Five takeaways from AP Top 25 men's basketball poll

While there were several close calls for the nation's top teams, this week's Associated Press Top 25 men's basketball poll, released on Monday, features the same top five and some movement throughout the rest of the rankings.

Here are five takeaways from the poll:

Top five unchanged despite close calls

It was a challenging week for the top five teams even though none of them lost.

No. 1 Auburn (18-1, 6-0 SEC) got its star forward Johni Broome back from a left ankle injury and became the sixth AP No. 1 team to win by two points or less in consecutive games with a 53-51 win over then-No. 6 Tennessee. 

No. 2 Duke blew a 35-22 halftime lead to Wake Forest and used its defense to remain unbeaten in ACC play (17-2, 9-0 ACC). Freshman sensation Cooper Flagg became the fifth Duke freshman in the last 20 seasons with multiple games of 20 points, five rebounds and five assists.

The fourth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (17-3, 6-1 SEC) had their tightest game of the season at home in an 80-73 win over LSU on Saturday.

Despite all the adversity, The Tigers and Blue Devils found a way to win with defense while the Crimson Tide ground out a close home win despite sitting their leading scorer, senior Mark Sears, for the entire second half.

Michigan State's winning streak moves it up another spot

Currently on a 12-game winning streak — its longest since the 2018-19 season — the Spartans (17-2, 8-0 Big Ten) are on top of the conference and ranked No. 7.

According to TeamRankings, Michigan State makes 19.3 free throws per game, which is tied for sixth in Division I. The Spartans had 42 points in the paint and made 22 of their 26 free-throw attempts in an 81-74 win over Rutgers on Saturday. If Michigan State keeps having its way under the basket and at the charity stripe, it is going to be hard to slow down.

Another comeback win vaults St. John's up five spots

The Red Storm (17-3, 8-1 Big East) have won six straight and three games in which they trailed by at least 15 points, which is tied with Princeton for the most in D-I.

One of those instances was in their most recent win over Xavier. The Red Storm rallied from 16 down and overcame 1-of-12 shooting from long range in the win. With a 48-24 advantage in the paint against Xavier, an improvement in the team's overall three-point shooting (29.9%) could take this team to another level.

Kentucky, Ole Miss fall after disappointing losses

Following a 74-69 loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday — its second straight loss — Kentucky (14-5, 3-3 SEC) falls three spots to No. 12.

While the Wildcats have struggled on defense this season, they only allowed 33 second-half points and 74 for the game. The bigger concern on Saturday was Kentucky's season-high 17 turnovers. With senior forward Andrew Carr out with a back injury, Kentucky had some different lineups on the floor and could not generate consistent offense throughout the game. Better ball control and Carr's status are going to be extremely crucial for a team that has had difficulty getting defensive stops this season.

Ole Miss (15-5, 4-3 SEC) drops to No. 23 following a third straight loss. The Rebels are now 1-4 against AP-ranked opponents this season. A major reason for that has been their inability to rebound. In those three losses, Ole Miss has been outrebounded 138-88. That is a concerning trend for a Rebels team that upset fourth-ranked Alabama prior to the losing streak.

Vanderbilt arrives after another top-10 win at home

Much like the women's team, the Commodores picked up another key win over the weekend and find themselves at No. 24.

With back-to-back wins at home over top 10 opponents, Vanderbilt (16-4, 4-3 SEC) is putting together a solid resume. In the win over previously-No. 9 Kentucky, Vanderbilt made 12 threes and only committed five turnovers in the game. If the Commodores continue to excel in those areas, more quality wins may be on the way.