Voters have consistently shown deference to the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 poll with a clear, yet unwritten, modus operandi by which to handle their ballots related to the top-ranked team in the sport: by not bumping the respective No. 1 team from the top spot unless it loses.
That was clear earlier this season with Kansas holding at No. 1 the first five weeks of the season despite evidence that Auburn was the better team. It was also clear when Tennessee held at No. 1 for five weeks despite evidence that Auburn was the better team. On Monday, I suspect it will again be clear when Auburn holds at No. 1 for a fourth consecutive week despite evidence that Duke — which, I might remind you, is the only team to beat Auburn — has looked like the better team of late.
Voting tendencies suggest Auburn’s spot at No. 1 — especially after winning its 13th straight game this weekend with a 10-point road win over Ole Miss — is not in serious jeopardy. However, Auburn’s standing as the unanimous No. 1 might be.
While the Tigers have won 13 straight, No. 2 Duke won its 15th straight on Saturday, demolishing rival North Carolina in a wire-to-wire beatdown. The result moved the Blue Devils to 19-2 on the season, and efficiency ratings give them the No. 3 defense and No. 5 offense — the only team in the sport with top-five units on both ends of the floor.
College basketball scores, winners and losers: Michigan State, Houston lose first conference games
Cameron Salerno
Will Auburn’s unanimous No. 1 standing continue for a third consecutive week? That appears to be the biggest potential drama in Monday’s AP poll with Duke surging, given that I project all the top 10 teams from last week to also be top 10 teams this week (albeit, in many cases, in a slightly different order). It’s very much in jeopardy if people watched the Blue Devils dismantle their rival with ease on a national stage over the weekend.
Here’s how I project that issue — and the rest of the Top 25 — to look Monday when the poll updates. As always this is not a personal ballot, rather it’s a projection of how I think it will look when AP votes are tabulated.
Projected to drop out: Ole Miss, Vanderbilt
