As the regular season winds down, the top teams in men’s college basketball are fairly well established. The upper tier of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll was scrambled a bit, but the top two teams remain unchanged.
Auburn holds the No. 1 spot for another week, picking up all but one of 31 first-place votes. Duke remains at No. 2, claiming the last top nod.
The rest of the teams in last week’s top 10 are still there, but the order has shuffled. Big 12 leader Houston moves up to No. 3 after defeats of Texas Tech and Cincinnati. Tennessee jumps a spot to No. 4 on the heels of its last-second win against Alabama. Florida falls two places to No. 5, and Big East leader St. John’s continues its climb to No. 6, its highest position since the close of the 1998-99 season.
TOP 25: Complete USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball poll
Michigan State, now alone atop the Big Ten, is back up to No. 7 as Alabama falls to No. 8. Texas Tech and Iowa State swap positions to round out the top 10. A couple of ACC squads move up as Clemson and Louisville check in at No. 11 and No. 13, respectively. Texas A&M takes a 10-spot tumble to No. 21 after two losses last week.
Joining the rankings this week are No. 22 Brigham Young, its first Top 25 appearance of the season, and No. 25 Virginia Commonwealth. Its the first time in the poll for the Rams since Dec. 16, 2019. On the negative side, Mississippi State and Creighton drop out of the rankings.