The Southeastern Conference can make a strong argument as the best league in college basketball with eight ranked teams and five in the top 10.
The bevy of AP Top 25 teams leads to ranked SEC teams playing each other pretty much every week. This week is no different, with four games between ranked SEC teams, headlined by No. 6 Tennessee at top-ranked Auburn on Saturday.
The Tigers moved into to the No. 1 spot for the second time in program history a week ago and remained there after a chaotic week in which 19 AP Top 25 teams lost at least once.
Auburn (17-1, 8-0 SEC) has been on a roll since losing at No. 2 Duke on Dec. 4, winning eight straight games. The Tigers lost starting big man Johni Broome, a frontrunner for national player of the year, to an ankle injury against South Carolina on Jan. 11, but it hasn't slowed them down yet.
Auburn beat two ranked teams without Broome last week, knocking off No. 14 Mississippi State and then-No. 23 Georgia to earn unanimous No. 1 in Monday's poll.
“You can't be anything but impressed,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said after the win over Mississippi State. “You just can't.”
The Tigers will need another stellar performance if they're going to win their only game this week.
Tennessee (16-2, 3-2) moved to No. 1 for the first time since 2018-18 earlier this season and stayed atop the poll for five weeks before losing to No. 5 Florida on Jan. 7. The Vols lost 76-75 at Vanderbilt last Saturday, but didn't lose any ground in this week's poll.
While Auburn will get to rest of before Saturday's showdown, Tennessee has a tough game Tuesday against No. 14 Mississippi State.
The Bulldogs (15-3, 3-2) lost by 22 to top-ranked Auburn last Tuesday, but bounced back to knock off rival and No. 22 Mississippi 84-81 in overtime after blowing a four-point lead in the final 42 seconds.
Ole Miss (15-3, 4-1) also plays two ranked opponents this week, facing No. 13 Texas A&M on Wednesday and No. 22 Missouri on Saturday, both at home. The Rebels are tied with the Tigers and No. 4 Alabama for second in the SEC, a half-game behind Auburn.
Missouri moved into the poll this week for the first time since 2022-23 after ending Florida’s 16-game home winning streak and posting an 18-point win over Arkansas. The Tigers (15-3, 4-1) play at Texas on Tuesday.
Texas A&M (14-4, 3-2) also faces Texas this week, hoping to complete a season sweep on Saturday after beating the Longhorns by 20 at home earlier this month.
Big 12 showdown
The Big 12 has five ranked teams this week, but only two are playing each other.
And it's a big one: No. 7 Houston at No. 12 Kansas on Saturday.
The Cougars (14-3, 3-0, Big 12) have won 10 straight and lead the Big 12 by a half-game over No. 3 Iowa State and Arizona. Houston was scheduled to face Utah on Tuesday, but the game was pushed back to Wednesday due to winter weather in South Texas.
The Jayhawks have been up and down since opening the season at No. 1.
Kansas (13-4, 4-2) has wins over North Carolina, No. 8 Michigan State and Duke, but dropped three places in this week's poll after a 17-point loss to Iowa State. The Jayhawks bounced back to beat rival Kansas State by 10 at home on Saturday.
Boilermakers and Wolverines
The only other game involving ranked teams this week is between two teams trying to keep up with Michigan State in the Big 10.
No. 11 Purdue (15-4, 7-1) moved up six spots in this week's poll after wins over Washington and No. 15 Oregon pushed its winning streak to seven games.
The Boilermakers host Ohio State on Wednesday and have a short turnaround before hosting No. 21 Michigan on Friday.
The Wolverines (14-4, 6-1) lost to Minnesota in overtime last Thursday, but bounced back to beat Northwestern in overtime on Sunday. Purdue and Michigan will meet again Feb. 11 in Ann Arbor.
