Three top-10 teams taking losses in the last week led to substantial shuffling in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll Monday, with UConn rising to No. 2 and last week’s No. 2, Alabama, falling six spots to No. 8 among the biggest changes in the updated rankings.
The Huskies moved up one spot to take the place of Alabama after its 87-78 road loss Friday at Purdue. Meanwhile, the Boilermakers got a big boost from the win as expected in a move from No. 13 to No. 6.
UConn began the season ranked No. 3 in the AP poll after spending all of last season ranked No. 6 or better en route to its second consecutive national championship. It took over as the top team in Week 11 of last season and never ranked lower than No. 3 thereafter before finishing No. 1 in the poll. In rising to No. 2 this week, it marks the 23rd straight week of being ranked fifth or better.
Gonzaga and Auburn also moved up one spot on the heels of Alabama’s stumble to No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, while Iowa State moved into the top five at No. 5. Each of those teams have been ranked inside the top five at one point this season, though the Tigers’ rise to No. 4 is a high-water mark for the program, giving it their highest ranking since the 2021-22 season.
AP Top 25
1. Kansas (49)
2. UConn (7)
3. Gonzaga (2)
4. Auburn (3)
5. Iowa State
6. Purdue
7. Houston
8. Alabama
9. Kentucky
10. North Carolina
11. Tennessee
12. Duke
13. Baylor
14. Creighton
15. Marquette
16. Indiana
17. Arizona
18. Cincinnati
19. Wisconsin
20. Arkansas
21. Florida
22. St. John’s
23. Texas A&M
24. Rutgers
25. Illinois
Others receiving votes: Texas Tech 109, Mississippi 103, Xavier 89, BYU 27, UCF 21, Texas 17, VCU 17, Michigan St. 16, Mississippi St. 15, Ohio St. 13, Miami 10, Pittsburgh 9, Oregon 7, Memphis 6, Penn St. 4, Providence 4, Utah St. 3, Kansas St 3, Clemson 2, Furman 2, Arizona St 2, Michigan 1, Hofstra 1, Maryland 1.
Wisconsin joins the rankings
Only two teams — Illinois and Wisconsin — entered the rankings this week in the latest AP Top 25. Wisconsin was the biggest riser of the two, moving from unranked to No. 20 after taking down then-ranked No. 9 Arizona on Friday in Madison. In my AP Top 25 predictions I was skeptical voters would give the Badgers a bump necessary to join the ranks despite the win. But boy, I was wrong. Glad to see them get their due at No. 20 this week.
Voters get the movers right
The biggest risers and fallers of the week in the AP poll settled in spots almost precisely where I expected them to fall. Alabama dropping six spots to No. 8 and Duke dropping six spots to No. 12 seemed the most obvious outcomes, as predicted in Tomorrow’s Top 25 Today over the weekend. Purdue moving up to No. 6 ahead of Houston and Kentucky making a 10-spot leap to No. 9 ahead of UNC also made plenty of sense. Those were big swings from last week’s that may surprise, but fall in line with what we’ve seen and feel like appropriate reactions to the week that was.
Texas Tech should be ranked
I’m not entirely sure at which team’s expense Texas Tech should be ranked — maybe Rutgers or Illinois, or even Arkansas — but Texas Tech should be ranked in the poll. Period. The only reason it seemingly is not there yet is because its soft nonconference schedule to date.
The Red Raiders are 3-0, No. 6 in scoring margin, and No. 13 in offensive and defensive efficiency at KenPom.com. They also lead college basketball in effective field goal percentage at 66.3%, rank fourth in 3-point shooting percentage at 47.8% and are 13th in steal rate on defense.
Their performance through three games has them No. 9 at KenPom and No. 13 at BartTorvik.com. It’s only a matter of time before voters wise up and get there on the Red Raiders, whose schedule will toughen up in the next few weeks. But it might take more challenging tests before they get their shine.
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