Tennessee, Auburn remain 1-2 in Top 25 poll

Auburn Tigers guard Denver Jones (2) guards Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) as Auburn Tigers take on Purdue Boilermakers at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. Auburn Tigers lead Purdue Boilermakers 41-26 at halftime.

Tennessee, Auburn and Iowa State retained the first three spots in the latest Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll, released Monday.

The Volunteers (11-0) grabbed 41 first-place votes and Auburn (11-1) the other 21. The two teams are set to begin Southeastern Conference play on Jan. 4, with a head-to-head clash scheduled for Jan. 25.

Kentucky’s 85-65 loss to Ohio State on Saturday sent the Wildcats (10-2) plummeting six spots to No. 10. The rest of last week’s Top 10 each moved up one place, with Duke (10-2) taking over at No. 4, followed by Alabama (10-2), Florida (12-0), Kansas (9-2), Marquette (11-2) and Oregon (11-1).

Purdue dropped five places after back-to-back losses to Auburn and Texas A&M. UCLA plunged four spots following a two-point loss to unranked North Carolina.

The rest of the Associated Press Top 25:

11. UConn (10-3)

12. Oklahoma (12-0)

13. Texas A&M (10-2)

14. Gonzaga (9-3)

15. Houston (8-3)

16. Ole Miss (11-1)

17. Cincinnati (10-1)

18. Michigan State (10-2)

19. Mississippi State (11-1)

20. San Diego State (8-2)

21. Purdue (8-4)