Auburn still No. 1 in men’s AP Top 25; St. John’s rises to No. 6
Auburn and Duke remain atop the AP Top 25, while the rest of the poll was a big jumble.
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 Monday. The Tigers held the top spot for the eighth straight week following lopsided wins over Ole Miss and then-No. 17 Kentucky.
First-place votes in parentheses
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 half court to beat Alabama 79-76.
Florida rounded out the top five, dropping two places after losing to Georgia and beating Texas A&M.
St. John’s continued its turnaround in its second season under coach Rick Pitino, moving up a spot in this week’s poll to No. 6 — its highest ranking since reaching No. 5 in 1990-91.
The Red Storm (26-4, 17-2 Big 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.
“We’re just getting started,” Pitino told the Madison Square Garden crowd after the win.
No. 8 Michigan State joined Auburn and Duke as the only teams to have the same ranking as last week.
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.
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.
No other team dropped more than two places.
CONFERENCE WATCH
The SEC continued its dominance with three of the top 5 and eight total in the Top 25 this week. The Big 12 has three teams in the top 10 and five ranked teams, while the Big Ten also had five teams in the poll. The ACC has three, the Big East two and the American and West Coast conferences have one ranked team apiece.
Take a look at some of Cooper Flagg’s and Johni Broome’s numbers as they go head-to-head for the Wooden Award. (0:46)
Duke freshman Cooper Flagg and Auburn star Johni Broome headlined the players named to the Wooden Award top 15 national ballot Saturday morning, as revealed on ESPN’s “College GameDay.”
Flagg, the former No. 1 recruit and projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft, enters the final weekend of the regular season as the perceived front-runner for the award. He has put together one of the best freshman seasons of all time while leading Duke to a likely No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
After producing standout performances early in the season against Kentucky, Arizona and Auburn, Flagg has been even better in ACC play. Heading into the regular-season finale against North Carolina, he ranks second in the ACC in scoring (21.5 PPG), 10th in rebounding (7.0 RPG) and seventh in assists (4.3 APG) in conference play.
In seven games in January, Flagg averaged 25.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists while shooting 57.9% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range. He set an ACC freshman record with 42 points against Notre Dame in January and has scored at least 20 points on 13 occasions, also ranking in the top three nationally in multiple defensive efficiency metrics.
If Flagg were to win, he would be just the fourth freshman to claim the award, following Kevin Durant (2007), Anthony Davis (2012) and Zion Williamson (2019).
Broome looked like the clear favorite for the Wooden Award after two months of the season, averaging 18.7 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.7 blocks through 15 games for top-ranked Auburn. He consistently produced massive performances in the Tigers’ biggest nonconference games, putting up 20 points and 9 rebounds against Houston, 21 points and 10 rebounds against Iowa State, 20 points and 12 rebounds against Duke, 21 points and 20 rebounds against Ohio State and 23 points and 11 rebounds against Purdue.
He then suffered an ankle injury against South Carolina on Jan. 11, ultimately missing just two games but slowing his momentum. Broome is still averaging 18.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.4 blocks despite back-to-back single-digit scoring efforts in the first two games of this month.
Other leading candidates include Purdue’s Braden Smith, who ranks second in the country in assists and has been the best guard in the nation this season; Alabama’s Mark Sears, the veteran guard averaging 28.0 points and 5.6 assists over his past five games; and Wisconsin’s John Tonje, arguably the best transfer in the country after a recent nine-game stretch in which he put up 24.8 points per game.
Three players on the top 15 national ballot weren’t on the late midseason top 20 list announced in mid-February: Houston’s L.J. Cryer, Tonje and Tennessee’s Zakai Zeigler. Tennessee is the only team with multiple players on the ballot, with the Volunteers represented by Zeigler and Chaz Lanier.
The men’s Wooden Award has been given out every year since 1977, starting with UCLA’s Marques Johnson.
