Despite a slew of wild finishes in men’s college basketball this week, the upper tier of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll remains largely unchanged.
Auburn retains the No. 1 spot for another week. The Tigers survived a slog with No. 8 Tennessee over the weekend and claim all 31 first-place votes. Duke holds on at No. 2 after outlasting Wake Forest on the road. Iowa State nudges ahead of Alabama into the No. 3 spot, and Houston hangs on at No. 5 following its Houdini act at No. 11 Kansas to stay unscathed in the Big 12.
TOP 25: Complete USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball poll
Florida stays put at No. 6, while Big Ten leader Michigan State moves up a notch to No. 7. Marquette gains a spot to check in at No. 9, and Purdue moves back into the top 10.
The big mover of the week is St. John’s, climbing seven positions to No. 14, while No. 16 Memphis and No. 19 Texas Tech each move up six places. It’s a good week for the ACC as No. 22 Louisville and No. 25 Clemson move into the poll.
Michigan and West Virginia are this week’s dropouts.