Duke is poised to snap Auburn’s eight-week stint at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll Monday after Auburn went 0-2 for the first time in a week since last January and Duke secured a perfect week highlighted by a road win over rival North Carolina on Saturday to extend its winning streak to eight games. The Blue Devils have hovered at No. 2 for five weeks during Auburn’s eight-week stretch at No. 1 while biding their time to pounce on a noteworthy Auburn slip-up, which Saturday’s loss to Alabama — Auburn’s second-straight after falling at Texas A&M on Tuesday — likely will qualify as.
It will make Duke the fourth team this college basketball season to earn the No. 1 ranking after Kansas, Tennessee and Auburn all enjoyed multi-week stints at various points occupying the top spot. It will serve as an arrival point for Duke under third-year coach Jon Scheyer as the first time it summits the rankings under his watch; its last ascension to No. 1 came in Week 4 of the 2021-22 season under then-head coach Mike Krzyzyewski.
That change isn’t likely the only significant shakeup coming Monday in the final rankings of the regular season. Florida, St. John’s and Michigan State are all positioned to potentially move up as well after Tennessee stumbled Wednesday.
Bracketology: Alabama contending for the fourth No. 1 after beating overall top seed Auburn
Jerry Palm
Bracketology: Alabama contending for the fourth No. 1 after beating overall top seed Auburn
Below is how I project the AP Top 25 poll to shake out in our latest Tomorrow’s Top 25 Today.
1
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Duke
Duke wrapped its regular season Saturday with an 82-69 road win over UNC to clinch the outright ACC title. It enters ACC tourney play with 24 wins in its last 25 outings. Last week: No. 2
2
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Auburn
The first losing streak for Auburn since last January comes at a bad time with Selection Sunday just one week out. The Tigers fell to Texas A&M and Alabama this week and will likely lose their No. 1 ranking. They are still locked in as the projected No. 1 overall seed, though. Last week: No. 1
3
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Houston
Wins over Kansas and Baylor this week helped Houston secure its second consecutive outright Big 12 title. It has a 10-game winning streak and is the No. 1 seed in Kansas City entering Big 12 tourney play. Last week: No. 3
4
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Florida
Florida’s 99-94 road win over Alabama this week was one of its best of the season as part of a closing stretch in regular season play in which it won nine of its final 10. Among those wins were road victories over Auburn and Alabama. Last week: No. 5
5
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St. John’s
St. John’s beat Marquette in overtime at the buzzer Saturday despite having already clinched the outright Big East title a week prior. The Johnnies have one loss in the 2025 calendar year and could move into the top five for the first time since January 1991. Last week: No. 6
6
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Michigan St.
After clinching the outright Big Ten title with a win over Iowa, Michigan State made a statement with a resounding win over rival Michigan on Sunday in East Lansing for good measure. The Spartans enter postseason play riding a seven-game winning streak despite one of the toughest closing schedules in college basketball. Look out. Last week: No. 8
7
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Tennessee
Tennessee closed the final month of the regular season with a 6-2 record — the second of those two losses coming Wednesday at Ole Miss. Last week: No. 4
8
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Alabama
It’s possible, and maybe likely, that Alabama falls in this week’s poll, as I project, despite a road win over No. 1 Auburn on Saturday. That’s because the Tide fell in consecutive games to Tennessee and Florida to kick off the month of March. Last week: No. 7
9
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Texas Tech
An 85-57 drubbing of Arizona State in the desert over the weekend helped Texas Tech to a second-place finish in the Big 12 while setting a new program record for most total wins in Big 12 play (15). Last week: No. 9
10
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Clemson
Clemson set a program record for regular season wins with 26 after a win over Virginia Tech on Saturday. The Tigers also tied for the third-most wins in ACC history with an 18-2 league record. Last week: No. 11
11
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Louisville
One year removed from a dreadful 8-24 season, Louisville’s revival under first-year coach Pat Kelsey continued this week with wins over Cal and Stanford to finish 18-2 in ACC play. The Cardinals should be on the rise again this Monday for a fourth consecutive week. Last week: No. 14
12
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Maryland
Maryland won seven of its last eight games to close the regular season with the lone loss, a 58-55 defeat to Michigan State, coming on a miraculous full-court buzzer-beater. The Terps are rolling with confidence into the postseason. Last week: No. 13
13
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Iowa St.
A shaky finish to the regular season for Iowa State will cost it a spot in the top 10 for the first time all season. It suffered losses to Houston, Oklahoma State and BYU as part of a 2-3 finish to the regular season. Last week: No. 10
14
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Memphis
An outright AAC title for Memphis clinched this week on the strength of a five-game winning streak should have the Tigers back into the top 15 this week. Last week: No. 16
15
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Kentucky
Despite Jaxson Robinson’s absence, Kentucky went 2-0 this week punctuated by a 91-83 road win over flailing Missouri. That’s a good win and a good way for Mark Pope’s first regular season in Lexington to wrap. Last week: No. 19
16
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Wisconsin
Wisconsin took its worst loss of the season Saturday in an 86-75 defeat to Penn State. It’s the first time the Nittany Lions have ever beat the Badgers in the Kohl Center. Last week: No. 12
17
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BYU
Voters are going to need to recalibrate with BYU again this week after going 2-0 with wins over Iowa State and Utah. It enters Big 12 tourney play riding an eight-game winning streak. Last week: No. 23
18
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Purdue
Purdue took five losses over the final month of the season after taking five combined losses the previous three months. It fell Friday at Illinois 88-80 to wrap its regular season. Last week: No. 18
19
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Texas A&M
After a four-game losing streak entering last week, Texas A&M went 2-0 this week — including an 83-72 home win over No. 1 Auburn — to finish its SEC slate at 11-7. Last week: No. 22
20
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Saint Mary’s
Saint Mary’s was idle this week after wrapping its season a week ago at 27-4 overall and 17-1 in WCC play. Last week: No. 21
21
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Marquette
Two losses by a combined eight points to UConn and St. John’s shouldn’t be enough to punish Marquette too much in the polls this week. Voters should keep them in the rankings entering the postseason. Last week: No. 20
22
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Michigan
A lopsided road loss to rival Michigan State on Sunday was the icing on the cake to a rough finish to the regular season. The Wolverines were tied atop the Big Ten with three games to play and lost each of their final three games. Last week: No. 17
23
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Illinois
This Illinois team can give you whiplash if you watch enough of them, but it’s been smooth sailing of late with three consecutive wins — over Iowa, Michigan and Purdue — to close out regular season play. Last week: NR
24
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UConn
After alternating between wins and losses for the entirety of February, UConn has finally found some footing with wins over Marquette and Seton Hall this week to usher it into the postseason with a four-game winning streak. Last week: NR
25
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Arizona
Arizona will be a wild card in the poll this week after a 1-1 week in which it lost 83-76 at Kansas on Saturday and beat rival Arizona State earlier in the week. There’s a case to be made for several teams here including Oregon, Missouri and UCLA. Last week: No. 24
Projected to drop out: Mississippi State