Purdue ascended back to the No. 1 position in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball rankings on Monday, overtaking Houston, which held the spot for just one week after jumping ahead of the Boilermakers.
However, it’s far from a two-team contest for the top. UConn, Arizona, and Duke also received No. 1 votes from the 61-member media panel, while the poll saw No. 6 Louisville and No. 8 Illinois enter the top 10.
Alabama and a win over Akron. Houston forfeited six of its No. 1 votes but retained 12 after defeating Oakland and narrowly defeating No. 22 Auburn in a clash of Final Four teams from the previous season.
«We have a fantastic group of players,» remarked Purdue coach Matt Painter, who achieved his 500th career victory last weekend, «and just transitioning from one game to the next is really challenging after experiencing such an emotional, significant win on the road as we did.»
UConn held steady at No. 3 with three first-place votes following their victory over then-No. 7 BYU 86-84 on Saturday. That commenced a challenging schedule for the Huskies, including upcoming matches against No. 4 Arizona on Wednesday and Illinois and No. 24 Kansas in the near future.
The Wildcats swapped positions with Duke this week, advancing with two first-place votes attributed in part to their win over then-No. 15 UCLA. The Blue Devils garnered the remaining No. 1 vote ahead of their matchup against the Jayhawks on Tuesday night.
Louisville matched for the largest ascent in the Top 25, rising six spots after defeating then-No. 9 Kentucky 96-88 last week. Michigan slipped one spot to seventh, while Big Ten competitor Illinois also rose six positions. BYU fell two spots following its defeat to the Huskies, while reigning national champion Florida completed the top 10.
The defeats suffered by Alabama and Kentucky resulted in each dropping three spots in this week’s rankings, placing them in the second 10. Gonzaga followed, then St. John’s and Texas Tech, which dropped four spots after losing to Illinois.
Speaking of the Illini, they have ascended nine spots from No. 17 in the preseason rankings, the highest they’ve achieved since landing at No. 6 in the final rankings two seasons ago. Remaining at that position will pose a challenge. Illinois faces the Crimson Tide on Wednesday night, UConn in a couple of weeks, No. 20 Tennessee in the first week of December, and then Ohio State, Nebraska, and Missouri — all of which remain unbeaten so far this season — before Christmas arrives.
«It’s about how you practice, the mental concentration you maintain. Not getting caught up in everything your peers and the fans are saying,» Illini coach Brad Underwood stated this week when asked how to maintain perspective on early achievements. «I refer to it as drinking the poison. And you can’t. You must focus on what is essential and what matters most.»
The Illini, along with Louisville and Gonzaga, made six-spot advances this week, while the largest declines came from Texas Tech and UCLA, which fell four spots after a narrow defeat to Arizona. NC State entered the rankings at No. 25 at the cost of Creighton.
CONFERENCE WATCH
The Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC dominated with six teams each in the Top 25, with the Big Ten and Big 12 also having three in the top 10. The ACC followed with four ranked teams, the Big East had two, and the West Coast Conference had one.
WATCH LIST
San Diego State topped the teams outside the Top 25, followed by Indiana, which appeared on 18 ballots. Keep an eye on Georgetown, which appeared on six ballots and commenced the week 4-0; the Hoyas have not been ranked since the final poll of the 2014-15 season.
