After a holiday week full of upsets, this week’s Associated Press Top 25 looks completely different.
Here are five takeaways from the poll, which was released Monday:
Kansas still No. 1; Auburn inching closer
Although the No. 1 Jayhawks took down No. 11 Duke, 75-72, in Las Vegas during the holiday week, the rest of the top five saw massive changes, highlighted by a climb to No. 2 for Auburn.
With wins over No. 5 Iowa State, 83-81, No. 12 North Carolina, 85-72, and Memphis, 90-76, the Auburn Tigers won the Maui Invitational and moved up two spots to the No. 2 ranking.
Forward Johni Broome was sensational, with a 20-point double-double in each game of the tournament. Broome is averaging 20.7 points and 12.9 rebounds per game, while the team is shooting an impressive 52.5 percent from the floor.
Auburn also took down then-No. 4 Houston, 74-69, on Nov. 9. While Kansas owns wins over a pair of blue bloods in North Carolina, 92-89, and Duke, Auburn may be the best team in college basketball right now.
If they take down Duke in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Wednesday night, there will be no debate.
UConn drops three in a row, plummets down rankings
As good as Auburn’s performance in Maui was, some other performances garnered a lot of attention as well.
Two-time defending national champion UConn entered the tournament with the No. 2 ranking. After three consecutive losses in Maui, the Huskies (5-3) are fortunate to even be in the poll at No. 25.
With losses to Memphis, 99-97 in overtime, Colorado, 73-72, and Dayton, 85-67, UConn became just the fourth AP top two team to lose three straight games in the AP Poll era (since 1948-49).
UConn has to get better on defense after allowing at least 50 percent shooting in all three of its losses. If the defense does not improve, the struggles may only be getting started for the Huskies.
Gonzaga, Houston slide down rankings
While the Gonzaga Bulldogs (7-1) bounced back from an opening-round loss to West Virginia, 86-78 in overtime, to win third place in the Battle 4 Atlantis, it was not easy for the Bulldogs.
A major part of Gonzaga’s success has been Ryan Nembhard. Nembhard is the first Gonzaga player under head coach Mark Few with 10 points, 10 assists and five steals in a game. He is also the third player this century with 10 points, 12 assists and five steals against a ranked team.
In the loss to the Mountaineers, Gonzaga was just 7-for-21 (33.3 percent) from three-point range and got outrebounded 42-36. The Bulldogs will need to clean those areas up going forward.
No team experienced a bigger fall in the rankings, aside from UConn, than the Houston Cougars (4-3). Houston dropped two of its three games in the Players Era Festival tournament, losing 85-80 in overtime to No. 9 Alabama and falling to San Diego State, 73-70, in the third-place game.
A big issue for Houston against the Aztecs was its seven bench points and lack of production, given only two players scored in double figures. Houston must find some more balanced production on offense and get some additional help from the bench.
Wisconsin, Florida continue to surprise
The Wisconsin Badgers (8-0) gain four spots to No. 11 in the poll. The Badgers are the best free-throw shooting team in the country. They entered Saturday’s game against Chicago State shooting 86.5 percent. The Badgers made 18 of their 21 free-throw attempts in the 74-53 win.
John Tonje has been an absolute force with multiple 30-point games this season, including a 41-point outing against then-No. 9 Arizona.
The Badgers have some tricky games coming up against No. 5 Marquette (8-0) and No. 19 Illinois (6-1). If Tonje keeps putting this team on his back, it could be difficult for teams to slow Wisconsin down.
A team that has not been talked about often is the Florida Gators (8-0). Florida moves up five spots to No. 13. While the Gators have been impressive, they have not faced a ranked opponent this season.
With intriguing games coming up against Virginia (5-2) on Wednesday, Arizona State (7-1) and No. 20 North Carolina (4-3), the Gators will have an opportunity to earn their keep toward the top of the poll.
Oregon, Memphis enter the poll after impressing in holiday tournaments
The Oregon Ducks (8-0) go from unranked to No. 12 in the poll after a dominant showing in the Players Era Festival tournament. The Ducks defeated No. 9 Alabama, 83-81, to win the tournament title. With a game-high 22 points off the bench, Keeshawn Barthelemy had the highest-scoring game by an Oregon reserve against an AP-ranked opponent since A.D. Smith put up 23 points against No. 10 UCLA in 1998.
Other than improving its 32.8 percent rate from three, there is not much slowing down the Ducks at the moment.
Penny Hardaway’s Memphis Tigers (6-1) also go from unranked to the poll. The 16th-ranked Tigers took down UConn before ultimately falling to Auburn in the Maui Invitational championship game.
Memphis shot 50 percent from the floor and an incredible 66.7 percent from three in the loss to Auburn. Defensively, they could not get enough stops. If the Tigers want to make some more noise, their defense has to improve.
