Auburn and Duke remained in the top two spots but the rest of the field saw plenty of shuffling in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll.
After road wins at LSU and Ole Miss, Auburn (20-1) unanimously held onto the top spot, and Duke (19-2) stayed at No. 2 with wins over North Carolina State and North Carolina.
Alabama (19-3) climbed one spot to No. 3 on the strength of key SEC wins at home against Georgia and on the road at Mississippi State (16-6), which dropped from No. 14 to No. 22. The Bulldogs also suffered an 88-61 drubbing at the hands of Missouri (17-4), which benefitted with a five-spot jump to No. 15.
Tennessee (18-4) jumped four spots to No. 4 with a 64-44 win over Florida (18-3), which dropped a spot to No. 6.
Maryland (17-5) returned to the poll for the first time in almost two years, coming in at No. 18 after a 76-68 win over then-No. 17 Wisconsin (17-5), which fell four slots to No. 21. Other newcomers this week were No. 20 Arizona (15-6), which was ranked for the first time since November on the heels of an 11-of-12 winning streak, and No. 24 Michigan (16-5), which had two Big Ten victories.
Illinois (15-7) stayed in the poll but dropped five spots to land at No. 23 after losing 80-74 in overtime to Nebraska and beating Ohio State 87-79.
The complete Top 25:
1. Auburn (20-1)
2. Duke (19-2)
3. Alabama (19-3)
4. Tennessee (18-4)
5. Houston (17-4)
6. Florida (18-3)
7. Purdue (17-5)
8. Iowa State (17-4)
9. Michigan State (18-3)
10. Texas A&M (15-5)
11. Marquette (18-4)
12. St. John’s (19-3)
13. Texas Tech (17-4)
14. Kentucky (15-6)
15. Missouri (17-4)
16. Kansas (15-6)
17. Memphis (18-4)
18. Maryland (17-5)
19. UConn (16-6)
20. Arizona (15-6)
21. Wisconsin (17-5)
22. Mississippi State (16-6)
23. Illinois (15-7)
24. Michigan (16-5)
25. Ole Miss (16-6)
–Field Level Media
