Auburn stays at the top in the Week 17 AP Poll rankings, with Duke and Florida switching spots in the top three after Duke dismantled Illinois on Saturday, 110-67. Houston and Tennessee both jumped up a spot to No. 4 and No. 5, and Alabama dropped two spots to No. 6 after going 1-1 this past week, featuring a loss to Missouri on Wednesday. This top-six is good. Duke deserved to move up as they have the second-most wins in the country and have an average margin of victory of 20 points per game. Alabama had to fall after their loss, and the Tide are now 1-2 through three games of their seven-game ranked opponent gauntlet, so there is still lots of opportunity to win marquee games or drop even further.

Next, we have the red-hot St. John’s Red Storm at No. 7 after they embarrassed UConn at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. The Johnnies are for real, and Rick Pitino has some great scorers in RJ Luis Jr. and Kadary Richmond, as well as a suffocating defense that allows just 65.7 points per game and is ranked No. 2 in adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom. I wouldn’t be upset if they were above Alabama, as they have two more wins than them but the SEC bias is what the committee has been backing all year so I am not surprised at this week’s result.

Michigan State follows behind, moving up six spots to No. 8. This past week was make or break for the Spartans, and they pulled through by taking down Purdue and Michigan, giving themselves a one-game lead in the Big 10 standings. Good spot for them in the rankings, as it’d be hard to raise them any higher since they have fewer wins than everyone above.

A big faller and riser are back-to-back at No. 12 and No. 13. Texas A&M dropped five spots to No. 12 and Clemson rose five spots to No. 13. A&M dropped two games this past week, and in the second game, they had Tennessee on the ropes but ended up losing it late in the game. I’m a big believer in the Aggies, but two losses in a week is going to drop you.

Clemson just keeps winning. Since they took down Duke at home on Feb. 8 they have dismantled UNC, FSU, and SMU. Clemson is also 14-2 in the ACC and only one game behind Duke. In my opinion, I probably wouldn’t have raised them all the way to No. 13. They are now ahead of Missouri, Maryland (who rose four spots) and Michigan, who all have better resumes and are better teams, but the AP Poll is big on “what have you done for me recently” and Clemson just keeps winning.

Some big risers at the bottom of the poll are Memphis (up four spots) and Louisville (up six spots). Memphis dropped last week after a loss to Wichita State and bounced back to No. 18 this week following a win against FAU. They could have stayed lower, as I definitely don’t think they should have gone up four spots after a win against a weak FAU team.

Louisville was No. 25 last week and is now No. 19. The Cardinals have won five in a row since their loss to Georgia Tech on Feb. 1. The Cardinals are third in the ACC and have proven to be a good team. This is a fine spot for them.

Two pretty big fallers at the bottom of the poll include Purdue (down seven spots) and Marquette (down five spots.) Purdue is ice cold right now, having dropped four straight games and coming in at No. 20 in the poll. To think that two weeks ago the Boilermakers were ranked No. 7 in the country. This drop is needed, but I think you could have put them at No. 18 ahead of Louisville and Memphis, only because Purdue lost to three ranked teams when Memphis and Louisville have beaten none in the past two weeks.

Marquette is also ice cold, with their best win in the past month coming on the road against Butler. The Golden Eagles have lost to two ranked and two unranked teams in the past month and have no great wins to show for it. I would have probably dropped Marquette out of the rankings. As of now, they’re not one of the top 25 teams in the country. 

A team I want to highlight that is finally in the top 25 is Saint Mary’s. I am huge on the Gaels. I think they are very legit and could go on a run come March Madness. Saint Mary’s won the WCC regular season this past week after taking down Gonzaga for the second time this season, and they are also 25-1 on the season, which is tied for most wins in the country. The Gaels will most likely only go up for the rest of the year with a relatively easy remaining schedule.

Kansas and Ole Miss dropped out of the rankings which is no surprise to me. I was begging for Kansas to be out, and they proceeded to get embarrassed by BYU. Ole Miss, who was ranked No. 24, lost to Vanderbilt. These come as no shock and are the right moves.

Some teams to watch out for in upcoming weeks or teams that could have been in this week are Creighton, New Mexico, and VCU. Creighton could have been in this week and the other two are good mid-majors on the rise.

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