The Auburn Tigers stay at the top of the latest AP men’s college basketball top-25 rankings after their win against Alabama. Purdue fell six spots after back-to-back losses against Michigan and Wisconsin. Arizona, Memphis, Kansas, and Ole Miss also saw big drops after losses this past week. With so many big matchups and important games, the college basketball landscape continues to change with just three weeks left in the regular season.
In what was the first-ever top-two matchup in the SEC, the Tigers held on 94-85 to beat the Crimson Tide on Saturday. It was Auburn’s first win over a team that highly ranked since 1988, and the first time the two schools in the state were both that highly ranked. With the win, Auburn holds onto the top spot in the country for the sixth straight week. They now have the longest streak by an SEC team in that position since Kentucky held the honor for the entire 2014-15 season.
Despite playing on the road against their highest-ranked opponent of the season, the Tigers held their own against their in-state rivals. As a team, they shot better, hit more threes, played better defense, and had fewer turnovers compared to the Tide. Alabama was held below their season-average scoring marks, and despite having a plus-nine rebounding advantage, had little success stopping Auburn. Johni Broome led the Tigers with 19 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists while he continued his push for the Player of the Year award.
With the loss, Alabama drops to fourth in the rankings. All six of their remaining opponents this season are currently ranked, and they’ll face Auburn again in their regular season finale on March 8th.
The Boilermakers were the seventh-ranked team in the country before they lost to Wisconsin and Michigan last week. Both games were close to start, but Purdue just couldn’t do enough in each of the second halves to walk away with wins. They gave up a season-high 58 points to the Badgers in the second, allowing them to shoot 61.5% and score their third-most points this season. Purdue is near the bottom of the country in rebounds per game, with Trey Kaufman-Renn as their only player to average more than five a night.
It just seems like the Boilermakers haven’t been able to regain the magic they had with Zach Edey, as it’s been a disappointing season so far. They have seven losses, which is already more than they had in each of the last two seasons. Purdue is now 13th in the AP rankings and third in the Big Ten standings, behind both Wisconsin and Michigan. They’ll need to make some changes to repeat the postseason success they saw with Edey, and luckily none of their remaining games are against ranked opponents.
Both Wisconsin and Michigan jumped up in the rankings after beating Purdue. The Wolverines reached their highest position all season at No. 12, after also beating Ohio State on Sunday. Despite so many of their games coming down to the wire, they’ve been clutch, and hold the top spot in the conference. The Badgers rose to No. 11 in the latest rankings, and have now won four games in a row with the help of their top-30 offense in the country. The Wolverines play Michigan State twice and Maryland as their final ranked games of the season, while Wisconsin plays the Spartans once as their only ranked game remaining.
Missouri, Clemson, and Maryland each moved up at least five spots in what were the other biggest jumps in this week’s rankings. All three won each of their two games last week by double-digits, despite each of them also losing the week before. Missouri and Maryland both have two remaining ranked teams on their schedule, while Clemson has just one.
Besides Purdue, Arizona, Kansas, Memphis, and Ole Miss saw the biggest drop in this new AP Poll.
The Wildcats lost both of their games last week to Kansas State and Houston. Losing to the Cougars was tough but not unexpected, but they should have walked away victorious against a .500 KSU team. After a disappointing start to the year, Arizona looked to be in great form in conference play before these last two games. After reaching a season-high 13th rank last week, they’re now down to 19th.
The Jayhawks beat a poor Colorado team and then lost to the subpar Utah Utes. Even with the immense amount of talent on the team, Kansas continues to fall in what was supposed to be a promising season. They’ve now lost four of their last seven games, and sit sixth in the Big-12 standings. Three of their last five games this season are against ranked opponents.
Both Memphis and Ole Miss each went 1-1 last week, as they fall in the most recent rankings. Memphis fell eight spots in what was the biggest drop-off by any team, after losing to a 10-loss Wichita State team. The Rebels lost to in-state rival Mississippi State, who are now ranked higher than them for the first time this season. Ole Miss has three ranked games left on their schedule, including Alabama, Tennessee, and Florida.
Also, both Florida and Houston have just been cruising under the radar this season. The Gators won their two games last week easily, and are tied for third in the SEC standings. Two of their three losses this season have come against ranked conference opponents, and they are the fourth-best rebounding team in the country. Houston, on the other hand, beat Arizona to take the top spot in the Big 12. They have only one loss in conference play, and all but one of their losses this season have come against ranked opponents. Both the Gators and Cougars are sure to be top contenders when March Madness starts in a little over a month.
This past weekend was massive in college basketball, with top teams going down and others being brought back up after big wins. Some teams had a bit of a reality check, like Arizona and Kansas, while others saw their success being recognized, like Wisconsin and Michigan. The Auburn and Alabama matchup was by far the biggest game this season, and the Tigers proved they deserve the top spot in the country. The college basketball season has only three weeks remaining, and there are a ton of more big games to be played before the conference tournaments and March Madness start.
As things stand in week 16 of the college basketball season, the SEC leads the country with nine teams in the rankings, including three in the top five. Both the Big Ten and Big 12 each have five ranked teams, while the ACC has three, the Big East with two, and the AAC with one.
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