Purdue remained at the top of the Associated Press Top 25 men’s basketball poll for the third straight week, as preseason No. 1 North Carolina returned to the rankings and New Mexico cracked the poll for the first time in eight years.
The Boilermakers took 40 of 60 first-place votes in Monday’s latest poll, while undefeated Connecticut earned the other 20 to sit at No. 2 in an unchanged crest.
Purdue had never been ranked No. 1 for a week-long stay there last December, and was not ranked to begin the season. But the Boilermakers made a meteoric rise from No. 24 to No. 5 in the space of a week in late November, then climbed to No. 1 on December 12.
The Boilermakers’ win against New Orleans last week marked their first home game with that No. 1 ranking.
“We have had no handouts. We had to work for everything,” said coach Matt Painter afterwards, adding: “But we deserved it. but we have to keep earning it. This is not the season. This is only a third of the season.”
THE HIGHEST LEVEL
No. No. 3 Houston, No. 4 Kansas and No. 5 Arizona held their positions as the top five remained in place for the second straight week.
Texas was next at No. 6, followed by Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas and Gonzaga – the No. 2 preseason pick that returned to the top 10 after dropping as low as No. 18 earlier in the month.
TAR HEELS BACK
North Carolina is back in the poll at No. 25 after a tumultuous opening to the season.
Bringing back four starters from last year’s unexpected run to the NCAA title game, the Tar Heels kicked off December by becoming only the sixth team to go from preseason No. 1 to unranked since at least the 1961 season -62. That came after a series of four defeats in a row.
But UNC has since won four straight, the past two coming against Big Ten teams — Ohio State on Dec. 17 and Michigan last week — to regroup.
RISING
Miami had its biggest jump of the week after a win against Virginia, moving eight spots to No. 14 for its highest ranking since the 2017-18 season. No. 20 Auburn moved up three places. In total, 10 teams have increased compared to last week.
TO SHOVE
Virginia took its biggest fall of the week, dropping seven spots to No. 13. Mississippi State followed closely, dropping six spots to No. 21. Duke was the only other team to slip, dropping three spots to No. 17.
STATUS QUO
Seven teams kept their positions from last week, with No. 12 Baylor and No. 19 Kentucky joining the top five unchanged.
WELCOME
Xavier and New Mexico are ranked No. 22, while No. 24 West Virginia joins them in new additions to the poll this season. For the Lobos, it’s the first time they’ve cracked the AP Top 25 since March 2014.
GOODBYE (FOR NOW)
Illinois (No. 16), Virginia Tech (No. 21), Marquette (No. 24) and Arizona State (No. 25) fell out of last week’s poll.
CONFERENCE WATCH
The Southeastern Conference led all leagues with six ranked teams, followed by the Big 12 with five and the Atlantic Coast Conference with four.
The Big Ten had three ranked teams, while the Pac-12 and Big East had two each. The American Athletic, West Coast, and Mountain West conferences had one each.
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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
