Arizona hoops sniffing AP top 25 again with 4-0 start in Big 12
The Arizona Wildcats remain with No. 2 Iowa State and No. 10 Houston as Big 12 teams that remain undefeated through four conference games.
Caleb Love #1, Henri Veesaar #13, and Trey Townsend #4 of the Arizona Wildcats celebrate in the second half against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Fifth Third Arena on January 04, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
(Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
The Arizona Wildcats won their sixth game in a row and remain with No. 2 Iowa State and No. 10- Houston as Big 12 teams that remain undefeated through four conference games.
With that, Arizona is four spots out outside the top 25 of The Associated Press’ men’s basketball rankings.
The Wildcats tallied road victories over top 25 teams Cincinnati (16th) and West Virginia (21st) last week before beating UCF at home on Saturday.
Arizona next faces No. 25 Baylor on Tuesday night. The Bears are coming off a road win against Arizona State.
There’s a new No. 1 atop the AP top 25 rankings for men’s basketball
Auburn has climbed to No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s basketball poll for its second stint at the top in program history, while fellow SEC program Georgia is in the rankings for the first time in 14 years.
Bruce Pearl’s Tigers (15-1) claimed 60 of 62 first-place votes to rise one spot Monday after previous No. 1 Tennessee suffered its first loss of the season, falling at Florida, to end a five-week reign at the top. Auburn has been No. 1 only once before in the AP Top 25, during a three-week stint in January and February of 2022, and is the third team to sit atop the poll this season.
Auburn’s only loss came at Duke in early December and the Tigers have won eight straight games, though there is no word on when star forward Johni Broome might be ready to play after suffering an ankle injury in Saturday’s win over South Carolina.
The Tigers’ rise made them the headliner in another SEC-heavy poll, with the league having nine teams in the AP top 25 — including three of the top five and five of the top 10.
Iowa State rose one spot to No. 2, reaching its highest ranking in program history, followed by Duke, Alabama and Florida. The Blue Devils and Gators each claimed a first-place vote.
After Iowa State, the Big 12 is also represented by No. 9 Kansas, No. 10 Houston and No. 25 Baylor.
Men’s basketball AP top 25 rankings – Jan. 13
| Record | Pts | Prv | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Auburn (60) | 15-1 | 1548 | 2 |
| 2. Iowa St. | 14-1 | 1469 | 3 |
| 3. Duke (1) | 14-2 | 1403 | 4 |
| 4. Alabama | 14-2 | 1338 | 5 |
| 5. Florida (1) | 15-1 | 1326 | 8 |
| 6. Tennessee | 15-1 | 1251 | 1 |
| 7. Marquette | 14-2 | 1184 | 7 |
| 8. Kentucky | 13-3 | 1039 | 6 |
| 9. Kansas | 12-3 | 983 | 11 |
| 10. Houston | 12-3 | 935 | 12 |
| 11. Texas A&M | 13-3 | 883 | 10 |
| 12. Michigan St. | 14-2 | 797 | 16 |
| 13. Oregon | 15-2 | 781 | 15 |
| 14. UConn | 13-4 | 665 | 9 |
| 15. Mississippi St. | 14-2 | 624 | 14 |
| 16. Gonzaga | 14-4 | 569 | 18 |
| 17. Purdue | 13-4 | 553 | 20 |
| 18. Memphis | 13-3 | 511 | 19 |
| 19. Illinois | 12-4 | 496 | 13 |
| 20. Michigan | 13-3 | 418 | 24 |
| 21. Mississippi | 14-2 | 351 | 23 |
| 22. Utah St. | 16-1 | 250 | 25 |
| 23. Georgia | 14-2 | 221 | – |
| 24. Wisconsin | 13-3 | 132 | – |
| 25. Baylor | 11-4 | 119 | – |
Others receiving votes: St. John’s 83, Oklahoma 63, West Virginia 61, Arizona 26, Louisville 17, Texas Tech 12, Maryland 11, Clemson 8, Missouri 8, Cincinnati 4, San Diego St. 4, Saint Mary’s 3, UC Irvine 2, New Mexico 2.
USA Today Coaches poll for men’s basketball – Jan. 13
| Rank | School (record) | Points | Last week’s rank | First-place votes |
| 1 | Auburn (15-1) | 768 | 2 | 25 |
| 2 | Iowa State (14-1) | 739 | 3 | 5 |
| 3 | Duke (14-2) | 705 | 4 | 0 |
| 4 | Florida (15-1) | 649 | 8 | 0 |
| 5 | Alabama (14-2) | 648 | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | Tennessee (15-1) | 626 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | Marquette (14-2) | 587 | 6 | 0 |
| 8 | Houston (12-3) | 522 | 11 | 0 |
| 9 | Kentucky (13-3) | 514 | 7 | 0 |
| 10 | Kansas (12-3) | 460 | 12 | 0 |
| 11 | Texas A&M (13-3) | 425 | 9 | 0 |
| 12 | Michigan State (14-2) | 424 | 14 | 0 |
| 13 | Connecticut (13-4) | 345 | 10 | 0 |
| 14 | Oregon (15-2) | 343 | 17 | 0 |
| 15 | Purdue (13-4) | 294 | 19 | 0 |
| 16 | Gonzaga (14-4) | 285 | 18 | 0 |
| 17 | Memphis (13-3) | 272 | 20 | 0 |
| 18 | Mississippi State (14-2) | 267 | 13 | 0 |
| 19 | Michigan (13-3) | 231 | 24 | 0 |
| 20 | Illinois (12-4) | 223 | 15 | 0 |
| 21 | Mississippi (14-2) | 195 | 22 | 0 |
| 22 | Utah State (16-1) | 143 | 25 | 0 |
| 23 | Georgia (14-2) | 80 | NR | 0 |
| 24 | Baylor (11-4) | 72 | NR | 0 |
| 25 | West Virginia (12-3) | 69 | 23 | 0 |
Others receiving votes: St. John’s (14-3) 52; Arizona (10-5) 29; Wisconsin (13-3) 29; New Mexico (14-3) 19; Oklahoma (13-3) 14; UCLA (11-5) 12; Maryland (12-4) 8; Texas Tech (11-4) 6; Clemson (13-4) 5; Saint Mary’s (15-3) 4; Indiana (13-4) 3; Louisville (12-5) 3; Missouri (13-3) 2; San Diego State (10-4) 2; UC Irvine (15-2) 1.
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