Men’s Basketball AP Poll: Baylor and Big Ten fall again ahead of week of celebration

Kansas is once again the top team in the country, but there was plenty of action below them across the college basketball world this past week. And with the holiday tournaments already underway, you can expect a lot more in the coming days.

Here’s everything you missed from Week 3 of the college basketball season, plus the latest Associated Press men’s basketball poll.

Baylor misses another chance after sneaking past Rick Pitino’s crew

Baylor got a break this week, but just barely. It might be time to worry about the bears.

After finding itself on the wrong end of the season with a stunning 38-point loss to Gonzaga, Baylor fell 77-62 to Tennessee in the Baha Mar Hoops championship game on Friday. The Vols opened the game with a 23-4 lead before securing the dominant victory. Chaz Lanier had a total of 25 points on seven 3-pointers in the first half for Tennessee.

Baylor only made it into the 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 the second overtime of the event to secure the victory.

Pitino criticized the officials after that game, calling the team “highly unethical” after a late review.

“I don’t know what to say. The referees didn’t do a great job tonight,” he said, via Kyle Boone of CBS.

Regardless, St. John’s has completely disappeared from the rankings this week. Baylor fell four spots to No. 17.

Baylor still has time to right the ship, and there will be plenty of opportunities to do so once Big 12 play gets underway. There is no doubt that Scott Drew has a talented roster. But so far something is wrong. If the Bears can’t get back on track before conference play begins, and if they can’t at least keep pace with No. 2 UConn next week, it could be a long season for Baylor.

A tough week for the Big Ten

Wisconsin might be the only bright spot in the Big Ten right now.

The Badgers rallied from a 14-point deficit after their commanding win over Arizona earlier this month to beat Pittsburgh and win the Greenbrier Tip-Off on Sunday night. That gave them a perfect season record of 7-0 and moved them up four spots to No. 15 in this week’s poll.

Aside from Indiana beating UNC Greensboro to remain undefeated, it was a tough week for the conference. Marquette flew past Purdue on Tuesday behind a triple-double from Kam Jones. It was just the third triple-double in program history and the first since Dwyane Wade in 2003. It moved the Golden Eagles up to No. 10 and Purdue fell to No. 13 this week.

Then, at the bottom of the rankings, both Illinois and Rutgers fell last week. Rutgers slipped against Kennesaw State on Sunday night after star freshman Ace Bailey committed a poor turnover in the final seconds that could have set up the game-winning point. Instead, the Owls picked up their first ever home win against a ranked program. Rutgers, which fell completely out of the rankings, was outscored by 19 points.

While the Illini rebounded with a 47 win over Maryland Eastern Shore, they couldn’t keep up with Alabama on Wednesday night. Grant Nelson dropped 23 points for the Crimson Tide, which led nearly the entire time while picking up the 100-87 win. As a result, Illinois also fell out of the rankings.

What you should see during the festival week

It’s officially “Celebration Week,” one of the best periods of basketball of the entire season.

There will be a number of tournaments taking place around the Thanksgiving holiday this week across the United States and more, and at least some of them promise to feature some incredible matchups later in the week.

Let’s start with the Maui Invitational, which will be held again at the Lahaina Civic Center in 2023 following the spread of deadly wildfires. This tournament begins Monday night with a top-five battle between No. 4 Auburn and No. 5 Iowa State, where the winner will face 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. Wednesday night’s championship game should be great regardless of who makes it.

The Battle 4 Atlantis is once again taking place in the Bahamas and both No. 24 Arizona and No. 3 Gonzaga lead the field. Gonzaga must overcome West Virginia and then either Louisville or No. 14 Indiana to reach the title game, while Arizona is on the other side of the bracket with Oklahoma, Providence and Davidson. The Wildcats fell seven spots in the poll this week after losing 69-55 to Cooper Flagg and Duke on Friday.

The third major tournament this week takes place in Las Vegas at the Players Era Festival. This event begins with group play on Tuesday and Wednesday in preparation for a championship game and consolation games on Saturday. Although it’s not a traditional bracket, No. 6 Houston and No. 9 Alabama will play each other on Tuesday. Depending on how this plays out, Saturday’s championship could be great with Creighton and Texas A&M leading the other group.

Games to watch this week

*Neutral site play

Monday, November 25th

No. 4 Auburn vs. No. 5 Iowa State | 9pm ET | ESPNU*

Tuesday, November 26th

No. 6 Houston vs. No. 9 Alabama | 8:00 p.m. ET*

No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 11 Duke | 9pm ET | ESPN*

Maui Invitational Semifinals | 6 p.m., 11 p.m. ET | ESPN*

Wednesday, November 27th

Maui Invitational Championship Game | 5pm ET | ESPN*

Thursday, November 28th

Battle 4 Atlantis Semifinals | 12pm, 5pm ET | ESPN*

Friday, November 29th

Battle 4 Atlantis Championship Game | 5:30 p.m. ET | ESPN*

Saturday November 30th

Players Era Festival Championship Game | 9:30 p.m. ET | TNT*

AP Top 25

The complete Associated Press men’s basketball poll as of November 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.