Purdue maintained its spot atop the AP Top 25 on Monday following its win over Illinois in a top-10 matchup, while Houston moved Kansas into second place as the last undefeated team in men’s college basketball in the Division YO.
The Boilermakers, who beat the No. 9 Illini 83-78 last week, earned five more first-place votes and had 54 of a possible 63 to remain at No. 1 for the fourth consecutive week. The Cougars received seven first-place votes and placed second, while the Jayhawks earned the other two first-place votes but fell to third place after their win over TCU.
Houston is 14-0 for the third time in school history after beginning its Big 12 tenure with a win over West Virginia. Losses to James Madison and Ole Miss left the Cougars with the only unblemished record.
“I think our guys have always had some bad blood here,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “We’ve had to get some of our own fans to understand that we’re pretty good. They were so bad for so long. Some of them still haven’t realized it. Our kids do, our coaches do, and we know who we are and what we’re capable of.” of doing”.
In truth, the Cougars have been doing it for a while. They reached the Final Four three years ago, the Elite Eight two years ago and the Sweet 16 last season, when they spent seven weeks atop the AP Poll.
“Every team is different,” Cougars guard Jamal Shead said. “I think with this team, just like with every other team, we’re united off the court. I think that plays a big role in being able to relate to each other in the game and being able to tell each other anything. “We know we don’t. We’re going to take it the wrong way, so we can get closer and keep pressing.
Defending national champion UConn remained at No. 4, Tennessee was fifth and Kentucky was sixth. North Carolina moved up one spot to seventh, Arizona and Oklahoma each moved up two, and Illinois dropped one spot to round out the top 10.
Marquette fell four spots to tie for 11th with Duke following its loss to Seton Hall, which made a big statement last week and nearly broke into the poll after a pair of wins over ranked teams; The Pirates also defeated Providence.
The Golden Eagles and Blue Devils were followed by Memphis, Baylor and Wisconsin, which jumped six spots after beating Iowa and Nebraska. Auburn made the biggest move after beating Pennsylvania and sweeping Arkansas, moving up nine spots to No. 16, and was followed by Colorado State and BYU, which lost to Cincinnati in the Big 12 debuts for those two schools.
San Diego State returned to the poll at No. 19 and Utah State entered at No. 20, the first time the Aggies have been ranked since the first five weeks of the 2019-20 season. Clemson, Creighton, Gonzaga, FAU and Texas rounded out the Top 25.
RISE AND FALL
Auburn is in 16th place thanks to seven straight wins, the second-longest streak in the SEC behind Georgia’s nine-game streak. The Tigers are right behind the Badgers, whose only loss since mid-November came at No. 8 Arizona.
No. 24 FAU’s slide continued with a loss to Charlotte. The Owls were ranked seventh two weeks ago before losing to Florida Gulf Coast.
IN AND OUT
San Diego State and Creighton are ranked again, while Utah State’s debut at No. 20 comes amid a 13-game winning streak that is tied with Samford for the second-longest nationally behind undefeated Houston.
Those three replaced Ole Miss and James Madison, who each lost for the first time, and Providence, which lost twice last week.
CONFERENCE MONITORING
The Big 12 had two of the top three teams and six in the Top 25, twice as many as any other conference. The Mountain West added San Diego State and Utah State to Colorado State and is tied with the Big Ten, Big East, ACC and SEC with three each.
