BOZICH | My weekly AP Top 25 men's college basketball ballot — with new No. 1

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) : Sunday was not a great day at Southeastern Conference headquarters.

Expect callers to be stacked for months on the Paul Finebaum Show, blasting the decision to leave Alabama out of the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Cheer up, folks.

I expect five, and maybe six, SEC teams to be ranked in the top 10 when the men's Associated Press college basketball poll is released Monday afternoon. These SEC squads are determined not to leave any decisions in the hands of a committee.

1. Tennessee (8-0): Texas ran Rick Barnes out of the SEC — and now, like the rest of the league, the Longhorns are looking up at him.
2. Auburn (8-1): Sure, the Tigers lost at Duke. It can happen. Bruce Pearl has a legit national title contender.
3. Iowa State (7-1): Impressive home win over Marquette last week.
4. Kentucky (8-1): Any points I subtracted for the loss at Clemson, I added back for the win at Gonzaga
5. Duke (7-2): Believe the hype. The Blue Devils have a lot of toys.
6. Alabama (7-2): The Crimson Tide won't need ESPN tears when playoff time arrives.
7. Florida (9-0): An unbeaten team that is not getting much love, despite the off court drama.
8. Kansas (7-2): Which loss was worse — Creighton or Missouri? The Jayhawks have a two-game losing streak.
9. Gonzaga (7-2): The Zags failed to win in The Bahamas, spit out a big lead against Kentucky and now get UConn.
10. Marquette (9-1): The Golden Eagles are 3-0 in the Big Ten, beating Maryland, Purdue and Wisconsin. Give them part of the trophy.
11. Oklahoma (9-0): Another unbeaten that is not getting much love.
12. Houston (5-3): Two of the Cougars' three losses have been in overtime.
13. UConn (7-3): Bounced back from the Maui debacle by beating Baylor and Texas.
14. Cincinnati (7-1): I didn't expect the Bearcats' first loss to be against Villanova.
15. Michigan (8-1): This Dusty May guy has won his first two Big Ten games.
16. Oregon (9-1): On the day after the Ducks won the Big Ten football title, they lost their first basketball game on a banked-in shot by UCLA.
17. Purdue (8-2): Former Silver Creek star Trey Kaufman-Renn sits at No. 1 in Ken Pomeroy's ranking of the top players in the Big Ten.
18. Clemson (9-1): Brad Brownell's team ranks fifth in the nation in defensive efficiency.
19. UCLA (8-1): Did you know Skyy Clark has yet to generate a double figures game for the Bruins?
20. St. John's (7-2): I voted Rick Pitino's team higher than any other voter last week. I just did it again.
21. Texas A&M (8-2): The Aggies have three top-50 wins.
22. Ole Miss (8-1): I was impressed how passionately Chris Beard's team played defense.
23. Wisconsin (8-2): It was not a pleasant week for the Badgers, losing to Michigan and Marquette.
24. Penn State (8-1): Don't sleep on the Nittany Lions. Mike Rhodes is a superb coach.
25. Arizona State (8-1): The Sun Devils have four top-100 wins and an eight-point loss to Gonzaga.

College Basketball Coverage:

• BOZICH | Duke wobbles, doesn't break, rallying past Louisville, 76-65
• SEATTLE'S BEST | Kentucky roars back from 18 down, beats No. 7 Gonzaga 90-89 in OT
• BOZICH | Walz embarrassed as No. 2 UConn beats Louisville, 85-52
• Reneau, Ballo power Indiana past Miami (Ohio), 76-57 in final tune-up before Big Ten opener

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