Auburn No. 1 in AP Top 25 for first time
Tigers cap historic poll climb amid their 15-game win streak
War Eagle is flying high over men’s college basketball for the first time in history.
A barely ranked afterthought to begin the season, Auburn climbed past Gonzaga to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll released Monday. The Tigers beat Kentucky over the weekend for their 15th consecutive win, then scooped up 45 of 61 first-place votes to become the nation’s top-ranked team for the first time since the poll began with the 1948-49 season.
The Bulldogs dropped to No. 2 with 15 first-place votes. Arizona remained third and earned the other No. 1 vote.
The Tigers (18-1, 15-0 SEC) spent most of the 1999-2000 season ranked in the top 10, including one week at No. 2. They also spent a week at No. 2 late in the 1998-99 season and another week at No. 2 back in February 1959.
Baylor rebounded from consecutive losses while it was No. 1 to beat West Virginia and Oklahoma and climb one position to fourth in the latest poll. Big 12 rival Kansas is fifth.
The Boilermakers fell two spots to sixth after losing to Indiana early last week. They were followed by Houston and UCLA, deadlocked at No. 7, with Duke and Michigan State rounding out the top 10.
Women’s poll: Unbeaten on the road this season, Mississippi entered The Associated Press women’s basketball poll for the first time in 15 years on Monday, coming in at No. 24. The Rebels (17-2) have won their first seven games away from
home. The last Top 25 ranking for Ole Miss was January 2007. South Carolina remained No. 1. Stanford, North Carolina State, Tennessee and Louisville round out the top five. Indiana remained sixth and was followed by Michigan, Arizona, Texas and Uconn.
South Carolina 85, Vanderbilt 30:
Lele Grissett scored a seasonhigh 14 points in her first start of the season, Aliyah Boston is up to 12 straight games with a double-double, and No. 1 South Carolina got its 14th consecutive win over Vanderbilt. Boston finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks.
Michigan 79, Purdue 66: Naz Hillmon scored 32 points and had 12 rebounds, and No. 7 Michigan dominated the paint. Emily Kiser contributed 12 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists.
BYU 70, San Diego 48: Shaylee Gonzales scored 20 points, Lauren Gustin had 10 points and 13 rebounds and No. 16 BYU posted its second victory over the Toreros in two days. Paisley Harding added 16 points.
Note: Legendary TV announcer Dick Vitale announced that he will not be appearing on ESPN for the remainder of the college basketball season due to ongoing treatment for precancerous dysplasia on his vocal cords. He said he will need surgery.