streak dating back to last year’s championship season.
After losing to Alabama on Saturday, Baylor has split its last six games after spending five weeks at the top. The Big 12 hasn’t had at least one team in the top five since the last poll of the 2018-19 season, thanks to the Bears’ four-spot drop.
Baylor is still the only team in the USA to rank in the top ten in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency (118.8 points per 100 possessions) and adjusted defensive efficiency (118.8 points per 100 possessions) rankings (89.1).
RISING
While Kentucky made the greatest jump, No. 18 Illinois also made a significant move, moving six positions after a win over Michigan State last week. In total, nine clubs improved in the poll released on Monday.
SLIDING
After losing to Kentucky, Kansas dropped five positions to No. 10, but it was No. 25 LSU that dropped the most this week. After losing against TCU, the Tigers dropped six positions.
No. 19 Southern California and No. 22 Tennessee have dropped four positions, joining Arizona and Baylor. In all, nine clubs dropped from the previous week’s standings.
STATUS QUO
Six teams, including No. 9 Duke, No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 16 Ohio State, and No. 21 Xavier, stayed undefeated for the second week in a row.
WELCOME BACK
Following a one-week hiatus in a season that saw the Longhorns begin at No. 5, Texas re-entered the poll at No. 23 as the lone new entry.
FAREWELL (FOR NOW)
After earning the program’s first AP Top 25 rating since March 2015, Davidson dropped out of the rankings.
CONFERENCE WATCH
In Monday’s poll, the Big 12, Big East, and Big Ten matched for the national lead with five ranked teams apiece. The SEC has four, with the Pac-12 having three. Each conference featured one rated team: the Atlantic Coast, West Coast, and American Athletic.
