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Men's basketball AP poll: Cooper Flagg, Duke look unstoppable in ACC; Iowa State spirals with back-to-back losses

Duke has won all 11 of its conference games by an average of nearly 20 points

ryan young
Staff writer
·5-min read

It’s only the first week in February, and the Big 12 is crumbling a bit, but the ACC has a very clear favorite that nobody seems capable of stopping.

Here’s everything you missed in Week 13 of the men's college basketball season, and the latest Associated Press basketball poll.

The ACC is Cooper Flagg’s to lose.

Duke picked up its latest blowout win on Saturday afternoon at home while its star freshman looked incredibly comfortable in his first rivalry game with North Carolina. The Blue Devils, thanks to 21 points and eight rebounds from Flagg, rolled to the 87-70 win. That pushed them to 19-2 on the year and a perfect 11-0 in ACC play.

Duke held at No. 2 in this week’s poll, still behind top-ranked Auburn. The Tigers, now at 20-1, beat both LSU and Ole Miss this past week. Alabama, Tennessee and Houston then rounded out the top five.

The Blue Devils are absolutely cruising through the ACC, and nobody seems able to stop them. They’ve now won 15 straight, and have won each of their conference games by an average of nearly 20 points. Even in their closer matchups — like their win over NC State last Monday, which was close until the end — they’ve consistently been able to pull away down the stretch.

At this point, it’s unclear who is going to be able to actually stop Flagg and Duke. The ACC, which is very much in a down year, hasn’t been able to make a dent at all so far. The Blue Devils have just one ranked opponent left on their regular season schedule, but it’s a nonconference game against No. 23 Illinois later this month.

Though an undefeated conference run may be an unrealistic ask, the Blue Devils are in a prime position entering the last big stretch of the season.

It was a tough week for Iowa State, and the top of the Big 12.

The Cyclones dropped back-to-back games and saw their 29-game home winning streak at Hilton Coliseum end after Kansas State rolled to a 19-point blowout win on Saturday. It matched the largest win by an unranked team against a top-three opponent in the history of the AP Poll, according to ESPN.

That loss came just days after a wild ending at Arizona last Monday, when Caleb Love hit a ridiculous buzzer-beater from beyond half-court to force overtime. Those Wildcats then flew ahead in the extra period to grab the 11-point win, which got them back in the poll this week at No. 20.

Iowa State, now having lost three of its last five games, dropped five spots to No. 8 in this week’s poll.

They aren’t the only Big 12 team struggling, but the Cyclones need to rally quickly if they are going to make a play for the regular season title. That starts at Kansas on Monday night, where the Jayhawks have been dealing with their own issues.

Kansas, after losing to Houston at home last week, fell at Baylor by 11 points on Saturday. The Bears used a long 17-0 run late in the second half, where they outscored Kansas 60-30, to grab the win and get to 14-7 on the year. That moved Kansas to No. 16.

The Cougars, despite starting 9-0 in Big 12 play, fell apart in overtime on Saturday night and lost their first conference game to Texas Tech by a single point. Houston still improved a spot to No. 5 in this week’s poll.

While the top of the Big 12 has separated itself, the race among that group is still absolutely anybody’s to win.

Monday, Feb. 3

No. 8 Iowa State at No. 16 Kansas | 9 p.m. ET | ESPN

Tuesday, Feb. 4

Vanderbilt at No. 6 Florida | 7 p.m. ET | SEC Network

No. 14 Kentucky at No. 25 Ole Miss | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN

Wednesday, Feb. 5

No. 15 Missouri at No. 4 Tennessee | 7 p.m. ET | SEC Network

Friday, Feb. 7

No. 12 St. John’s at No. 19 UConn | 8 p.m. ET | Fox

Saturday, Feb. 8

Oregon at No. 9 Michigan State | 12 p.m. ET | Fox

No. 10 Texas A&M at No. 15 Missouri | 3:30 p.m. ET | SEC Network

No. 6 Florida at No. 1 Auburn | 4:00 p.m. ET | ESPN

The full Associated Press men’s basketball poll from February 3, 2025.

1. Auburn (20-1)

2. Duke (19-2)

3. Alabama (19-3)

4. Tennessee (18-4)

5. Houston (17-4)

6. Florida (18-3)

7. Purdue (17-5)

8. Iowa State (17-4)

9. Michigan State (18-3)

10. Texas A&M (17-5)

11. Marquette (18-4)

12. St. John's (19-3)

13. Texas Tech (17-4)

14. Kentucky (15-6)

15. Missouri (17-4)

16. Kansas (15-6)

17. Memphis (18-4)

18. Maryland (17-5)

19. UConn (16-6)

20. Arizona (15-6)

21. Wisconsin (17-5)

22. Mississippi State (16-6)

23. Illinois (15-7)

24. Michigan (16-5)

25. Ole Miss (16-6)

Others Receiving Votes: Clemson 182, Saint Mary's 136, Louisville 86, Creighton 50, Oregon 39, UCLA 26, New Mexico 23, Drake 18, Gonzaga 11, Utah State 8, Vanderbilt 4, Baylor 3, George Mason 3, Texas 1, Oklahoma 1