Auburn Dominates AP Top 25; Kansas Falls from Grace

Auburn Holds Firm at No. 1 as Kansas Exits Top 25

Feb 24, 2025, 01:20 PM ET

In the world of college basketball, the winds of change are blowing strong, and nowhere is this more evident than in the latest AP Top 25 rankings. For the seventh consecutive week, the Auburn Tigers have maintained their position at the pinnacle of the poll. Meanwhile, the preseason No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks have experienced a dramatic fall from grace, dropping out of the rankings for the first time in nearly four years. This marks the end of an impressive 80-week streak for the Jayhawks.

The Tigers’ dominance is underscored by their unanimous support from the national media panel, earning all 60 votes after securing victories over Arkansas and Georgia last week. Following Auburn in the rankings are Duke and Florida, who have swapped places in the poll. Houston and Tennessee complete the top five, with Houston boasting the nation’s longest active streak in the Top 25 at 102 weeks.

The Jayhawks’ fall from the rankings is a significant moment, as they were last unranked on Feb. 8, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. That period ended a record 231 consecutive weeks in the Top 25 for Kansas. This week, their exclusion follows a 74-67 loss at Utah and a historic 91-57 defeat at the hands of BYU, marking the largest margin of defeat for a ranked Kansas team against an unranked opponent. BYU’s impressive performance has earned them a spot in the poll at No. 25 this week.

Despite the setbacks, Kansas bounced back with a resounding 96-64 victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse. Jayhawks coach Bill Self commented, “We’re 1-0. That’s what we’re talking about. And everybody’s stat sheet in what they’re averaging this year is exactly what happened today. And we’re not even going to talk about the other stuff right now.”

Elsewhere in the rankings, Alabama slipped two spots to No. 6, followed by St. John’s and Michigan State, which made a significant leap of six spots after securing back-to-back wins over ranked opponents Purdue and Michigan. Iowa State and Texas Tech round out the top 10.

Joining Kansas in exiting the rankings is Ole Miss, which had been ranked for 13 of the past 16 weeks. Their departure makes room for Saint Mary’s, who enter at No. 23 after victories over Portland and Gonzaga. BYU’s entry into the rankings follows their win over Kansas and a thrilling 96-95 victory over then-No. 19 Arizona, secured by two clutch free throws from Richie Saunders with just 3.2 seconds remaining.

BYU’s recent success marks the first time since 1988 that the Cougars have defeated ranked teams in consecutive games. First-year BYU coach Kevin Young emphasized the team’s focus, stating, “My message to our group is, you know, whatever the next challenge in front of us, we’re trying to attack it, whether that’s practice, whether that’s shootaround, whether that’s a game. I know that sounds cliché but that’s really been the recipe for us, to not look any further than what we have to do at that moment.”

Rising and Falling

Louisville joined Michigan State in making the biggest jump in this week’s poll, climbing six spots to No. 19. The Cardinals beat Florida State in their only game last week for their fifth consecutive win, and they head into this week tied with No. 13 Clemson for second in the ACC behind the second-ranked Blue Devils.

Purdue fell seven spots to No. 20 after losses to Michigan State and Indiana, but the Boilermakers held onto a spot in the Top 25 for the 55th consecutive week. That is now the third-longest active streak behind Houston and Tennessee (76 weeks).

Preseason Top 25 Checkup

Kansas isn’t the only team ranked highly in the preseason poll to drop out altogether this season. Two-time defending national champion UConn was No. 3 with 11 first-place votes in October but did not appear on any ballots this week. Gonzaga was sixth, Baylor eighth and North Carolina ninth in the preseason poll — and all are unranked. In all, more than half of the teams in the preseason poll — 13 of them — failed to crack this week’s Top 25.

Conference Watch

The SEC continued its dominance with three of the top five and eight total in the Top 25 this week. The Big 12 had three in the top 10 and five ranked teams, while the Big Ten also had five teams in the poll. The ACC had three, the Big East had two and the American and West Coast conferences had one team apiece.