Auburn was the unanimous pick at No. 1 for the second straight week, receiving all 61 votes from a media panel in the poll released on Monday. The Tigers held the top spot for the eighth straight week following lopsided wins over Ole Miss and then-No. 17 Kentucky.
Duke was No. 2 for the second straight week after blowing out Miami and Florida State despite playing without guard Tyrese Proctor due to a bone bruise in his left knee.
No. 3 Houston moved up a spot after beating Texas Tech and Cincinnati, while Tennessee climbed to No. 4 following Jahmai Mashack’s last-second 3-pointer from well beyond halfcourt to beat Alabama 79-76.
Florida rounded out the top five, dropping two places after losing to Georgia and beating Texas A&M.
No. 8 Michigan State joined Auburn and Duke as the only teams to have the same ranking as last week.
St. John’s has pulled off quite the turnaround in its second season under coach Rick Pitino.
The Red Storm (26-4, 17-2Big East) have not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2019, but are pretty much a lock to end the drought after clinching their first Big East regular-season title in 40 years with Saturday’s 71-61 win over Seton Hall.
St. John’s also beat Butler last week and moved up a spot in this week’s poll to No. 6, its highest ranking since 1990-91.
No. 14 Louisville made the biggest move of the week, climbing five places following wins over Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh. No. 13 Maryland moved up three places after losing to Michigan State by three on Tre Holloman’s last-second heave from beyond midcourt and beating Penn State.
Kentucky (19-10) fell to No. 19 after the loss to Auburn.
No. 22 Texas A&M had by far the biggest drop, losing 10 places after losing to Vanderbilt and Florida, stretching its losing streak to four straight.
(AP Photo James Crisp)
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