The men’s college basketball season has reached a point where even the top-ranked teams are losing quite often. So voters in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll had to make a decision based on which losses actually merited demotion and which losses were just the nature of business.
But No. 1 Auburn managed to avoid an upset and will remain in the top spot for at least another week. The Tigers received 30 of 31 first-place votes and are the only unbeaten team in the crowded SEC conference. Duke moved up to second place in the standings while continuing to move through the ACC.
Things got complicated after that, with many teams having mixed results. Alabama bounced back from a midweek loss and moved into third place with a top-10 win at Kentucky. Iowa State turned around and beat Kansas State first, but lost a road contest at West Virginia. The Cyclones dropped to fourth place in the poll, but retained first place votes. Houston is back in the top five on a 10-game winning streak.
TOP 25: Participate in USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Poll
Ups and downs: Arkansas leads weekend winners and losers.
Florida checks in at No. 6, followed by Tennessee. Michigan State moved up four spots to No. 8, with Kentucky and Marquette rounding out the top 10.
Wisconsin leads a group of four teams in the top 25 this week. The Badgers won seven straight games and entered the poll at No. 19. St. John’s, Missouri and Texas Tech also moved up in the standings. Gonzaga, Utah State, Georgia and Baylor fell.