SPOKANE, Wash. — Kansas held off Auburn for the No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll on Monday as Southeastern Conference teams grabbed three of the top four spots and two-time reigning national champion UConn nearly fell out entirely after an 0-3 week at the Maui Invitational.
The Jayhawks earned 35 of 61 first-place votes in the poll, while the Tigers got the remaining 26 and climbed two spots to No. 2 after wining the Maui title. The Huskies fell all the way to No. 25, barely avoiding becoming only the second team to go from No. 2 to unranked in a week in nearly four decades.
It was part of a turbulent week with holiday-week tournaments, leading to six new teams entering the rankings.
Auburn was joined by fellow SEC schools No. 3 Tennessee and No. 4 Kentucky, with each team climbing four spots. Marquette was next at No. 5, followed by Iowa State, Gonzaga, Purdue, Duke and Alabama to round out the top 10.
No. 12 Oregon was the headliner of the new entrants, followed by No. 16 Memphis, No. 18 Pittsburgh, No. 19 Illinois, No. 21 Oklahoma and No. 24 San Diego State.
Indiana, Arkansas, Creighton, Xavier, Arizona and Mississippi State fell out of the poll.