Tennessee ranks No. 1 in AP Top 25 after change; Iowa State No. 3 is its highest ranking since the 1950s

Tennessee is the new no. 1 in men’s college basketball after a massive turnaround in the Top 25 AP.

The Vols received 58 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel on Monday to move into No. 1 for the first time since the 2018-19 season. Tennessee moved up two spots from last week after Kansas lost twice and Auburn fell to No. 4 Duke. The Tigers remained at No. 2 and received three first-place votes.

No. 3 Iowa State had one first-place vote and moved up three spots from last week for its highest ranking since 1956-57. Kentucky rounded out the top five.

A total of 14 ranked teams lost last week, including six teams in the top 10; Kansas and then-No. 11 Wisconsin has lost twice. Only two teams — Auburn and No. 12 Oregon – remained in the same poll spots as a week ago, and the volatility saw five teams jump in the rankings.

Tennessee (8-0) is off to its best start since opening the 2000-01 season at 9-0 and is No. 1 in the NET rankings. The Vols are also second in the KenPom rankings, ranking second in defensive efficiency and ninth in offensive efficiency despite losing four starters from last year’s SEC championship team. Tennessee beat Syracuse 96-70 in his only game last week.

Kansas was No. 1 in the preseason poll before losing 76-63 to Creighton and 76-67 to rival Missouri. The losses dropped the Jayhawks to 10th.

Auburn was poised to move into No. 1 for the first time since 2021-22, but lost 84-78 at Duke before beating Richmond.

Iowa State had its highest preseason ranking at No. 5 after reaching the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament a year ago. The Cyclones lost by two to Auburn in the Maui Invitational, but have since won four straight.

Iowa State blew out Jackson State 100-58 in its only game last week before facing rival Iowa this week.

The Huskies are back

Two-time defending national champion UConn nearly fell out of the poll last week after going 0-for-3 in Maui. The Huskies bounced back nicely last week with impressive wins over Baylor and Texas to climb seven places in this week’s poll to No. 18.

“Maybe the people with the shovels and the dirt, maybe they were too quick to grab the shovel and dump the dirt on us,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said.

It rises and falls

Oklahoma had the biggest jump in this week’s poll, climbing eight spots to No. 13 after beating Georgia Tech and Alcorn State. Duke and No. 17 Texas A&M each moved up five spots.

Kansas had the biggest drop, followed by No. 20 Wisconsin, which dropped nine spots. No. 22 Cincinnati dropped eight spots.

In and out

Several teams have moved in and out of this week’s poll.

No. 14 Michigan is ranked for the first time in nearly three years after close wins over Wisconsin and Iowa. The Wolverines have won seven in a row under first-year coach Dusty May.

No. 16 Clemson is ranked first this season in wins Kentucky and Miami. No. 21 Michigan State is also ranked first in wins Nebraska and Minnesota.

No. 24 UCLA is ranked for the first time since the preseason poll after wins over Washington and Oregon. Mississippi State no. 25 returns in the survey after blasting Pittsburgh 90-57 and defeating Prairie View A&M.

Baylor, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Illinois and North Carolina all dropped from the rankings.

The conference

The SEC led all conferences with nine ranked teams, followed by the Big Ten with six and the Big 12 with four. The Atlantic Coast Conference and Big East each had two ranked teams, while the West Coast and Mountain West Conferences each had one.

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This story has been corrected to show that UCLA was ranked No. 22 in the preseason poll instead of being unranked in nearly two years.

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