There wasn’t much doubt before, but Auburn has clearly proven itself as the top team in the sport after a massive win in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.
Here’s everything you missed in Week 15 of the men’s college basketball season, and the latest Associated Press poll.
Auburn still leads the dominant SEC
Bruce Pearl’s group at Auburn is by far the best team in the country as we enter the final few weeks of the regular season.
Not only were the Tigers the clear unanimous choice for the No. 1 overall seed when the selection committee did its early bracket reveal on Saturday morning, but they backed that up a few hours later with a commanding nine-point road win at Alabama. They now have six more Quadrant 1 wins than any other team in the country, and have beaten just about every other legitimate title contender in the country already. Star Johni Broome dropped 19 points and 14 rebounds despite tweaking his ankle injury, too, which only adds to his National Player of the Year résumé.
Auburn, now at 23-2 this season, naturally held onto the top spot in this week’s poll. The Tigers not only seem poised to take the top seed in the NCAA tournament, but they have the clear path to winning the SEC — which is easily the best conference in the sport this season.
Alabama dropped to No. 4 this week with the loss. Florida jumped up to No. 2 ahead of Cooper Flagg and Duke. Houston then rounded out the top five. The two teams from Alabama were among nine total teams from the SEC ranked this week — five of which were in the top 10. The SEC had five of the top six schools in the selection committee’s early racket reveal, and it could legitimately make a play for all four No. 1 seeds and the record for most schools in a single tournament. Realistically, all it would take for a clean SEC sweep is a loss or two from Duke.
Auburn’s path over the next month won’t be easy. After matchups with Arkansas and Georgia this week, the Tigers will take on Ole Miss, Kentucky and Texas A&M before closing out the regular season with a rematch at home against Alabama. That will mark four straight ranked opponents to close out the year.
But the way they’ve handled themselves already, the Tigers are clearly capable of running the table — or at least being as close to it as possible.
Games to watch this week
Tuesday, Feb. 18
No. 13 Purdue at No. 14 Michigan State | 7 p.m. ET | Peacock
No. 7 Texas A&M at No. 21 Mississippi State | 7 p.m. ET | SEC Network
Wednesday, Feb. 19
No. 4 Alabama at No. 15 Missouri | 9 p.m. ET | SEC Network
Friday, Feb. 21
No. 14 Michigan State at No. 12 Michigan | 8 p.m. ET | Fox
Saturday, Feb. 22
No. 6 Tennessee at No. 7 Texas A&M | 12 p.m. ET | ESPN
No. 8 Iowa State at No. 5 Houston | 2 p.m. ET | ESPN
No. 17 Kentucky at No. 4 Alabama | 6 p.m. ET | ESPN
Sunday, Feb. 23
UConn at No. 10 St. John’s | 12 p.m. ET | Fox
AP Top 25
The full Associated Press men’s basketball poll from February 17, 2025.
1. Auburn (23-2)
2. Florida (22-3)
3. Duke (22-3)
4. Alabama (21-4)
5. Houston (21-4)
6. Tennessee (21-5)
7. Texas A&M (20-5)
8. Iowa State (20-5)
9. Texas Tech (20-5)
10. St. John’s (22-4)
11. Wisconsin (20-5)
12. Michigan (20-5)
13. Purdue (19-7)
14. Michigan State (20-5)
15. Missouri (19-6)
16. Marquette (19-6)
17. Kentucky (17-8)
18. Clemson (21-5)
19. Arizona (17-8)
20. Maryland (20-6)
21. Mississippi State (18-7)
22. Memphis (21-5)
23. Kansas (17-8)
24. Ole Miss (19-7)
25. Louisville (20-6)
Others Receiving Votes: New Mexico 117, Saint Mary’s 63, UCLA 56, Creighton 27, Illinois 22, UConn 20, George Mason 15, Gonzaga 14, High Point 1
