Tennessee's Buzzer Beater Over Alabama Shakes Up Top-25 College Basketball Rankings

The month of March has begun, and less than two weeks remain before the NCAA Tournament field is revealed on Selection Sunday. How much movement was there in the AP Top-25 Poll as the regular season for men's college basketball reaches its end?

The game of the week came from the SEC in the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers' last-second win over the No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide. In a tie game with less than four seconds left, Tennessee guard Jahmai Mashack won the Volunteers the game with a three-pointer at the buzzer. With the loss, Alabama fell from No. 6 to No. 7.

In the Big Ten, how far will teams like the No. 17 Michigan Wolverines and No. 12 Wisconsin Badgers fall slightly dropped after losing during the week. No. 8 Michigan State handed the Badgers their second loss in the last three games after Wisconsin lost to the Oregon Ducks on Feb. 22.

Tennessee's Jahmai Mashack (15) makes a game-winning three-point shot with .2 seconds on the clock to defeat Alabama, during a men’s college basketball game between Tennessee and Alabama at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center, Saturday, March 1, 2025. | Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

No. 1 Auburn nor No. 2 Duke have lost a game since Feb. 8, and their positioning on top of the rankings did not change in the top-25. No. 3 Houston also cemented themselves as one of the best teams in the country with a 69-61 win over No. 9 Texas Tech.

Who were the biggest movers in this week's poll? The No. 22 Texas A&M Aggies dropped 10 spots from No. 12 to No. 22 in the latest rankings. In the other direction, Louisville climbed five positions up to No. 14.

Then-ranked No. 3, the Florida Gators were the highest-ranked team to stumble during the week, losing on the road to the unranked Georgia Bulldogs. The Gators now sit at No. 5.

Additionally, Michigan narrowly defeated Rutgers 84-82, and then Illinois beat the Wolverines by 20 points in Ann Arbor on Sunday. Michigan ends the season with two ranked matchups, first against the No. 13 Maryland Terrapins and then on the road against Michigan State.

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The Spartans now control their destiny in the race for the regular season conference title after winning five consecutive games, four of them against ranked opponents. If Michigan can get past Maryland, they will play against Michigan State with a share of the Big Ten regular season crown on the line.

There were no new additions to the top-25. Teams like the Oregon Ducks, VCU, and Vanderbilt all received votes in this week's rankings. Previously, teams like Creighton, Kansas, Ole Miss, and Oregon were among those to receive votes outside of the top-25, but the Ducks were the only team to win both of their games during the week. Creighton lost to Xavier and Kansas lost to Texas Tech on Saturday while Ole Miss lost to Auburn on Wednesday.

Feb 19, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dana Altman reacts during the first half against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Arizona fell from No. 22 to 24 after losing to No. 10 Iowa State over the weekend, marking the Wildcats' fourth loss in their last six games.

The No. 25 Mississippi State Bulldogs came close to falling out of the poll after a 38-point loss to Alabama. After starting the season 14-1, the Bulldogs have struggled in conference play with an 8-8 record.

Here is the full AP Top-25 Poll from Feb. 24. This article will be updated when the latest rankings are released on Monday.

1. Auburn

2. Duke

3. Florida

4. Houston

5. Tennessee

6. Alabama

7. St. John's

8. Michigan State

9. Iowa State

10. Texas Tech

11. Wisconsin

12. Texas A&M

13. Clemson

14. Missouri

15. Michigan

16. Maryland

17. Kentucky

18. Memphis

19. Louisville

20. Purdue

21. Marquette

22. Arizona

23 St. Mary's

24. Mississippi State

25. BYU