Complete national ballot for the 2025 John R. Wooden Award:
Johni Broome, Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
L.J. Cryer, Houston
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Eric Dixon, Villanova
Cooper Flagg, Duke
PJ Haggerty, Memphis
Dylan Harper, Rutgers
Kam Jones, Marquette
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
Mark Sears, Alabama
Braden Smith, Purdue
John Tonje, Wisconsin
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
ESPN
Associated Press Men’s Top 25
EDITOR’S PICKS
Inside St. John’s rapid rise: Defense, relentlessness and the Rick Pitino effect
3dJeff Borzello
St. John’s secures first Big East title since ’85
3d
Men’s basketball Power Rankings: A new No. 1, plus what’s at stake this weekend
2dJeff Borzello
EDITOR’S PICKS
Two top NBA draft picks might not make the NCAA tourney: Scouting Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, and what’s next
8hJeremy Woo
| Team | Record |
|---|---|
| 1. Auburn (61) | 27-2 |
| 2. Duke | 26-3 |
| 3. Houston | 25-4 |
| 4. Tennessee | 24-5 |
| 5. Florida | 25-4 |
| 6. St. John’s | 26-4 |
| 7. Alabama | 23-6 |
| 8. Michigan State | 24-5 |
| 9. Texas Tech | 22-7 |
| 10. Iowa State | 22-7 |
| 11. Clemson | 24-5 |
| 12. Wisconsin | 22-7 |
| 13. Maryland | 22-7 |
| 14. Louisville | 23-6 |
| 15. Missouri | 21-8 |
| 16. Memphis | 24-5 |
| 17. Michigan | 22-7 |
| 18. Purdue | 20-9 |
| 19. Kentucky | 19-10 |
| 20. Marquette | 22-7 |
| 21. Saint Mary’s | 27-4 |
| 22. Texas A&M | 20-9 |
| 23. BYU | 21-8 |
| 24. Arizona | 19-10 |
| 25. Mississippi State | 20-9 |
Auburn atop AP Top 25 for 8th straight week; No. 6 St. John’s has highest ranking in 34 years
The AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll is back every week throughout the season!
Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here.
Auburn and Duke remain atop the AP Top 25. The rest of the poll was a big jumble.
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.
“We’re just getting started,” Pitino told the Madison Square Garden crowd after the win.
St. John’s also beat Butler last week and moved up a spot in this week’s poll to No. 6, its highest ranking reaching No. 5 in 1990-91.
No teams moved in or out of this week’s poll.
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.
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.
No other team dropped more than two places.
The SEC continued its dominance with three of the top five and eight total in the Top 25 this week. The Big 12 has three teams in the top 10 and five ranked teams, while the Big Ten also had five teams in the poll. The ACC has three, the Big East two and the American and West Coast conferences have one ranked team apiece.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 all season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Rising Red Storm
In and out
Rising and falling
Conference watch
___
College basketball rankings: Houston, Tennessee, St. John’s move up in AP Top 25; Louisville makes big move
St. John’s and Louisville ascended to their highest standings in the AP Top 25 poll this season, climbing to No. 6 and No. No. 14, respectively. The Johnnies clinched the Big East championship with a win over Seton Hall this weekend and the Cardinals won their 17th game in the last 18 outings on Saturday with a home win over Pittsburgh.
It’s the highest ranking for St. John’s since the 1990-91 season when it climbed as high as No. 5, and the highest Louisville has been in an AP poll since the 2019-20 season when it had a brief stay at No. 1 early in the season.
Houston and Tennessee also moved up in the rankings one spot each to No. 3 and No. 4 after Florida, ranked No. 3 last week, dropped two spots to No. 5. It marks the sixth time in the last six weeks the poll has a new No. 3.
That span has consisted of no changes at No. 1 and No. 2 with Auburn and Duke once again holding the top two spots in the poll. It marks the eighth consecutive week Auburn is No. 1 and second consecutive week Duke has been No. 2. Of those eight weeks for Auburn at the top, it has been the unanimous No. 1 five times — including each of the last two weeks.
