AP Men’s Basketball Poll Week 13: Auburn remains No. 1 as top 5 shuffles behind Gonzaga

Auburn remained No. 1 in the latest AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll for the second straight week, as there was considerable shuffling behind Bruce Pearl’s Tigers.

Gonzaga also remained at No. 2, but UCLA jumped to No. 3 from No. 7, Purdue moved from No. 6 to No. 4 and Kentucky is now ranked No. 5 after the Wildcats moved from No. 12. John Calipari’s Wildcats (17-4) had the week’s biggest jump, rising seven spots after winning by 18 at Kansas on Saturday.

Pearl’s Tigers earned 49 of 61 first-place votes to extend the program’s first stay at the top and stay comfortably ahead of Gonzaga, which earned the other 12 first-place votes. Auburn (20-1) has won 17 straight games since it lost a double-overtime game to Connecticut in November. Auburn knocked off Oklahoma on Saturday in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

This marks the highest ranking for Kentucky since the 2019-20 season, when the Wildcats spent one week at No. 1 in the first regular-season poll and sat at No. 6 in early March.

There were 4 SEC teams in the poll, including Tennessee at No. 22, and LSU. No. 25 LSU took the week’s biggest tumble, as the Tigers fell 6 spots after they lost at TCU.

Alabama and Arkansas also made the others receiving votes category.

POLL ALERT: UCLA climbs to No. 3, Kentucky jumps to No. 5 in AP Top 25; Auburn, Gonzaga remain 1-2.

Full poll: https://t.co/fsTeL81mRs pic.twitter.com/rQLXPngAR0

— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) January 31, 2022

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.