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.

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.

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

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Chad Baker-Mazara scored 20 points, and No. 1 Auburn beat No. 15 Mississippi State 88-66 on Tuesday night in its first game without star center Johni Broome.

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

In the absence of Broome, Auburn front-liner Chaney Johnson stepped up and delivered. Not only did Johnson tie his season high in minutes (34), but he had 17 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.

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.

Coach Bruce Pearl, speaking Saturday after Auburn survived a 66-63 scare at South Carolina, termed the issue a significant sprain. Broome, who is averaging 17.9 points and 10.7 rebounds, was helped off the court and taken straight to the locker room after suffering the injury with 13:45 remaining.

Auburn is in line to ascend to No. 1 in the AP poll Monday on the heels of Tennessee's first loss of the season

No. 1 Auburn (16-1) at No. 23 Georgia. Next: vs. No. 6 Tennessee, Saturday. No. 2 Iowa St. (15-1) at West Virginia. Next: vs. UCF, Tuesday. No. 3 Duke (15-2) at Boston College. Next: at Wake Forest, Saturday.

Cooper Flagg could be the first freshman to win the Naismith Award since 2019 when fellow Duke player Zion Williamson won the award. The list of freshmen winners is small, with Kentucky’s Anthony Davis (2012) and Texas' Kevin Durant (2007) also winning the award.