Unbeaten Tennessee tightens grip on No. 1 ranking

Field Level Media|published: Mon 6th January, 14:02 2025

Syndication: The Knoxville News-Sentinel

Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler (5) claps his hands during a college basketball game between Tennessee and Arkansas held at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, January 4, 2025.

The Tennessee Volunteers, the lone unbeaten team remaining in men's college basketball, strengthened their grip on the No. 1 spot in The Associated Press Top 25 poll released Monday.

The Volunteers (14-0) beat Norfolk State by 15 points and then-No. 23 Arkansas by 24 points last week and picked up four more first-place votes. Tennessee received 45 of 60 ballots to stay on top for a fifth straight week.

The top five remained unchanged this week, with No. 2 Auburn (13-1) followed by Iowa State (12-1), Duke (12-2) and Alabama (12-2).

No. 6 Kentucky (12-2) climbed four places after handing Florida its first loss, knocking the Gators (13-1) down two spots to No. 8. No. 7 Marquette (13-2), No. 9 UConn (12-3) and No. 10 Texas A&M (12-2) round out the top 10.

The biggest movers this week were Illinois (11-3), which jumped up nine spots to No. 13, and UCLA (11-3), which tumbled seven spots to No. 22.

The rest of the AP Top 25:

11. Kansas (10-3)

12. Houston (10-3)

13. Illinois (11-3)

14. Mississippi State (13-1)

15. Oregon (13-2)

16. Michigan State (12-2)

17. Oklahoma (13-1)

18. Gonzaga (12-4)

19. Memphis (12-3)

20. Purdue (11-4)