History was made on Saturday as the first-ever No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in the history of the SEC took place in Tuscaloosa between Auburn and Alabama. The contest was the cornerstone of why the SEC is the country's top basketball league this season and it delivered a thriller as Auburn won 94-85 to assure they will remain atop the AP Top 25 for another week.
The Tigers' big win was one of several huge results from Week 15 that should impact the upcoming poll, which is set to drop on Monday afternoon. Read on for a look at the projected AP Top 25 and some deeper analysis of the games that defined the week that was in college basketball.
Projected AP Top 25 College Basketball Rankings after Auburn wins 1 vs. 2 Showdown with Alabama
1. Auburn Tigers
2. Duke Blue Devils
3. Alabama Crimson Tide
4. Florida Gators
5. Houston Cougars
6. Tennessee Volunteers
7. Texas A&M Aggies
8. Iowa State Cyclones
9. St. John's Red Storm
10. Texas Tech Red Raiders
11. Michigan State Spartans
12. Michigan Wolverines
13. Wisconsin Badgers
14. Missouri Tigers
15. Purdue Boilermakers
16. Marquette Golden Eagles
17. Kentucky Wildcats
18. Clemson Tigers
19. Arizona Wildcats
20. Memphis Tigers
21. Maryland Terrapins
22. Mississippi State Bulldogs
23. Kansas Jayhawks
24. Ole Miss Rebels
25. New Mexico Lobos
Auburn Earns Impressive Road Win At Alabama
On a loaded Saturday in sports with the USA-Canada classic in the 4 Nations showdown and the NBA's All-Star Saturday night, Auburn-Alabama delivered arguably the most compelling showdown outside of the aforementioned hockey game. The Tigers and Crimson Tide delivered plenty of haymakers back and forth, with Auburn pulling away at the end to escape with a huge road win to cement themselves as the team to beat both in the SEC and college basketball.
A loss like this won't damage Alabama, which is comfortably in the running for a No. 1 overall seed as evidenced by their placement on the top line in Saturday's Top 16 seed reveal on CBS. The Crimson Tide do have a gauntlet down the stretch, however, as every opponent left on their schedule is currently ranked and a few slipups could knock them down to the 2-line.
Houston Tops Arizona For Big 12 Supremacy
While Auburn-Alabama was the headliner on Saturday's college basketball card, the Big 12 delivered a very compelling lead in as No. 6 Houston faced No. 13 Arizona with the conference lead on the line. A strong second half from the Cougars helped them escape with a four-point win, moving them to an absurd 13-1 in Big 12 play and setting them up to hop into the Top 5 after Tennessee split its games last week.
The loss was the second in a row for Arizona, which became the sixth victim of Kansas State's red-hot run on Monday before falling here. The body of work that the Wildcats have amassed to this point should keep them in the poll but a steady drop should be expected here.
Michigan Rallies To Stun Purdue
The race to the top of the Big Ten has taken a wild turn over the course of the season as there have been various points where Illinois, Purdue, Michigan State and Wisconsin have looked like the best the 18-team league has to offer. A new contender for the crown has emerged as Michigan swept its two games this week to climb into the outright lead at 12-2 in league games, with the most notable result being a dramatic 75-73 victory over No. 7 Purdue on Tuesday night.
The victory, coupled with another nail-biter at Ohio State on Sunday, is part of a six-game streak for the Wolverines before they take on their arch-rivals from East Lansing on Friday night. The Boilermakers seemed stunned by this loss and carried it into a disappointing 10-point home loss to No. 16 Wisconsin, which should lead to a decent tumble for Purdue in the new poll.
Kansas Hits A New Low With Loss At Utah
It is hard to believe that Kansas was the pre-season No. 1 given how badly this team has played on the road. The Jayhawks fell to 3-6 in true road games after falling 74-67 at Utah on Saturday, a discouraging result against a bad Utes team that entered the contest with a 13-11 record and a 5-8 mark in Big 12 play.
There is little risk of Kansas missing the tournament as a lot of their defeats have come against strong Big 12 competition, but their seed could start to slip as a result of losses like this one. There is an outside chance the Jayhawks fall out of the poll entirely on Monday but their previous body of work should keep them in the 20s for now.