There were a couple of high risers and big fallers this week in the college basketball Top 25 poll, but the headline story is the two top teams in last week’s rankings both lost games last weekend, which sets the scene for a much-anticipated No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup this Saturday in Tuscaloosa between Auburn and Alabama.

Auburn, despite getting dominated by now No. 3 Florida, stays at the top spot in the Week 15 rankings and will face off against now No. 2 ranked Alabama this Saturday. These two teams deserve the top spots as of right now because there is a general consensus that they are the two best teams in the country. Florida also deserves that No. 3 spot after achieving their best win of the year.

Following the top three teams in the country comes the first non-SEC team in Duke. The Blue Devils are in the right spot here, as they are still among the best of the best, but they have to be below these three teams after their tough loss on the road against a good Clemson team.

Let’s go down to No. 9, where St. John’s is ranked in the top 10 for the first time in 25 years. Rick Pitino has the Red Storm firing on all cylinders, especially on the defensive end. The Johnnies ranks No. 2 in adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom, and are now 12-1 in Big East play and are in the midst of a ten-game win streak. This is great for the sport, as the Johnnies are eyeing a top-three seed in March Madness.

Iowa State and Michigan State both dropped two spots, coming in at No. 10 and 11. Iowa State was ranked No. 2 in the country midway through January and has fallen eight spots since then. The Cyclones have now lost three Big 12 games and still have some tough games ahead. The good news is that sophomore Milan Momcilovic, who averages 10.1 PPG, is back in the lineup for the first time since Jan. 11. The Cyclones can still bounce back, but for now they deserve to be this low.

Michigan State started 9-0 in Big Ten play but dropped both of their West Coast games last week against UCLA and USC. The Spartans then bounced back and took care of Oregon at home. They are a legit team, and you could argue they could switch spots with Iowa State, but no higher than that.

Arizona is the big riser this week, coming in at No. 13 compared to No. 20 last week. The Wildcats have caught fire, winning six games in a row while taking down two ranked teams in that span Iowa State and Texas Tech. I am still not the biggest believer in the Wildcats, as both those wins came at home and one was thanks to a full-court buzzer-beater. I think Arizona should have moved up, but I wouldn’t have put them in front of Memphis or Wisconsin, who come in behind them with more wins.

Marquette, Missouri, and Maryland are the biggest fallers at the bottom of the poll. We’ll start with Marquette, who went from No. 11 to No. 18. The Golden Eagles are on a three-game losing streak, their longest of the year. I wouldn’t be nervous though, as they are well-coached and have had success in the past when in spots similar to this. I do think this is the right spot for them right now because of their losing streak, but Marquette will be on the rise again in due time.

Missouri goes from No. 15 to No. 21. The Tigers rose five spots last week and subsequently fell six spots this week. I’m not the biggest fan of Missouri and don’t believe they should have been that high last week, so I am fine with them being this low or even lower. They do not have a great scorer and are inconsistent as a team. Clemson, Creighton, and Maryland could all be ranked ahead of Missouri.

Speaking of Maryland, they fell seven spots from No. 18 to No. 25. Andy Katz believes in Maryland in the same way I do. The Terps have been disrespected all year and I do not understand why. Maryland is 8-5 in conference play, with all of those losses coming on the road with the biggest margin of loss being six points. On the other hand, they have taken down three ranked teams. Maryland is legit, and a three-point road loss this week against Ohio State should not have dropped them seven spots.

In my opinion, there is only one team missing from these rankings; the UCLA Bruins. UCLA has won seven games in a row, and three of those wins have come against top-25 teams. I could also see New Mexico and Nebraska popping into the rankings in upcoming weeks, as those two teams have had some big wins in the past few weeks as well as maintaining a strong record.

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