There were zero losses among top-five teams in college basketball the last week and only one loss among teams inside the top 10, giving us a mostly static picture at the top of the AP Top 25 on Monday with the exception of Tennessee moving up to No. 7, Marquette moving up to No. 10 and Purdue dropping to No. 13.
The Golden Eagles were the biggest riser of the week, which comes on the heels of three wins in nine days over Maryland, Purdue and Georgia. Their win Tuesday over a top-10 Purdue team at home 76-58 cemented their standing as a likely top-10 team in the next rankings, and a double-digit neutral site win vs. Georgia on Saturday officially sealed it. They’ve been remarkably balanced on both ends this season led by a top-10 defense and an All-American candidate in Kam Jones, who is third in both scoring and assists per game among all Big East players and sixth in steals per game.
Tennessee rose the second-most among ranked teams this week after convincing double-digit wins over Virginia and Baylor in the Bahamas to improve to 6-0 on the year. It has what should be a relaxing Thanksgiving week with Tennessee Martin coming to Knoxville on Wednesday before a six-day rest period to start December.
At the top of the college basketball rankings, Kansas retained its grip at No. 1 for a fourth consecutive poll dating back to the preseason, garnering a season-high 51 first-place votes. UConn, Gonzaga, Auburn and Iowa State all held steady at No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, with the back-to-back champion Huskies getting six first-place votes, Gonzaga getting two and Auburn netting earning three.
Kansas’ No. 1 ranking sets up what should be a monumental Tuesday game in Las Vegas vs. No. 11 Duke, the latter of which moved up one spot after a road win Friday night over a then-ranked No. 17 Arizona team. Also on deck this week includes a Monday matchup between No. 4 Auburn and No. 5 Iowa State and ranked-vs.-ranked matchups between No. 6 Houston and No. 9 Alabama on Tuesday night and No. 19 Arkansas vs. Illinois for a tasty Thanksgiving day treat.
The latest AP Top 25 poll is below.
AP Top 25
1. Kansas (51)
2. UConn (6)
3. Gonzaga (2)
4. Auburn
5. Iowa State
6. Houston
7. Tennessee
8. Kentucky
9. Alabama
10. Marquette
11. Duke
12. North Carolina
13. Purdue
14. Indiana
15. Wisconsin
16. Cincinnati
17. Baylor
18. Florida
19. Arkansas
20. Texas A&M
21. Creighton
22. Xavier
23. Ole Miss
24. Arizona
25. Mississippi State
Others receiving votes: BYU 70, Pittsburgh 62, Texas 57, Ohio St. 55, Saint Mary’s 52, Illinois 50, Memphis 38, Texas Tech 31, Drake 29, Nebraska 21, Michigan St. 14, Georgia 11, St. John’s 10, Oregon 10, Penn St. 9, Utah St. 6, Vanderbilt 6, Nevada 5, UCLA 5, Arizona St 5, Maryland 4, Providence 3, Furman 2, Florida St. 1, Columbia 1.
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