Kansas stays No. 1 in AP Top 25 basketball poll, Gonzaga, Auburn crack top 5, St. John’s returns

By AARON BEARD The Associated Press

Kansas center Hunter Dickinson (1) celebrates with forward KJ Adams Jr. (24) after making a basket during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against North Carolina Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Lawrence, Kan. Kansas won 92-89. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Charlie Riedel]

Kansas remained atop the first Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll of the regular season after winning a matchup of basketball bluebloods, while Gonzaga and Auburn cracked the top five after impressive opening-week wins and St. John’s led by Rick Pitino joined the rankings.

The Jayhawks received 44 of 62 first-place votes after a home win against North Carolina, a game that saw Kansas blow a 20-point lead but hold on for a 92-89 win. That kept them ahead of Alabama and two-time reigning national champion UConn in an unchanged 1-2-3 lineup in the poll, with the Crimson Tide getting six first-place votes and the Huskies getting seven.

Mark Few’s Zags moved up two spots to No. 4 after blowing out then-No. 8 Baylor to open the season, then pushing past Arizona State. Next came Bruce Pearl’s Tigers, who jumped six spots to No. 5 for the week’s biggest leap after beating then-No. 4 Houston. The Zags and Tigers earned the remaining five first-place votes.

Auburn was the only new arrival in a largely reshuffled top 10, with Duke rising one spot to No. 6 to lead the next group. Iowa State was seventh, followed by Houston, Arizona and North Carolina, which fell one spot after the loss at KU’s Allen Fieldhouse.

Welcome back

St. John’s jumping in at No. 22 marked a notable return for two reasons. It marks the Red Storm’s first appearance since spending a week at No. 24 in January 2019, but it also marks a return for Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino.

This is the first time a Pitino-coached team has appeared in the Top 25 since the final poll of the 2016-17 season when he was at Louisville. Pitino was fired shortly before the next season amid a federal corruption investigation into college basketball, which had entangled the Cardinals and multiple other programs.

Pitino spent three seasons at Iona (2020-23) before taking over at St. John’s before last season.

In and out

No. 21 Ohio State joined St. John’s as the week’s new arrivals, marking the Buckeyes first appearance since January 2023.

Texas (No. 19) and UCLA (No. 22) fell out from the preseason poll.

Rising

After Auburn, Kentucky had the week’s next-biggest jump by rising four spots to No. 19 to start Mark Pope’s tenure, while No. 15 Marquette and No. 17 Cincinnati were next by climbing three spots.

In all, 13 teams climbed from their preseason-poll position.

Sliding

Texas A&M took the week’s biggest tumble, falling 10 spots to No. 23 after losing at UCF to open the season. Houston joined No. 12 Baylor by falling four spots after losses against ranked opponents.

In all, seven teams slid from the previous poll.

Conference watch

The Southeastern Conference led the way with eight ranked teams, including No. 11 Tennessee, No. 18 Arkansas under new coach John Calipari, No. 20 Florida and No. 25 Mississippi.

The Big 12 is next with six teams, followed by the Big East and Big Ten with four each. The Atlantic Coast Conference has two, while the West Coast Conference has one.

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