Preseason No. 1 Kansas maintained its grip on the top spot in the AP men’s basketball Top 25 after the first week of the 2024-25 season, earning 44 first-place votes to extend its lead on fellow top-five teams Alabama, UConn, Gonzaga and Auburn.
The Jayhawks survived a furious second-half rally and held off North Carolina 92-89 in Lawrence on Friday night, in one of the best games of the season’s opening days. The Tar Heels, meanwhile, dropped just one spot to No. 10 after their 1-1 start to the campaign.
Here’s the first men’s basketball AP Top 25 of the 2024-25 season, along with C.J. Moore’s ballot and analysis of the new rankings.
AP Top 25: Nov. 11
| Rank | Team | Record | Prev | CJ’s vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
2-0 |
1 |
4 |
|
|
2 |
2-0 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
3 |
2-0 |
3 |
8 |
|
|
4 |
2-0 |
6 |
3 |
|
|
5 |
2-0 |
11 |
2 |
|
|
6 |
2-0 |
7 |
7 |
|
|
7 |
1-0 |
5 |
6 |
|
|
8 |
1-1 |
4 |
4 |
|
|
9 |
2-0 |
10 |
10 |
|
|
10 |
1-1 |
9 |
14 |
|
|
11 |
2-0 |
12 |
9 |
|
|
12 |
1-1 |
8 |
15 |
|
|
13 |
2-0 |
14 |
12 |
|
|
14 |
2-0 |
15 |
23 |
|
|
15 |
2-0 |
18 |
13 |
|
|
16 |
2-0 |
17 |
16 |
|
|
17 |
2-0 |
20 |
19 |
|
|
18 |
1-1 |
16 |
22 |
|
|
19 |
2-0 |
23 |
20 |
|
|
20 |
2-0 |
21 |
17 |
|
|
21 |
1-0 |
NR |
NR |
|
|
22 |
2-0 |
NR |
18 |
|
|
23 |
1-1 |
13 |
NR |
|
|
24 |
1-0 |
25 |
NR |
|
|
25 |
2-0 |
24 |
NR |
|
|
NR |
2-0 |
NR |
11 |
|
|
NR |
2-0 |
NR |
22 |
|
|
NR |
3-0 |
NR |
24 |
|
|
NR |
1-1 |
NR |
25 |
Others receiving votes: Illinois 144, Texas Tech 102, Wake Forest 84, Xavier 78, Texas 51, Michigan St. 41, BYU 26, Kansas St 24, UCF 20, Mississippi St. 15, New Mexico 15, Oregon 14, North Florida 14, Miami 14, Clemson 13, VCU 12, Memphis 8, Wisconsin 6, Grand Canyon 6, Providence 4, Maryland 3, Austin Peay 2, Arizona St 2, South Dakota St. 1, Michigan 1, Columbia 1, Dayton 1.
Riser: Auburn
The Tigers had the most impressive first week of any team in the country and were rewarded by moving up six spots, the most of any team in the rankings. (They are also the new No. 1 over at KenPom.com.) The question marks for this team were its guard play and how a twin-towers starting lineup of Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell would work.
It looks like Bruce Pearl has plenty of firepower in his backcourt. That was the weakest part of last year’s team, and the preseason concerns were warranted considering point guards Aden Holloway, KD Johnson and Tre Donaldson all transferred. But through two games — a 94-43 blowout of Vermont and a 74-69 win over preseason No. 4 Houston — the returns are promising. In the opener, Georgia Tech transfer Miles Kelly came off the bench to lead the team in scoring with 21 points. Against Houston on Saturday, freshman point guard Tahaad Pettiford also came off the bench and led the Tigers with 21 points. Even more impressive was Pettiford’s decision-making down the stretch, when he carved up Houston’s defense in the pick-and-roll. Denver Jones, who is playing more point guard, is also off to a good start with a 159.5 offensive rating, and starting point guard JP Pegues has also been efficient in a low-usage role.
Broome and Cardwell shared the floor together for only 35 minutes last season, per CBB Analytics. Pearl is starting them both, but he’s staggering their minutes and not playing them together a ton. Still, in 17 minutes with both on the floor, Auburn is plus-20. The sample size is way too small to draw any big conclusions, but Pearl has so much depth that it’s not likely he’ll have to lean on any pairing too long if it doesn’t work.
GO DEEPER
Men’s college basketball Top 25: Auburn, Kansas and other first impressions
Faller: Texas
I was skeptical of the Longhorns’ human and computer rankings in the preseason (No. 16 in the AP poll, No. 18 on KenPom). They’ve since dropped nine spots at KenPom and 11 spots in the AP after losing 80-72 to Ohio State on opening night. It’s obvious Texas has talent — freshman Tre Johnson popped with 29 points against the Buckeyes and 28 against Houston Christian — but I didn’t love the shot selection against Ohio State, and it could take awhile for this rotation’s five newcomers to learn how to play together.
Newly ranked team to watch: St. John’s
St. John’s, No. 27 in the preseason poll, and jumped into the AP Top 25 this week after two blowout wins over mid-majors Fordham and Quinnipiac to start the season. Rick Pitino landed two of the best point guards in the portal in Kadary Richmond and Deivon Smith, and both have been solid so far, especially in setting up others. They’ve combined for 27 assists.
But the development of players already in Pitino’s program has provided even more optimism now that the games have begun. Junior wing RJ Luis Jr. is the team’s leading scorer at 18 points per game, and Simeon Wilcher and Brady Dunlap, who were fringe rotation players as freshmen a year ago, have combined for 60 points through the first two games. Pitino has terrific positional size and the team speed he was lacking (and vocal about it) last year. The Johnnies get their first test on Sunday when New Mexico visits.
(Photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
