Men’s Basketball Cracks AP Top 25

It took five weeks and eight straight wins but the LSU men’s basketball has finally entered the AP Top 25.

The Tigers checked in at the No. 25 spot in this week’s poll after receiving more and more votes as the season’s progressed. It’s the first time LSU’s been in the Top 25 since midway through the 2019-2020 season.

And yet even with being ranked the 25th team in the nation, you could argue LSU is still being criminally disrespected based off the advanced metrics. LSU is 15th in KenPom and opened at No. 2 in the first NET rankings of the season, trailing only the current No. 1 team in America, Purdue.

Not long after the men’s poll came out, the women’s AP Top 25 was released and the women were also ranked. It’s the first time since 2007 that the men and women’s basketball teams were both ranked at the same time.

LSU’s next opportunity to bolster its resumé will be Friday night in Atlanta as the Tigers travel to take on Georgia Tech in the 2021 Holiday Hoopsgiving showcase.

There are seven SEC schools ranked in this week’s AP poll. The top 25 is as follows:

1. Purdue
2. Baylor
3. Duke
4. UCLA
5. Gonzaga
6. Villanova
7. Texas
8. Kansas
9. Alabama
10. Kentucky
11. Arizona
12. Arkansas
13. Tennessee
14. Houston
15. Connecticut
16. USC
17. Iowa State
18. Auburn
19. Michigan State
20. Florida
21. Ohio State
22. Wisconsin
23. Seton Hall
24. BYU
25. LSU