Kansas remains No. 1 in the first Associated Press Men’s College Basketball Top 25 Poll of the regular season after winning a matchup of the basketball bluebloods, while Gonzaga and Auburn move into the top five after impressive opening week wins. St. Petersburg, led by Rick Pitino. John’s joins the ranks.
The Jayhawks won 44 of 62 votes at home against North Carolina, a 92-89 win despite Kansas blowing a 20-point lead. That put them ahead of Alabama and two-time national champion UConn with their unchanged 1-2-3 lineup in the polls, with the Tide receiving six first-place votes and the Huskies receiving seven.
Mark Few’s Zags moved up two spots to fourth after occupying first place at the time. 8 Baylor passed Arizona State to start the season. Then there were Bruce Pearl’s Tigers, who beat the then No. 1 and jumped six places to No. 5, their biggest jump of the week. 4 Houston. The Zags and Tigers received the remaining five first-place votes.
Auburn was the only newcomer in the significantly revamped top 10, while Duke moved up one spot to No. 6 to lead the next group. Iowa State was ranked 7th, followed by Iowa State. Houston, Arizona and UNC fell one spot after losses at KU’s Allen Fieldhouse.
St. John’s’ jump to No. 22 marked a notable comeback for two reasons. This is the Red Storm’s first appearance since spending a week ranked 24th in January 2019, but it also marks the return of Hall of Fame coach Pitino.
This is the first time that Coach Pitino’s team has been ranked in the top 25 since the final poll of the 2016-17 season, when Pitino was in Louisville. Pitino was fired just before next season amid an ongoing federal corruption investigation into college basketball that has entangled the Cardinals and several other programs. Pitino spent three seasons at Iona (2020-23) before taking the job at St. John’s prior to last season.
The No. 21 Ohio State recruit joined St. John’s as a rookie of the week, marking his first appearance for the Buckeyes since January 2023.
Sacred Heart Pioneers vs. No. 3 UConn Huskies Highlights
Texas (19th) and UCLA (22nd) were eliminated in the preseason poll.
After Auburn, Kentucky made the next biggest jump this week, moving up four spots to No. 19 to begin Mark Pope’s tenure, followed by No. 15 Marquette and No. 17 Cincinnati, up three spots.
In total, 13 teams rose in the preseason poll rankings.
Texas A&M had the biggest drop of the week, dropping 10 spots to 23rd after losing to UCF in the season opener. Houston joined in 12th place. Baylor dropped four spots after a loss against a highly ranked opponent.
A total of seven teams fell in the previous poll.
The Southeastern Conference is led by eight teams under new head coach John Calipari, including Tennessee (11th), Arkansas (18th), Florida (20th) and Ole Miss (25th).
The Big 12 follows with six teams, followed by the Big East and Big Ten with four teams each. The ACC has two and the West Coast Conference has one.
The top 25 overall APs are:
1. Kansas
2. Alabama
3. Yukon
4. Gonzaga
5. Auburn
6. Duke
7. Iowa Street
8. Houston
9. Arizona
10. UNC
11. Tennessee
12. Baylor
13. Purdue
14. Creighton
15. Market
16. Indiana
17. Cincinnati
18. Arkansas
19. Kentucky
20. Florida
21. Ohio State
22. St. John’s
23. Texas A&M
24. Rutgers
25. ole miss
The Associated Press reported.
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