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week’s ranking:
Also receiving votes: VCU 85, Vanderbilt 78, Oregon 37, Drake 18, UC San Diego 17, Illinois 16, Mississippi 13, UCLA 8, Gonzaga 8, Kansas 5, High Point 4, UConn 4, New Mexico 2, Creighton 2, Akron 1.
St. John’s reached its highest ranking in the AP poll since 1990-91 after clinching the outright Big East championship this weekend with a win over Seton Hall. Its climb to No. 6 was spurred by its first outright conference title in 40 years after going 21-1 over the last 22 games.
Four consecutive losses by Texas A&M saw the Aggies take the biggest fall among ranked teams this week in dropping from No. 12 to No. 22. They fell at home to Vanderbilt on Wednesday and on the road to Florida on Saturday to extend their losing streak to four.
Louisville made a jump for a third consecutive week in the AP poll, this time rising five spots from No. 19 to No. 14. It defeated Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh this week to continue its resurgence in Year One under Pat Kelsey, who has the Cardinals at 23-6 overall and winners of 17 of the last 18 games. They are one game in back of Duke in the ACC title race with two regular-season games remaining.
© 2004-2025 CBS Interactive. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc.
The content on this site is for entertainment purposes only and CBS Sports makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information given or the outcome of any game or event. There is no gambling offered on this site. This site contains commercial content and CBS Sports may be compensated for the links provided on this site.
Images by Getty Images and Imagn
At No. 6 in this week’s AP Top 25, the Red Storm has their highest ranking since the 1990-91 season
AP Top 25
St. John’s reaches highest ranking in 34 years
Buzz fading from Texas A&M
Louisville makes a leap
Our Latest College Basketball Stories
AP Top 25: St. John’s has highest ranking since 1990-91
St. John’s stuns Marquette in wild OT finish
Expert picks, predictions for Saturday’s top games
Conference tournaments: First AQ bid up for grabs
Duke vs. North Carolina odds, picks, spread, best bets
Indiana vs. Ohio State odds, picks, predictions, stream
Bubble Watch: Tourney hopefuls head home Saturday
DAVID COBB • 1 MIN READ
DAVID COBB • 4 MIN READ
DAVID COBB • 2 MIN READ
CBS SPORTS STAFF • 4 MIN READ
CBS SPORTS STAFF • 2 MIN READ
JERRY PALM • 5 MIN READ
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auburn (61) | 27-2 | 1,525 | 1 |
| 2 | Duke | 26-3 | 1,458 | 2 |
| 3 | Houston | 25-4 | 1,396 | 4 |
| 4 | Tennessee | 24-5 | 1,326 | 5 |
| 5 | Florida | 25-4 | 1,247 | 3 |
| 6 | St. John’s | 26-4 | 1,179 | 7 |
| 7 | Alabama | 23-6 | 1,176 | 6 |
| 8 | Michigan State | 24-5 | 1,165 | 8 |
| 9 | Texas Tech | 22-7 | 947 | 10 |
| 10 | Iowa State | 22-7 | 918 | 9 |
| 11 | Clemson | 24-5 | 905 | 13 |
| 12 | Wisconsin | 22-7 | 815 | 11 |
| 13 | Maryland | 22-7 | 628 | 16 |
| 14 | Louisville | 23-6 | 606 | 19 |
| 15 | Missouri | 21-8 | 603 | 14 |
| 16 | Memphis | 24-5 | 560 | 18 |
| 17 | Michigan | 22-7 | 494 | 15 |
| 18 | Purdue | 20-9 | 454 | 20 |
| 19 | Kentucky | 19-10 | 417 | 17 |
| 20 | Marquette | 22-7 | 409 | 21 |
| 21 | Saint Mary’s | 27-4 | 399 | 23 |
| 22 | Texas A&M | 20-9 | 364 | 12 |
| 23 | BYU | 21-8 | 287 | 25 |
| 24 | Arizona | 19-10 | 162 | 22 |
| 25 | Mississippi State | 20-9 | 87 | 24 |
