Duke ascended to its highest ranking in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll since the 2023-24 preseason on Monday with a leap from No. 3 to No. 2 behind unanimous No. 1 Auburn. The Blue Devils, who began the season ranked No. 7 and fell to as low as No. 12 in November after a 4-2 start to the season, have been in the top 10 for eight consecutive weeks, culminating with a one-spot climb each of the last three weeks.

Duke’s rise has been fueled by a nation-leading winning streak of 12 games made possible in part by last week’s No. 2 team, Iowa State, falling at West Virginia on Saturday. In that span Duke has defeated then-No. 2 (now-No. 1) Auburn and raced out to an 8-0 start in ACC play – its best start in conference action since 2007-08.

Auburn, ranked No. 1 for a second consecutive week, has not lost since its defeat at Duke in early December, and improved to 17-1 on the season with a pair of SEC wins this week. The Tigers strengthened their grip on No. 1 by earning all 62 first-place votes after a week that ended with a scare from Georgia. They are the first unanimous No. 1 in the AP poll since UConn claimed that title after finishing last season 37-3 and winning its second consecutive national championship.

With 18 ranked teams taking at least one loss over the last week there was plenty of movement elsewhere in the AP Top 25 this week led by Gonzaga, Georgia (who both lost twice) Utah State and Baylor falling out and St. John’s, Missouri, West Virginia and Louisville joining the ranks. Those changes also included Iowa State dropping to No. 3, Houston rising to No. 7 and Michigan State entering the top 10 for the first time this season at No. 8.  

AP Top 25

1. Auburn (62)
2. Duke
3. Iowa State
4. Alabama
5. Florida
6. Tennessee
7. Houston
8. Michigan State
9. Kentucky
10. Marquette
11. Purdue
12. Kansas
13. Texas A&M
14. Mississippi State
15. Oregon
16. Ole Miss
17. Illinois
18. Wisconsin
19. UConn
20. St. John’s
21. Michigan
22. Missouri
23. West Virginia
24. Memphis
25. Louisville

Also receiving votes: Texas Tech 104, Utah St. 38, Vanderbilt 35, Gonzaga 34, Georgia 30, Clemson 30, Arizona 21, Saint Mary’s 12, Cincinnati 4, Baylor 4, UC Irvine 3, Wake Forest 2, Creighton 2, Bradley 1, Maryland 1.

First unanimous No. 1 of 2024-25

The first unanimous No. 1 team in men’s college basketball this season, fittingly, is the Auburn Tigers. Auburn claimed the No. 1 spot in the AP poll last week for the first time all season following Tennessee’s first loss of the season and a subsequent fall. It is the first team to earn all available first-place votes this season and first team to earn unanimous status during a regular-season poll since UConn did so on Feb. 19 of last year. The Huskies lost their subsequent game but did not lose the remainder of the season en route to a second national championship, which finished with unanimous status in the final AP poll.

Hello, Louisville!

First-year coach Pat Kelsey has Louisville, ranked No. 25 this week, back in the AP poll for the first time since Jan. 25, 2021. The Cardinals (14-5) have won eight consecutive games after a challenging 6-5 start to the season headlined by wins over North Carolina, Clemson and Pitt in the New Year. 

SEC leads way with eight teams

The season of the SEC once again continued this week with the league leading the way with eight ranked teams even after Georgia dropped out of this week’s poll, with five of those landing in the top 10. The Big Ten had the next-most with six, followed by the Big 12 with five.

The Big East and ACC each had two. The AAC and Mountain West each had one.