Feast Week — better known by college basketball fans as the main spectacle of nonconference games — is on the horizon. This past week served as a nice appetizer ahead of dozens of thrilling matchups. The headliner came in a nonconference showdown in Tucson, where No. 12 Duke defeated No. 17 Arizona 69-55 on Friday behind a standout performance from freshman phenom Cooper Flagg.
That matchup wasn’t the only game with major poll implications. Just over a week after knocking off then-No. 2 Alabama at home, Purdue lost to Marquette 76-58 on the road. Marquette star guard Kam Jones recorded a triple-double (17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists) and Stevie Mitchell scored a game-high 21 points in the upset win.
The top-five of the poll should remain unchanged, with Kansas, UConn, Gonzaga, Auburn and Iowa State taking care of business in their respective games. No. 4 Auburn faces No. 5 Iowa State in the first round of the Maui Invitational, while No. 1 Kansas will play No. 12 Duke in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
Here’s how we project the new AP Top 25 poll to look on Monday after games played Nov. 18-24.
1. Kansas (Last week — 1): Kansas will remain No. 1 in the rankings after improving to 5-0 with an 84-66 win over UNC Wilmington. The big matchup will come Tuesday when the Jayhawks face Duke in Las Vegas. There isn’t a team the voters would pick to jump Kansas in the rankings as of this moment.
2. UConn (2): Judging by the postgame reaction of UConn coach Dan Hurley, you would’ve thought his team lost or won a game by a single possession. “Yeah, so, um, yeah just comically bad,” Hurley said. That wasn’t really the case, as UConn rolled to an 81-46 win over East Texas A&M. The Huskies should have some stout competition at next week’s Maui Invitational.
3. Gonzaga (3): Gonzaga will remain at No. 3 after cruising to an 84-41 win over Long Beach State. The Bulldogs have wins over Baylor and Arizona State on their résumé with a matchup against West Virginia looming.
4. Auburn (4): Auburn improved to 4-0 with a blowout win over North Alabama. The Tigers have one of the best wins of any team this season (a neutral-site victory over Houston) and can add to their résumé this week in the Maui Invitational. Auburn opens against Iowa State in the best matchup of the tournament’s opening night.
5. Iowa State (7): Iowa State should remain at No. 5 after knocking off IU Indianapolis 87-52. Iowa State’s first real test of the season will come against a relentless Auburn squad in the opening round of the Maui Invitational.
6. Houston (8): Houston is coming off an 80-44 win over Hofstra and will play Alabama and Notre Dame at the Players Era Festival. The Cougars’ loss this season came vs. Auburn.
7. Alabama (8): After losing to Purdue 87-78 on the road, Alabama responded with a statement win over Illinois. The 100-87 victory moved the Crimson Tide to 4-1 on the season ahead of a showdown with Houston in Las Vegas. Despite the loss to Purdue, we are projecting voters will rank Alabama ahead in the rankings.
8. Tennessee (11): Welcome to the top 10, Tennessee. The Vols should jump a few spots in the rankings after making a statement over Baylor. The 77-62 win over the Bears marked the sixth consecutive win to open the season less than eight months removed from reaching the Elite Eight for the first time since 2010. Tennessee coach may have landed another transfer portal gem in former North Florida standout Chaz Lanier.
9. Marquette (15): Marquette should also jump into the top 10 after beating Purdue and Georgia. The Golden Eagles won 76-58 at home over Purdue and then defeated Georgia to cap off the week. Marquette has big games against Iowa State and Wisconsin looming on the schedule.
10. Kentucky (9): Mark Pope’s Kentucky team is on a roll to start the season. The Wildcats posted a season-high 108 points in the win over Jackson State. Kentucky scored at least 100 points in three of its first six games.
11. Duke (12): Unless you’re living under a rock, you are probably aware of what Flagg is doing right now. He is currently the only player in Division l basketball that’s leading his team in every statical category. The numbers he is putting up validate the massive amount of hype he had coming into the season. The biggest test of Duke’s season will come against Kansas.
12. Purdue (6): Purdue jumped into the top 10 following its upset win at home over Alabama. The Boilermakers lost their next game to Marquette, and because of that, a falling out of the top 10 is a strong possibility. Purdue did knock off Marshall 80-45 this weekend, but it probably won’t be enough to sway voters.
13. North Carolina (10): With the amount of one-loss teams starting to pile up, North Carolina may be the victim of dropping in the polls despite its loss coming to No. 1 Kansas. The Tar Heels’ early résumé includes wins over Elon, American and Hawaii. The good news is the Tar Heels are participating in the Maui Invitational, and could face UConn in the title game if both teams run the table.
14. Indiana (16): The Hoosiers used a big performance from Washington State transfer Myles Rice to pull away from UNC Greensboro at the next. Indiana’s best win on its schedule so far is against South Carolina. Indiana has a date with Louisville next.
15. Florida (21): Florida improved to 6-0 with a 93-68 win over Southern Illinois, and that should be good enough to make another jump in the rankings. The Gators face Wake Forest next.
16. Cincinnati (18): Cincinnati recorded a dominant 81-58 win on the road over Georgia Tech behind a double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds) from Dillon Mitchell. The Bearcats currently sit at 5-0 and should move up.
17. Wisconsin (19): Coming off a massive home win over Arizona, Wisconsin knocked off Pitt in the Greenbrier Tip-Off title game days later.
18. Arkansas (20): Arkansas held off a late rally from Little Rock at home for a 79-67 win. It’s still early to make any definite judgments on the start of the John Calipari era at Arkansas. Something that can be pointed out is Kentucky transfer Adou Thiero has been Arkansas’ best player.
19. Creighton (14): How far will Creighton fall after losing to Nebraska 74-63 for its first loss of the season? We are projecting the Bluejays to stay in the rankings despite a sluggish performance. With games against San Diego State, Texas A&M, Kansas, UNLV and Alabama on the horizon, Creighton will have plenty of time to improve its standing among voters.
20. Baylor (13): Baylor fell behind early in the Baha Mar Hoops title game to Tennessee en route to a blowout 77-62 loss. The Bears suffered their second less than 24 hours after recording a thrilling overtime win over St. John’s. Duke transfer Jeremy Roach knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give his team a 99-98 win.
21. Texas A&M (23): Texas A&M avoided a disastrous loss to Southern earlier in the week. The Jaguars took a 39-25 lead into intermission before the Aggies outscored the road team 46-15 in the second half.
22. Pitt (NR): Pitt looked good early against Wisconsin but ultimately fell short in a 81-75 loss. Despite the loss to Wisconsin, the Panthers should still enter the rankings. Pitt has a key game against Ohio State on the horizon.
23. Arizona (17): Arizona suffered its second loss at the hands of Duke just over a year after going into Cameron Indoor Stadium for a massive nonconference victory. Tommy Lloyd’s squad should remain in the top 25 because of the teams Arizona lost to.
24. Ole Miss (NR): Welcome back to the rankings, Ole Miss. After dropping out of last week’s top 25 in favor of Illinois, we project the Rebels to rejoin the rankings. The Rebels are coming off a blowout win over Oral Roberts and have an intriguing matchup against BYU next week.
25. BYU (NR): Year 1 of the Kevin Young era is off to a great start. Freshman wing Egor Demin is playing like a future lottery pick and the Cougars have coasted to a 5-0 start.
Projected to drop out: No. 22 St. John’s No. 24 Rutgers, No. 25 Illinois
