Feb 8, 2025; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats during the first half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena. Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Top-25 Basketball Rankings Shakeup: Alabama New No. 1 After Auburn, Duke Upsets?

Originally posted on Oregon Ducks on SI
By Charlie Viehl | Last updated Feb 10, 2025 11:03 AM ET

The AP Top-25 Poll for men's college basketball is released on Monday, and a new No. 1 team is expected to be crowned. Will the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide take over the top spot in the rankings after the No. 1 Auburn Tigers and No. 2 Duke Blue Devils suffered losses during the week?

On the other side of the top-25 poll, the Oregon Ducks , UConn Huskies, and Illinois Fighting Illini are expected to be on the outside looking in of the top 25 teams.

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Led by coach Dan Hurley, the No. 19 UConn Huskies are at risk out falling out of the top-25 for the first time of the season. The back-to-back defending national champions have had a tumultuous season, most recently losing at home to No. 12 St. Johns.

No. 23 Illinois lost on the road against Rutgers, and the Fighting Illini have struggled as of late, losing four out of their last seven games. Illinois also has one of the toughest remaining schedules in the country, with five more regular season games against ranked opponents remaining: No. 9 Michigan State, No. 21 Wisconsin, No. 2 Duke, No. 24 Michigan, and No. 7 Purdue.

The Ducks fell out of the rankings on Feb. 3 and subsequently lost two ranked matchups on the road to No. 24 Michigan and No. 9 Michigan State. Oregon coach Dana Altman and his team have now lost five consecutive games, and they are expected to be unranked for a second consecutive week.

Alabama is expected to be at the top of the rankings when they are released after the Crimson Tide benefitted from losses by No. 1 Auburn and No. 2 Duke.

The Auburn Tigers suffered their second loss of the season, and their first loss in SEC conference play against the No. 6 Florida Gators at home. Prior to the weekend, Auburn's only loss of the season was a six-point defeat to the Duke Blue Devils, and the Tigers were voted as the unanimous No. 1 team in the country by the AP voters.

After defeating the consensus No. 1 team in the nation, how high will the Florida Gators climb?

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Duke was upset by Clemson on the same day that Auburn fell to Florida, making way for Alabama to climb to the top of the rankings. How far will Duke and Auburn fall down the rankings? Auburn still holds the best record in the country with only two losses, while Duke joins Alabama, Florida, and St. John's as the few three-loss teams remaining.

This article will be updated when the AP Top-25 Poll is released.

AP Poll Prediction:

1 Alabama

2 Auburn

3 Florida

4 Duke

5 Tennessee

6 Houston

7 Purdue

8 St. John's

9 Texas A&M

10 Michigan State