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Auburn and Iowa State extended their winning streaks this week to nine and 12 games, respectively, further entrenching themselves at the top of the men's college basketball power rankings as both handled top-15 opponents at home with ease -- Auburn against No. 15 Mississippi State and Iowa State against No. 9 Kansas -- to remain perfect in conference play. 

However, the top five of this week's power rankings once again underwent some major reconstruction after last week's No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 teams -- Mississippi State, Texas A&M and Alabama -- combined for five losses and a 1-5 record.

That opening made way for Duke to move up to No. 3, its highest ranking in more than a month, after it again had a perfect week with wins over Notre Dame and Miami at home by comfortable margins. The Blue Devils (15-2) have won 11 straight games dating back to late November and are 7-0 in ACC play with the No. 2 defense in adjusted efficiency at KenPom and the No. 3 offense in efficiency metrics.

Houston and Marquette rounded out the new-look top-five with the Cougars improving to 13-3 this week and up to a perfect 5-0 in Big 12 play, and the Golden Eagles winning Tuesday at DePaul to get to 6-0 in Big East play. They are the only team in the conference yet to lose in league action thus far and are 15-2 overall, marking the program's best start since 2008-09 when it went 20-2 to open the season with Jerel McNeal, Wesley Matthews, Lazar Hayward and Jimmy Butler leading the way.

There's much to unpack in the latest power rankings, so let's dive in with the rankings guidelines as we always do and make clear how we operate in this space. I promise to abide by these as closely as I can throughout the season. 

Power Rankings definition: Ranking teams with an emphasis on recent performance based on their level of competition. These are heavily unscientific in nature and can be distilled down to a "vibes" ranking -- with things like margin of victory, injuries, performance vs. top competition, momentum and other sometimes subjective factors weighing into the equation. The power rankings can be thought of in a weekly setting as a reaction -- or sometimes even an overreaction -- to the small sample of the week that was. 

Let's get to it.

College Basketball Power Rankings
1
No Johni Broome was no problem for Auburn on Tuesday as it defeated Mississippi State 88-66 without its injured star to remain perfect in SEC play. Auburn has a stiff challenge awaiting it Saturday with a road trip to Georgia. Last week: No. 1
2
After moving up to No. 2 last week, Iowa State validated its stature with a gritty OT win at Texas Tech and a 17-point beatdown Wednesday over No. 9 Kansas. The win over KU came without Milan Momcilovic, yet it barely registered as impactful as Curtis Jones scored 25 points and thrust himself into the All-American conversation on a national stage. Last week:No. 2
3
With a 36.60 net rating at KenPom.com and a top-three offense and defense in efficiency metrics, Duke -- winners of 11 straight -- has more than earned a hearty bump this week. The ACC is having a brutal season, but its banner program, led by Cooper Flagg, is having a monster season and getting better each week. Last week:No. 6
4
It's been almost two months since Houston last faced a ranked opponent due to a soft end to its nonconference slate and some schedule fortune from the Big 12 gods to open league play. But the Cougars have dug out of an early 4-3 hole to start the year and now won nine-straight, culminating with a 30-point road win at K-State on Saturday and a 16-point home win Wednesday over West Virginia. Last week:No. 7
5
This is an aggressive move up the ranks for Marquette from No. 14 last week -- especially considering its only win this week came at DePaul, in overtime. But losses by teams ranked ahead of Marquette, coupled with Marquette consistently finding ways to win close games with a winning streak nearly reaching one full month, is good enough to get the Golden Eagles to this spot. Last week: No. 14
6
Two wins over ranked SEC opponents this week gets Mark Pope's Wildcats back into the top 10 where they belong. Jaxson Robinson had a huge week with 27 points vs. Mississippi State on the road and 22 vs. Texas A&M back in Rupp. Last week:  No. 11
7
It doesn't feel great having Tennessee one spot ahead of Florida given its 30-point loss to the Gators 10 days ago. I want to acknowledge that. But the Vols beat Texas and a ranked Georgia team this week after that bad loss, while Florida took a tough L at home Tuesday to Mizzou. Last week:No. 13
8
Florida fans aren't going to love falling behind Tennessee this week, which I acknowledged above and I understand. But the consolation here: I moved Florida up from No. 12 to No. 8 this week despite a home loss to Missouri thanks to a win at Arkansas and the Missouri loss being at least partially excused to a full-blown ref show. Gators are deserving of top-10 status, and they are recognized as such in this space. Last week:No. 12
9
Tom Izzo has his Spartans quietly humming right now with 10 consecutive wins, the first time that's happened under Izzo in a season since he led Michigan State to the Final Four in 2018-19. They're the only Big Ten team still unbeaten in league play. Last week:NR
10
Alabama's hot streak cooled off this week with a 74-64 home loss to Ole Miss in which the Crimson Tide uncharacteristically shot 5 of 20 from 3-point range and the duo of Labaron Philon and Mark Sears combined to make two field goals. Clunkers happen. Bama has UK on the road Saturday. Buckle up. Last week: No. 5
11
Matt Painter's pieced together a top-10 offensive unit in America despite losing Zach Edey around Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer. They're No. 12 nationally in 3-point shooting percentage and No. 11 in effective field goal percentage, which has helped them win six in a row leading into Saturday's road tilt vs. Oregon. Last week:NR
12
Rumors of Arizona basketball's death were greatly exaggerated. Tommy Lloyd has his Wildcats playing at a high level after a rough 4-5 start to the year with seven straight wins under the belt and two big wins that landed this week vs. UCF and Baylor. Last week:No. 10
13
Minnesota stunned Michigan on Thursday with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in OT from the mid-court logo. I can't dock the Wolverines much for that even if they didn't play their best. They are 3-1 to start the 2025 calendar year with two road wins on the west coast over USC and UCLA. Last week:No. 9
14
A 15-point home loss to USC on Saturday was perplexing, but at least partly understandable for Illinois, given the absence of Kasparas Jakucionis. He plays a huge part of this team's success, as was evident in a 21-point, 5-assist outing Tuesday to take down Indiana 94-69. They remain at No. 14 this week. Last week: No. 14
15
Road wins over Arkansas and Alabama in the last 10 days and a perfect 4-0 start in SEC play will get ya some love. Chris Beard has the Rebels in a good spot in a deep SEC. Last week: NR
16
I'm not moving Mississippi State out of the rankings this week despite an 0-2 week because those two losses came to No. 8 Kentucky and No. 1 Auburn. But I did have to move the Bulldogs down a bit after ranking them at No. 3 this week. They get Ole Miss at home Saturday and face Tennessee in Knoxville on Tuesday, so they can make a big leap back up the board if they handle their business. Last week: No. 3