One week after there was no shakeup in the top five of the AP’s Top 25, this week’s poll brings a new No. 1 and notable movement elsewhere. For the first time this season, Auburn has taken the top spot, after previous No. 1 Tennessee dropped five spots following its first loss of the season, a 30-point blowout at then-eighth-ranked Florida. Behind the Tigers, Iowa State, Duke, Alabama and Florida all moved up at least one spot, and the Gators moved up three spots to crack the top five.
Florida (15-1) followed up its big win over the Volunteers at home Tuesday by defeating Arkansas on Saturday. Iowa State, which jumped to No. 2 behind Auburn, hold the program’s highest-ever ranking with big tests ahead this week. Kansas and Houston, two other Big 12 contenders with identical records, each moved ahead two spots to return to the top 10, the Jayhawks at No. 9 and the Cougars at No. 10.
Farther down the poll, Michigan State made a significant jump, rising four spots to No. 12 following a 34-point rout of Washington and a win over Northwestern on the road Sunday. Illinois dropped six spots down to No. 19 after its double-digit loss to unranked USC without star freshman Kasparas Jakucionis.
Here’s the full poll, alongside the ballot of The Athletic’s C.J. Moore:
AP Top 25: Jan. 13
| Rank | Team | Record | Prev | CJ’s vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
15-1 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
2 |
14-1 |
3 |
2 |
|
|
3 |
14-2 |
4 |
3 |
|
|
4 |
14-2 |
5 |
4 |
|
|
5 |
15-1 |
8 |
5 |
|
|
6 |
15-1 |
1 |
6 |
|
|
7 |
14-2 |
7 |
7 |
|
|
8 |
13-3 |
6 |
10 |
|
|
9 |
12-3 |
11 |
9 |
|
|
10 |
12-3 |
12 |
8 |
|
|
11 |
13-3 |
10 |
15 |
|
|
12 |
14-2 |
16 |
11 |
|
|
13 |
15-2 |
15 |
14 |
|
|
14 |
13-4 |
9 |
18 |
|
|
15 |
14-2 |
14 |
13 |
|
|
16 |
14-4 |
18 |
19 |
|
|
17 |
13-4 |
20 |
16 |
|
|
18 |
13-3 |
19 |
20 |
|
|
19 |
12-4 |
13 |
12 |
|
|
20 |
13-3 |
24 |
17 |
|
|
21 |
14-2 |
23 |
22 |
|
|
22 |
16-1 |
25 |
25 |
|
|
23 |
14-2 |
NR |
23 |
|
|
24 |
13-3 |
NR |
21 |
|
|
25 |
11-4 |
NR |
NR |
|
|
NR |
14-3 |
NR |
24 |
This is the ninth straight week I’ve voted for Auburn No. 1, but I predict I may be voting for someone else next week. That’s because star forward Johni Broome could miss significant time with an ankle injury, and it’s likely he’s out for at least both games this week. Just about every game in the SEC is an opportunity to lose, and the Tigers play two teams in Top 25: No. 15 Mississippi State at home and No. 23 Georgia in Athens.
But there is still hope that the Tigers can quickly adjust their offensive identity and keep rolling. This is one of the deepest teams in the country, and coach Bruce Pearl is likely to lean more on his perimeter with Broome out. The two players who will likely see their usage shoot up are Tahaad Pettiford and Miles Kelly.
Lineups without Broome but with those two have flourished, albeit the sample sizes are relatively small. The Kelly/Pettiford combo without Broome is outscoring opponents by 44.9 points per 100 possessions in 41 minutes, per CBB Analytics. Pettiford has played 126 minutes without Broome on the floor and has a plus-33.9 efficiency margin. The freshman has been clutch in big moments, and if Auburn is to continue rolling, my bet is on Pettiford emerging as the star. — C.J. Moore
The Cyclones reached No. 2 on Monday for the first time in program history. This is a big week for the Clones, welcoming Kansas to town on Wednesday and then traveling to West Virginia on Saturday. Win both, and the Cyclones could find themselves at No. 1 for the first time next Monday if Auburn were to lose. A win over Kansas could also set the Cyclones up in a favorable spot in the conference race. They haven’t won a regular-season Big 12 title since 2001. — Moore
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I’d been holding out recently on reinserting the Johnnies in my top 25, because while their metrics have been good, their resume was lacking any noteworthy wins. That (sort of) changed last week with a road win at Xavier followed by a 12-point win over Villanova on Saturday. The Villanova win was the first over a top-50 team at KenPom. The Wildcats are No. 48, but as I wrote last week, they’d been performing at a Top 25 level recently. Xavier has underwhelmed this season, but it has played the Big East’s best (Marquette and UConn) close, and St. John’s gets a little extra credit for winning on the road.
St. John’s needs to continue beating up on weak opponents to keep its computer numbers strong, because there aren’t many chances to boost that resume. Marquette and UConn are the only chances left to get wins against what I’d consider NCAA Tournament locks. Luckily St. John’s gets to play each twice. And Rick Pitino is getting help from his son. Richard Pitino’s New Mexico, which St. John’s beat on Nov. 17, is trending upward, off to a 6-0 start in the Mountain West. — Moore
(Photo: Jeff Blake / Imagn Images)
