NCAA Men's Basketball Power Rankings: Auburn's dominance continues - ESPN

Tuesday night brought the most eye-popping result of the 2024-25 men's basketball season: Florida 73, Tennessee 43.

The Volunteers, who entered the game as the only team in the country without a loss, gave up the first 12 points and were essentially never in the game. Florida didn't even play its A-game — and ran Tennessee out of the building.

So what does that mean for these rankings?

Auburn was already No. 1, so the top didn't change. It does seem there's a top tier developing, with the Tigers followed by Iowa State and Duke — none of those three has suffered anything resembling a 30-point loss yet this season and they have consistently looked a cut above over the past month.

Tennessee is still 14-1 with road wins at Illinois and Louisville, a neutral-site win over Baylor and a home blowout over Arkansas, so the Volunteers can't drop too far. But that performance against the Gators on Tuesday will be a rough spot on their résumé all season — and could come up in discussion on Selection Sunday.

Previous ranking: 1

Auburn had its closest win since November on Tuesday, when it won at Texas by five despite jumping out to a 21-point lead. Texas scored 42 points in the final 12:30 to get within three, but Auburn made clutch free throws down the stretch. It was the Tigers' worst defensive performance since the loss to Duke and their second-worst defensive performance of the season. Texas took 30 free throws and shot 50% inside the arc.

Next seven days: at South Carolina (Jan. 11), vs. Mississippi State (Jan. 14)

Previous ranking: 3

After allowing more than one point per possession in the Big 12 opener against Colorado, Iowa State's typical defense has returned. The Cyclones limited Baylor to 29.7% shooting from the field and