No. 2 Auburn closes the gap on No. 1 Tennessee in AP Top 25 College Basketball Poll

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl yells at the bench during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Ohio State, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Kathryn Skeean)

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Basketball Writer

Auburn remains No. 2 while Alabama rises to No. 6 in the latest AP Top 25 College Basketball Poll.

Tennessee held onto No. 1, though Auburn closed the gap as the top five remained unchanged.

The Volunteers received 50 first-place votes from the national media panel after wins over Miami and Illinois pushed coach Rick Barnes’ program to 10-0 for only the fifth time in school history. Auburn picked up nine first-place votes from last week and had 12 total.

Tennessee is among five unbeatens left in men’s Division I basketball and one of three from the Southeastern Conference, joining No. 7 Florida (10-0)and No. 14 Oklahoma (10-0). Drake (9-0) and Utah State (10-0) also enter this week undefeated.

Auburn improved to 9-1 with its 91-53 blowout of Ohio State in Atlanta. Johni Broome showed the way with 21 points and 20 rebounds for the Tigers’ first 20-20 game in 35 years, then he raced back to Auburn for his graduation Saturday night.

“They may be the best team in the country right now,” Ohio State coach Jake Diebler said. “They have a lot of experience, and they made us pay when we made a mistake.”

The SEC continued to dominate the Top 25 with the Vols and Tigers joined by Kentucky, No. 6 Alabama and No. 7 Florida in giving the league five of the top seven. Kansas moved up two spots to No. 8 while Marquette and Oregon rounded out the top 10.

AP Top 25 College Basketball Poll (first-place votes in parentheses, SEC teams in bold):

1. Tennessee (50)
2. Auburn (12)
3. Iowa State
4. Kentucky
5. Duke
6. Alabama
7. Florida
8. Kansas
9. Marquette
10. Oregon
11. UConn
12. Texas A&M
13. Gonzaga
14. Oklahoma
15. Houston
16. Purdue
17. Ole Miss
18. UCLA
19. Cincinnati
20. Michigan State
21. Memphis
22. Dayton
23. San Diego State
24. Michigan
25. Clemson

Also receiving votes: Mississippi St. 158, Arkansas 151, Missouri 120, Baylor 115, Illinois 70, Drake 52, St. John’s 50, Utah St. 48, Pittsburgh 28, Maryland 24, West Virginia 19, Wisconsin 18, Georgia 18, Oklahoma St. 16, Arizona St 14, Creighton 12, North Carolina 9, Penn St. 8, Indiana 7, Texas 3, St. Bonaventure 2.

UConn made the biggest jump this week, climbing seven spots to No. 11 after beating Gonzaga. UCLA climbed six spots to No. 18 after beating Arizona for its eighth straight win, while Texas A&M moved up five spots to No. 12.

Michigan plummeted 10 places to No. 24 after blowing its halftime lead in an 89-87 loss to Arkansas in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. Clemson fell nine spots to No. 25 while Gonzaga and Purdue each dropped five spots.

In and out

Memphis spent a week at No. 16 earlier this year before a loss to Arkansas State. They returned while Dayton made its season debut at the expense of Wisconsin and Mississippi State, which received the most votes of those outside the Top 25.

Conference watch

The SEC has eight teams in the Top 25 along with the first three outside the poll in Mississippi State, Arkansas and Missouri. The Big Ten has five, the Big 12 has four, and the ACC and Big East two apiece. Nine leagues had a ranked team.

(Copyright 2024 The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)