The 2024-25 men’s college basketball season is officially underway, and the sport’s top ranks are still largely holding strong — starting with top-ranked Kansas after its big win over North Carolina on Friday night.
Here’s everything you missed from the opening week of the season and the latest Associated Press men’s basketball poll.
Kansas outlasts UNC to remain #1
The Jayhawks nearly blew a 20-point lead at home in a rare battle against North Carolina, but they lived up to their second straight No. 1 ranking to start the season.
Kansas held on late at Allen Fieldhouse to beat the Tar Heels 92-89 and improve to 2-0 on the year Friday night. The Jayhawks went ahead by 20 points in the first half and more than lived up to their ranking as the best team in the country. They shot better than 55% from the field in the first 20 minutes, with both Hunter Dickinson and KJ Adams dominating early inside.
While the Tar Heels rallied in the second half to take the lead on a Jalen Washington layup with just over two minutes remaining, Kansas finished the job. Dickinson responded with the go-ahead after Zeke Mayo connected it with a jumper of his own to lift Kansas to the three-point win in what was just the 13th game between the two programs. The win was also Bill Self’s 590th in his career, tying Phog Allen for the most in program history.
The win, of course, left Kansas at No. 1 in this week’s poll, leaving the top three spots in the rankings unchanged. North Carolina dropped one spot to No. 10.
The Jayhawks take on Michigan State next Tuesday and get Cooper Flagg and No. 6 Duke and No. 14 Creighton before Big 12 play starts next month. North Carolina’s list is simpler, but next month Alabama will be No. 2.
While it’s still early and North Carolina seems more than ready to hold its own with Duke in the ACC, the Jayhawks have proven themselves as the early team to beat.
Auburn stuns Houston after plane incident
After struggling to even reach Houston, Bruce Pearl and Auburn picked up their first big win of the season on Saturday.
The Tigers defeated Houston 74-69 on Saturday night in a battle at the Toyota Center thanks to 21 points from Tahaad Pettiford. Johni Broome added 20 points, including 16 in the second half, and nine rebounds in the win for the Tigers.
However, the biggest news from that upset win came a day before the game was even played. The plane carrying the Auburn team to Houston actually had to turn around and return to Alabama after an incident between players on board. Pearl did not address the incident after the game, but Jahki Howard and Ja’Heim Hudson – reportedly the two players involved – ultimately did not make the trip. There was reportedly yelling and players hitting each other in the face, but no punches were thrown in the air. The team took a second flight to Houston later that evening and made plenty of time before the game tipped over.
But despite the chaotic trip, Auburn still emerged victorious and rose to No. 5 in this week’s poll. Houston dropped four spots to number 8.
Gonzaga was the other program that initially ranked in the top 10 and came out with a pair of big wins in the first week of the season. The Bulldogs absolutely rolled over Baylor 101-63 in their season opener last week before going on to beat Arizona State 88-80 late Sunday. Gonzaga moved to No. 4 in the latest poll, while Baylor fell four spots to No. 12.
Purdue’s Jacobsen is out for the season
Purdue big man Daniel Jacobsen’s season is over.
Jacobsen was ruled out for the rest of the season on Sunday due to a broken leg, head coach Matt Painter announced. The freshman left their win over Northern Kentucky on Friday after colliding with a Norwegian defender in the lane in the opening minute of the game. He will now undergo surgery in the coming days.
Jacobsen, a 7-foot-4 center, was a three-star recruit from Rivals.com out of high school. He is now wearing a medical redshirt this season.
Purdue, after beating both Northern Kentucky and Texas A&M Corpus-Cristi last week, climbed to No. 13 in this week’s poll. They take on Yale on Monday night before hosting No. 2 Alabama on Friday.
Todd Golden still coaches for Florida
Although he is the subject of an investigation following a Title IX complaint against him, Florida coach Todd Golden will continue to lead the Gators.
Golden was accused earlier this fall by several women, including Florida students, of sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, stalking and cyberstalking. The allegations were first reported Friday by Florida student newspaper The Alligator.
Florida confirmed in a statement Sunday that Golden’s “status as UF men’s basketball coach has not changed,” and that he will lead the team in the Gators’ game against Grambling State on Monday night. Florida, after two solid wins to open the year, is ranked No. 20 this week.
Games to watch this week
* neutral site game
Tuesday, November 12
Michigan State ranked #1 Kansas | 6:30 PM ET | ESPN*
No. 6 Duke at No. 19 Kentucky | 9:00 PM ET | ESPN*
Friday November 15
No. 2 Alabama at No. 13 Purdue | 7:00 PM ET | Peacock
No. 15 Marquette in Maryland | 8:00 PM ET | FS1
No. 9 Arizona in Wisconsin | 9:00 PM ET | Peacock
Saturday November 16th
South Carolina at number 16, Indiana | 3:00 PM ET | Peacock
AP Top 25
The complete Associated Press men’s basketball poll as of Nov. 11, 2024.
1. Kansas (2-0)
2. Alabama (2-0)
3. UConn (2-0)
4. Gonzaga (2-0)
5. Chestnut Brown (2-0)
6. Hertog (2-0)
7. Iowa State (2-0)
8. Houston (1-1)
9. Arizona (2-0)
10. North Carolina (1-1)
11. Tennessee (2-0)
12. Baylor (1-1)
13.Purdue (2-0)
14. Creighton (2-0)
15. Marquette (2-0)
16. Indiana (2-0)
17. Cincinnati (2-0)
18. Arkansas (1-1)
19. Kentucky (2-0)
20. Florida (2-0)
21. Ohio State (1-0)
22. Sint-Jan (2-0)
23. Texas A&M (1-1)
24. Rutgers (1-0)
25. Ole Miss (2-0)
Others receiving votes: Illinois 144, Texas Tech 102, Wake Forest 84, Xavier 78, Texas 51, Michigan St. 41, BYU 26, Kansas St 24, UCF 20, Mississippi St. 15, New Mexico 15, Oregon 14, North -Florida 14, Miami 14, Clemson 13, VCU 12, Memphis 8, Wisconsin 6, Grand Canyon 6, Providence 4, Maryland 3, Austin Peay 2, Arizona St 2, South Dakota St. 1, Michigan 1, Columbia 1, Dayton 1
