College Basketball Rankings: Predicting the AP Poll Top 25 after big-time matchup entering March

As the calendar finally flips to March, the madness is already underway with big results and plenty upsets on the first day of college basketball’s biggest month. Now, the AP Poll Top 25 looks to reflect the changes and set the table for the final week of the regular season.

With big wins and big losses from teams across the sport, top to bottom there will be movement in both directions as the voters look to balance which results carry the most weight entering the home stretch.

With movement everywhere, here is a predictive look at what the 2024-25 AP Poll Top 25 could look like on Monday.

Predicted AP Poll Top 25

1. Auburn (Last Week: 1)

Auburn has created even more separation atop the AP Poll Top 25 this week, defeating Ole Miss and Kentucky in convincing fashion to cement their status. It looks likely that regardless of the week’s results, the Tigers will finish the regular season No. 1.

2. Duke (Last Week: 2)

Duke picked up two more ACC wins as they cruise atop the conference standings, first against Miami and then against Florida State. The Blue Devils make the leap above the rest of the pack last week with no threat of losing that advantage now.

3. Houston (Last Week: 4)

Houston continues its quiet march up the AP Poll Top 25 as they pick up wins against Texas Tech and Cincinnati. The Cougars have a Big 12 title locked up and continue to benefit from the losses of those around them.

4. Tennessee (Last Week: 5)

Tennessee promises to move up the board in the latest AP Poll Top 25, winning a midweek matchup against LSU before putting an exclamation mark on their week by knocking off Alabama behind a buzzer-beater.

5. Florida (Last Week: 3)

Florida dropped a head-scratching game in the midweek slate against Georgia, but quickly bounced back with a dominant win over Texas A&M to limit the damage. The Gators now hope the effort prevents a steep fall in the Top 25.

6. St. John’s (Last Week: 7)

St. John’s is another team quietly moving up in the AP Poll 25 behind the losses of those above them, all while riding an impressive win streak in the Big East. The Red Storm now boasts a conference title after wins over

7. Alabama (Last Week: 6)

Alabama started the week off strong, beating Mississippi State in a midweek blowout. However, late mistakes cost them over the weekend when Tennessee beat the Crimson Tide at the buzzer to create separation in the next AP Poll.

8. Michigan State (Last Week: 8)

Michigan State strings together another big week in the Big Ten as they lead the way in the conference title race. The Spartans started the week with a win over Maryland and followed it up with a win against Wisconsin to further boost the resume.

9. Clemson (Last Week: 13)

Clemson could really see themselves vault into the Top 10 of this week’s AP Poll after another strong week saw them win against Notre Dame and Virginia. The Tigers continue to watch teams drop games while they ride a seven-game win streak.

10. Texas Tech (Last Week: 10)

While Texas Tech started the week off with a loss, it came against Houston and does not promise to hurt the resume much, especially after the weekend win over Kansas righted the ship. The Red Raiders also benefit from worse losses by teams around them.

Predicting 11-25

11. Iowa State (Last Week: 9)
12. Wisconsin (Last Week: 11)
13. Memphis (Last Week 18)
14. Louisville (Last Week: 19)
15. Missouri (Last Week: 14)
16. Texas A&M (Last Week: 12)
17. Michigan (Last Week: 15)
18. Maryland (Last Week: 16)
19. Kentucky (Last Week: 17)
20. Purdue (Last Week: 20)
21. Marquette (Last Week: 21)
22. Vanderbilt (Last Week: NR)
23. St. Mary’s (Last Week: 23)
24. Arizona (Last Week: 22)
25. BYU (Last Week: 25)

Projected to drop out: Mississippi State (Last Week: 24)