College basketball rankings: Auburn No. 1 for first time in school history in updated AP Top 25 poll – CBS Sports

At long last, Auburn’s men’s basketball team reached No. 1 in the AP Top 25 on Monday for the first time in program history following an 80-71 win over Kentucky on Saturday. That victory was apparently enough to give the Tigers (18-1, 7-0 SEC) an edge on Gonzaga, which fell from No. 1 to No. 2 this week despite a 78-62 victory against a strong San Francisco team. The Bulldogs (15-2, 4-0 WCC) enjoyed a narrow 1,486-1,482 points edge in the poll last week, even though Auburn actually received more first-place votes (36) than Gonzaga (25). But this time, the Auburn had a 29-point  edge and an even larger share of the first-place votes with 45 to Gonzaga’s 15 and Arizona’s 1.

Auburn is this season’s fifth No. 1 team, joining Gonzaga, Duke, Purdue and Baylor among the group of teams to hold the distinction. The Tigers had been No. 2 on multiple occasions in program history, including this past week. But with a deep roster headlined by potential No. 1 overall pick Jabari Smith and North Carolina transfer center Walker Kessler, the Tigers have one of the nation’s best front courts in the nation and the best defensive squad of Pearl’s eight-year tenure.

Behind that strong roster, Auburn is on a 15-game winning streak as it prepares to play at Missouri on Tuesday before hosting Oklahoma on Saturday as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge. 

In other poll developments, Texas Tech received a significant boost Monday by rising from No. 18 to No. 13 after knocking off Iowa State and West Virginia. The Red Raiders (15-4, 5-2 Big 12) have not suffered a loss outside of Quad 1 and are 4-4 in Quad 1 games entering a Monday night showdown with No. 5 Kansas.

Houston (17-2, 6-0 AAC) also enjoyed a nice bump from No. 10 to No. 7 as it continues to destroy AAC opposition in spite of season-ending injuries to key players Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark. The Cougars walloped East Carolina 79-36 on Saturday. 

Davidson cracked the poll for the first time this season at No. 25 amid a 15-game winning streak that included road wins over VCU and Fordham last week. It’s the first time in the AP poll since the 2014-15 season for the Wildcats. Marquette also made it in for the first time this season after the Golden Eagles (14-6, 6-3 Big East) knocked off Villanova and Xavier to improve their winning streak to six games.

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AP Top 25

RANKTEAMRECORDPOINTSLW
1Auburn (45)18-11,5042
2Gonzaga (15)15-21,4751
3Arizona (1)16-11,3813
4Baylor17-21,3355
5Kansas16-21,2817
6Purdue16-31,1194
7UCLA13-21,1169
7Houston17-21,11610
9Duke15-31,0176
10Michigan State15-397914
11Wisconsin15-38948
12Kentucky15-482212
13Texas Tech15-476618
14Villanova14-571311
15Southern California16-271116
16Ohio State12-458419
17Providence16-254221
18Tennessee13-541924
19LSU15-439913
20UConn13-428425
21Xavier14-426920
22Marquette14-6177NR
23Iowa State14-516715
24Illinois13-515517
25Davidson16-2132NR

Others receiving votes: BYU 120, Alabama 77, Texas 61, Colorado St. 57, Florida St. 50, Loyola Chicago 21, Oregon 19, Wake Forest 12, Indiana 10, Murray St. 10, Iowa 8, TCU 6, Miami 4, Florida 3, Boise St. 3, Saint Mary’s (Cal) 3, Wyoming 2, Iona 1, Seton Hall 1.