Auburn, Gonzaga Men Stay 1-2, South Carolina No. 1 Women’s Team
Auburn keeps finding ways to win — even sometimes in tougher-than-expected games — to maintain its hold on No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll.
Bruce Pearl’s Tigers haven’t lost since November and are firmly locked into the top spot after earning 48 of 61 first-place votes in Monday’s poll.
The Tigers rank 13th in adjusted offensive efficiency (116.5 points per 100 possessions) and 14th in defensive efficiency (90.1), joining No. 2 Gonzaga, No. 4 Arizona, No. 5 Kentucky, No. 6 Houston, and No. 7 Duke as the only teams ranked in the top 15 of both categories entering the week.
Florida coach Kelly Rae Finley has the Gators playing their best basketball in years, with wins over four ranked teams in their past five games.
Buoyed by that success, the Gators jumped into The Associated Press women’s basketball poll at No. 19 on Monday, the team’s first ranking since 2016.
Florida knocked off then-No. 7 Tennessee and 14th-ranked Georgia last week.
The Gamecocks remained the top team in the poll this week and were a unanimous choice from the 30-member national media panel. South Carolina was followed by Stanford, Louisville, Michigan, and North Carolina State.