2024 AP College Basketball Poll: First Regular Season Men’s Rankings Released | News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

by Junna Base November 11, 2024

Bleacher Report

Kansas retained the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll after overcoming its first major hurdle of the 2024-25 season.

The Jayhawks successfully defended their home court last Friday, defeating then ninth-ranked North Carolina 92-89. Star center Hunter Dickinson posted a double-double (20 points and 10 rebounds), while guard Zeke Mayo came off the bench and dropped a game-high 21 points.

However, another team in the top five wasn’t quite as lucky.

Men’s Basketball AP Top 25

Auburn climbed from 11th to fifth thanks to a 74-69 win over Houston, which had started fourth in the preseason AP poll.

The individual brilliance of Tigers forward Johni Broome and guard Tahaad Pettiford counteracted the Cougars’ balanced attack. While Houston had five players score in double figures, Broome and Pettiford accounted for more than half of their team’s offensive output (41 points). Broome also just missed a double-double with nine rebounds and added five blocks for good measure.

Gonzaga made by far the biggest statement in its opening week. The Zags beat Baylor 101-63 in Spokane, Washington.

It was a brilliant attacking performance from Mark Few’s team. Gonzaga shot 57.1 percent from the field, scored three points and had 25 assists with 11 turnovers.

Senior forward Graham Ike was the standout star.Senior forward Graham Ike was the standout star. In just 21 minutes on the court, he scored 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists and one steal. Fellow senior Nolan Hickman had 16 points and six boards. Ryan Nembhard was the offensive engine with 11 dimes.

Gonzaga suffered disappointment in its two biggest non-conference games last season, losing to Purdue and then UConn. The Bulldogs more than atoned for that against Baylor.

The Bears showed some resilience by defeating Arkansas 72-67. The result was something of a reality check for the Razorbacks, who made so much noise after signing John Calipari and completely surrendering their roster in the preseason.

One thought was that Calipari would benefit from a change of scenery and perhaps experiment with some new ideas. Instead, Arkansas’ loss toward the end of Coach Cal’s tenure there had all the hallmarks of a Kentucky performance.

Rob Dauster @Rob Daster

Baylor is now resorting to high ball screens on every single possession, and Arkansas is having a hard time preventing that. Kentucky fans might think this sounds familiar.

Of course, no one should draw firm conclusions so early in the new campaign.

It was around this time last year that a lot of people started praising Arizona as a national title contender after a win over No. 2 Duke. USC was knocking on the door of the Top 15 after winning its first two games by an average of nearly 20 points.

Looking ahead to next week, Kentucky and Duke travel to Atlanta on Tuesday for the first test of the Mark Pope era. Purdue hosts No. 2 Alabama in West Lafayette on Friday night in another notable matchup. A few unexpected surprises could add even more excitement to an otherwise largely lackluster team.