The members of the Associated Press felt that Missouri’s win over Kentucky was good enough to propel them to a No. 20 ranking in this week’s poll. Missouri jumped Auburn, which moved [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag]’s squad down to No. 22 despite earning a win over Florida last Wednesday.
This week’s USA TODAY Coaches Poll favored Auburn more than the Associated Press, as they move the Tigers to No. 20, which is a three-spot increase from the week prior.
Auburn is one of six SEC teams to earn a spot in this week’s USA TODAY Coaches Poll. Alabama is the highest-rated team in the conference, checking in at No. 7 following a win at then-No. 20 Mississippi State last Wednesday. Tennessee checks in at No. 9 following a road win at Ole Miss, and Arkansas fell six places to No. 13 after losing a tough road tilt at LSU.
Missouri moves into the top 25, rising ten places to No. 21 following Wednesday’s win at Kentucky. The loss to Missouri affected Kentucky immensely, as they fell eight places to No. 25, which was the biggest drop of any top 25 teams from last week’s rankings.
Here’s a look at the USA TODAY Coaches Poll for the week of Jan. 2
| Ranking | Team | Record | Last Week | Weekly Change |
| 1 | Purdue | 13-0 | 1 | — |
| 2 | Houston | 14-1 | 3 | 1 |
| 3 | Kansas | 12-1 | 4 | 1 |
| 4 | Arizona | 13-1 | 5 | 1 |
| 5 | Connecticut | 14-1 | 2 | -3 |
| 6 | Texas | 12-1 | 6 | — |
| 7 | Alabama | 11-2 | 9 | 2 |
| 8 | UCLA | 13-2 | 8 | — |
| 9 | Tennessee | 11-2 | 10 | 1 |
| 10 | Gonzaga | 12-3 | 11 | 1 |
| 11 | Virginia | 10-2 | 12 | 1 |
| 12 | Miami-Florida | 13-1 | 16 | 4 |
| 13 | Arkansas | 11-2 | 7 | -6 |
| 14 | Duke | 11-3 | 14 | — |
| 15 | Wisconsin | 10-2 | 15 | — |
| 16 | Baylor | 10-3 | 13 | -3 |
| 17 | Texas Christian | 12-1 | 19 | 2 |
| 18 | Xavier | 12-3 | 25 | 7 |
| 19 | Indiana | 10-3 | 18 | -1 |
| 20 | Auburn | 11-2 | 23 | 3 |
| 21 | Missouri | 12-1 | NR | 10 |
| 22 | New Mexico | 14-0 | NR | 8 |
| 23 | Ohio St. | 10-3 | NR | 3 |
| 24 | Illinois | 9-4 | 22 | -2 |
| 25 | Kentucky | 9-4 | 17 | -8 |
| 25 | Iowa State | 10-2 | NR | 7 |