College Basketball Rankings: Predicting the AP Poll Top 25 after No. 1 vs. No. 2 settles debate

The battle between No. 1 Auburn and No. 2 Alabama headlined a week which was guaranteed to shake up the AP Poll Top 25 again after a thrilling slate of games. The top-ranked matchup delivered, setting teams up to battle for their spot.

Auburn held serve and kept its spot at No. 1, and created more separation at the top of college basketball with just a month left in the regular season before conference tournaments and the NCAA Tournament begin.

After seeing Alabama fall short at home, 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 settled the debate of which team should hold the No. 1 spot in the updated AP Poll Top 25, knocking off Alabama on the road after picking up a midweek win in SEC play to keep hold of the lead in the SEC title race and create separation up top.

2. Florida (Last Week: 3)

Florida entered the week tied with Duke, and picked up a Top 25 win against Mississippi State before taking care of business against South Carolina. That projects well for the Gators as they look to move up the AP Poll.

3. Duke (Last Week: 3)

Duke regained its form this week, picking up a pair of convincing wins against California and Stanford. They now see if they can break the tie against Florida, or if they will have enough on the resume to hold serve and push Alabama further down.

4. Alabama (Last Week: 2)

Alabama took care of business in the midweek to set up the anticipated No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup against Auburn but took a home loss which should not set them back too far based on their overall resume and the strength of competition.

5. Houston (Last Week: 6)

Houston just keeps rolling in the Big 12, with a win over Baylor setting them up to take down Arizona and create separation at the top of the conference standings. The Cougars also look to rise up the Top 25 with the resume-building outcomes.

6. Texas A&M (Last Week: 8)

Texas A&M makes a case to see a jump in the latest AP Poll Top 25, picking up wins over SEC bubble teams Georgia and Arkansas at home. The Aggies boast one of the best records in the conference entering the home stretch.

7. Tennessee (Last Week: 5)

Tennessee dropped a game against Kentucky in the midweek slate and removed itself from the conversation of teams looking to move up. However, the Volunteers bounced back to hang on against in-state rival Vanderbilt.

8. Iowa State (Last Week: 10)

Iowa State helped itself recover from a brief losing streak early in the month, winning Big 12 matchups against UCF and Cincinnati who are currently battling on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

9. Texas Tech (Last Week: 12)

Texas Tech projects to soar into the Top 10 of the AP Poll this week, benefitting from their wins against Arizona State and Oklahoma State to set up a rise while other teams drop with losses added to the resume.

10. St. John’s (Last Week: 9)

St. John’s just holds onto a spot inside the projected Top 10 with a Sunday win against Creighton which helps offset a midweek loss against Villanova. They also hold onto the top spot in the Big East standings.

Predicting 11-25

11. Wisconsin (Last Week: 16)
12. Purdue (Last Week: 7)
13. Michigan State (Last Week: 11)
14. Marquette (Last Week: 18)
15. Kentucky (Last Week: 15)
16. Michigan (Last Week: 20)
17. Missouri (Last Week: 21)
18. Arizona (Last Week: 13)
19. Clemson (Last Week: 23)
20. Maryland (Last Week: 25)
21. Kansas (Last Week: 17)
22. Mississippi State (Last Week: 22)
23. Memphis (Last Week 14)
24. Ole Miss (Last Week: 19)
25. Louisville (Last Week: NR)

Projected to drop out: Creighton (Last Week: 24)