Johni Broome 's injury makes Auburn's spot more tenuous, but the Tigers beat Mississippi State by 22 even without him. Duke is barely breaking a sweat while blowing out inferior ACC competition. And then there's Iowa State, which has only a two-point loss to Auburn blemishing its résumé and just dispatched Kansas by 17.

Earlier in the week, while discussing Auburn, I explained why I think the Tigers deserve their No. 1 ranking but acknowledged I also find it hard to believe they're actually the best team in the country without the injured Johni Broome.

The Illini had the week's biggest slide by falling six spots after a weekend home loss to Southern California.

This week's AP top 25 men's basketball poll has Illinois at #19 in the country. That's down from #13 last week. Illinois stands at 13-and-4 on the season. Six Big Ten Conference teams are in the top 25 this week led by Michigan State (#12) and Oregon (#13). Purdue is 17th - Illinois 19th - Michigan 20th - and Wisconsin enters the poll at #24.

Michigan State at 12, Oregon at 13, Purdue at 17, Illinois at 19, Michigan at 20 and Wisconsin at 24. Maryland was seventh among oth

The new AP poll is out, and the Auburn Tigers are No. 1 on the list for the second time in program history. The first time was for three weeks in January and February of 2022. Auburn jumped Tennessee for the No. 1 spot after the Volunteers lost 73-43 to Florida on Tuesday in Gainesville. Tennessee had be No. 1 for five weeks.

Illinois was the week's biggest riser, jumping nine spots from No. 22 to No. 13 after sweeping a West Coast swing.

Oklahoma vs. Missouri gymnastics will be broadcast on SEC Network. Cord-cutters can live stream the meet on Fubo, which offers a free trial for new users.

And, in the game of the night, on CBS Sports Network, Oregon State beat nationally ranked Gonzaga 97-89 in overtime. Relatively speaking, it was a slow day in the sport (except for another Florida coach being accused of wrongdoing in a Title IX complaint).

The men's college basketball weekend features five showdowns of ranked teams across the Big Ten and SEC. A breakdown of the matchups.

No. 1 Auburn (16-1) did not play. Next: at No. 23 Georgia, Saturday. No. 2 Iowa St. (15-1) did not play. Next: at West Virginia, Saturday. No. 3 Duke (15-2) did not play. Next: at Boston College, Saturday.

Kennesaw St. at Sam Houston St., 7:30 p.m. North Florida at Cent. Arkansas, 7:30 p.m. SE Louisiana at East Texas A&M, 7:30 p.m. Texas Rio Grande Valley at Incarnate Word, 7:30 p.m.