Surging Kentucky Wildcats jump to No. 5 spot in AP Top 25 men's basketball poll

Auburn keeps winning and Kentucky is rising, and that has the Southeastern Conference putting its imprint atop the Associated Press men's college basketball poll for this week.

Bruce Pearl's Tigers earned 49 of 61 first-place votes in Monday's new poll to extend the program's first stay at No. 1 for a second straight week, while John Calipari's Wildcats jumped to No. 5 for the program's highest ranking in the AP Top 25 in more than two years. The SEC has a pair of top-five teams for the first time in nearly three years.

Auburn (20-1) has won 17 straight games since losing a double-overtime game to Connecticut in November. The Tigers earned a narrow win at Missouri in their first game at No. 1 then followed with Saturday's home win against Oklahoma, not to mention the school reaching a deal with Pearl for an eight-year contract.

First-place votes in parentheses.

«It's been a good week,» Pearl said with a chuckle after the Sooners win.

Kentucky (17-4) had the week's biggest jump, rising seven spots after winning by 18 at Kansas on Saturday. This marks the highest ranking for Kentucky since the 2019-20 season, when the Wildcats spent one week at No. 1 in the first regular-season poll and sat at No. 6 in early March.

«Every time we play like a team… I don't think anybody can stop us,» Wildcats big man Oscar Tshiebwe said after the Kansas win.

This marks the first time the SEC had two top-five teams since February 2019, when Kentucky was fourth and Tennessee was fifth.

THE TOP TIER

Gonzaga remained at No. 2 and earned the other 12 first-place votes. UCLA climbed to No. 3, followed by Purdue — which claimed its first No. 1 ranking earlier this season. The Bruins opened the year at No. 2 and have now spent 11 weeks inside the