Kansas is once again the top team in the country, but there was a lot of action below them throughout the college basketball world this past week. And, with holiday tournaments already underway, expect plenty more in the coming days.
Here’s everything you missed in Week 3 of the college basketball season, and the latest Associated Press men’s basketball poll.
Baylor drops another opportunity after sneaking past Rick Pitino
Baylor split this week, but just barely. It might be time to be concerned about the Bears.
Baylor, after finding itself on the wrong end of a blowout 38-point loss to Gonzaga to start the season, fell to Tennessee 77-62 in the Baha Mar Hoops championship game on Friday. The Vols opened the game on a 23-4 tear before cruising to the dominant win. Chaz Lanier had 25 points on seven 3-pointers for Tennessee all in the first half, too.
Baylor only made that game thanks to a buzzer-beater from Jeremy Roach the night before. Roach stunned Rick Pitino and St. John’s with a wild shot in double overtime at the event to grab the win.
Pitino slammed officials after that game, calling the crew “highly unethical” after a late review.
“I don’t know what to say. The referees didn’t do a very good job tonight,” he said, .
Regardless, St. John’s dropped out of the rankings completely this week. Baylor fell four spots to No. 17.
There’s still time for Baylor to right the ship, and it’ll have plenty of opportunities to do so once Big 12 play gets going. There’s no disputing that Scott Drew has a talented roster at his disposal. But so far, something has been off. If the Bears can’t get back on track before conference play starts, and if it can’t at least hang with No. 2 UConn next week, it could be a long season for Baylor.
A rough week for the Big Ten
Wisconsin might be the lone bright spot in the Big Ten right now.
The Badgers, after their commanding win over Arizona earlier this month, rallied back from 14 points down to beat Pittsburgh and win the Greenbrier Tip-Off on Sunday night. That moved them to a perfect 7-0 on the season, and jumped them up four spots to No. 15 in this week’s poll.
Other than Indiana, which beat UNC Greensboro to stay undefeated, it was a rough week for the conference. Marquette flew past Purdue on Tuesday behind a . It was just the third triple-double in program history, and the first since Dwyane Wade in 2003. That moved the Golden Eagles up to No. 10, and dropped Purdue to No. 13 this week.
Then at the bottom of the rankings, both Illinois and Rutgers fell this past week, too. Rutgers slipped on Sunday night to Kennesaw State after star freshman Ace Bailey committed a bad turnover in the final seconds that could have set up a game-tying bucket. Instead, the Owls picked up their first ever home win against a ranked program. Rutgers, which fell out of the rankings completely, was out-rebounded by 19.
While the Illini recovered with a 47-win over Maryland Eastern Shore, they couldn’t hang with Alabama on Wednesday night. Grant Nelson dropped 23 points for the Crimson Tide, who led nearly the entire way while picking up the 100-87 win. That dropped them from the rankings, too.
What to watch during Feast Week
It’s officially “Feast Week,” one of the best stretches of basketball in the entire season.
A series of tournaments will take place across the United States this week around the Thanksgiving holiday, and at least a few of them promise to provide some incredible matchups later in the week.
Let’s start with the Maui Invitational, which is back at the Lahaina Civic Center after deadly wildfires erupted on the island in 2023. That tournament will kick off with a top-5 battle between No. 4 Auburn and No. 5 Iowa State on Monday night, where the winner will take on either No. 12 North Carolina or Dayton. Two-time reigning national champion UConn leads the other side of the bracket with Memphis, Colorado and Michigan State. The championship game on Wednesday night should be great regardless of who makes it in.
The Battle 4 Atlantis is in the Bahamas again, and both No. 24 Arizona and No. 3 Gonzaga lead the field. Gonzaga will have to get past West Virginia and then either Louisville or No. 14 Indiana to make the title game, while Arizona is with Oklahoma, Providence and Davidson on the other side of the bracket. The Wildcats fell seven spots this week in the poll after their 69-55 loss to Cooper Flagg and Duke on Friday.
The third major tournament this week will take place in Las Vegas at the Players Era Festival. This event will start with group play on Tuesday and Wednesday to set up a championship game and consolation games on Saturday. While it’s not a traditional bracket, No. 6 Houston and No. 9 Alabama will play each other right away on Tuesday. Depending on how that shakes out, with Creighton and Texas A&M leading the other group, Saturday’s championship could be great.
Games to watch this week
*neutral site game
Monday, Nov. 25
No. 4 Auburn vs. No. 5 Iowa State | 9 p.m. ET | ESPNU*
Tuesday, Nov. 26
No. 6 Houston vs. No. 9 Alabama | 8 p.m. ET*
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 11 Duke | 9 p.m. ET | ESPN*
Maui Invitational Semifinals | 6 p.m., 11 p.m. ET | ESPN*
Wednesday, Nov. 27
Maui Invitational Championship Game | 5 p.m. ET | ESPN*
Thursday, Nov. 28
Battle 4 Atlantis Semifinals | 12 p.m., 5 p.m. ET | ESPN*
Friday, Nov. 29
Battle 4 Atlantis Championship Game | 5:30 p.m. ET | ESPN*
Saturday, Nov. 30
Players Era Festival Championship Game | 9:30 p.m. ET | TNT*
AP Top 25
The full Associated Press men’s basketball poll from Nov. 25, 2024.
1. Kansas (5-0)
2. UConn (4-0)
3. Gonzaga (5-0)
4. Auburn (4-0)
5. Iowa State (3-0)
6. Houston (3-1)
7. Tennessee (6-0)
8. Kentucky (5-0)
9. Alabama (4-1)
10. Marquette (6-0)
11. Duke (4-1)
12. North Carolina (3-1)
13. Purdue (5-1)
14. Indiana (4-0)
15. Wisconsin (7-0)
16. Cincinnati (5-0)
17. Baylor (4-2)
18. Florida (6-0)
19. Arkansas (4-1)
20. Texas A&M (4-1)
21. Creighton (4-1)
22. Xavier (5-0)
23. Ole Miss (5-0)
24. Arizona (2-2)
25. Mississippi State (5-0)
Others Receiving Votes: BYU 70, Pittsburgh 62, Texas 57, Ohio St. 55, Saint Mary’s 52, Illinois 50, Memphis 38, Texas Tech 31, Drake 29, Nebraska 21, Michigan St. 14, Georgia 11, St. John’s 10, Oregon 10, Penn St. 9, Utah St. 6, Vanderbilt 6, Nevada 5, UCLA 5, Arizona St 5, Maryland 4, Providence 3, Furman 2, Florida St. 1, Columbia 1.
