We’ve reached the point in the men’s college basketball season when even ranked teams are going to take losses on a fairly regular basis. As such, the voters in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll had to make decisions based upon which losses were actually worthy of demotion and which were just the nature of the business.
No. 1 Auburn managed to avoid the upset bug, however, and will keep the top spot for at least another week. The Tigers claimed 30 of 31 first-place votes and are the lone team yet to lose in conference in the crowded SEC. Duke moves up a spot to No. 2 while continuing its romp through the ACC.
Things get complicated after that with many teams having mixed results. Alabama recovered from a mid-week loss with a top-10 win at Kentucky and moves up to No. 3. Iowa State had an opposite slate, beating Kansas earlier but dropping a road contest at West Virginia. The Cyclones slip a spot to No. 4 in the poll but retain a first-place vote. Houston, riding a 10-game winning streak, is back in the top five.
UPS AND DOWNS: Arkansas leads the winners and losers of the weekend
Florida checks in at No. 6 followed by Tennessee. Michigan State climbs four places to No. 8, and Kentucky and Marquette round out the top 10.
Wisconsin heads a group of four teams joining the Top 25 this week. The Badgers have won seven in a row and enter the poll at No. 19. St. John’s, Missouri and Texas Tech also move in. Gonzaga, Utah State, Georgia and Baylor fall out.
