Purdue remained No. 1 — unanimously — but a different SEC team is now chasing them at No. 2, as Tennessee jumped two spots and supplanted Alabama at the runner-up spot in the latest release of the Associated Press [AP] Top 25 men’s college basketball rankings on Monday.
The Volunteers (18-3) secured two wins last week, including an 11-point victory over No. 10 Texas on Sunday. The Boilermakers (21-1) received all 62 first-place votes to cement their spot at the top.
“We’re the No. 1 team in the country because of how unselfish we are as a team,” Purdue guard David Jenkins Jr. said.
“We had a lot of people doubting us in the beginning because, you know, we may not be the most talented team or whatever, but we’re close on the court and off the court, and it’s really translating to how we’re winning.”
Houston (20-2) remains at No. 3 while Alabama (18-3) dropped two spots to No. 4 after a loss to Oklahoma. Arizona (19-3) rounds out the top 5.
Virginia (16-3), Kansas State (18-3), Kansas (17-4), UCLA (17-4) and the Longhorns (17-4) round out the top 10.
Baylor (16-5) and Providence (17-5) made the biggest jumps this week, moving up six spots each. Baylor climbed to 11th while Providence is now No. 17.
Auburn took the biggest dive, dropping 10 spots to No. 25 after suffering two losses last week to Texas A&M and West Virginia.
Charleston and New Mexico dropped out of the rankings as Indiana (No. 21) and San Diego State (No. 22) made their way back in.
AP Top 25 Men’s Basketball Rankings
The rest of the poll:
No. 11 Baylor
No. 12 Gonzaga
No. 13 Iowa State
No. 14 Marquette
No. 15 TCU
No. 16 Xavier
No. 17 Providence
No. 18 Saint Mary’s
No. 19 FAU
No. 20 Clemson
No. 21 Indiana
No. 22 San Diego State
No. 23 Miami (FL)
No. 24 UConn
No. 25 Auburn
Others receiving votes: Missouri 74, Charleston 68, Illinois 56, Creighton 51, New Mexico 47, North Carolina 47, NC State 39, Boise State 31, Duke 24, Rutgers 17, Texas A&M 16, Northwestern 13, Memphis 10, Pittsburgh 9, Arkansas 9, Nevada 2, West Virginia 2, Oral Roberts 2, Saint Louis 1, USC 1
Dropped from rankings: Charleston 18, New Mexico 25
–Field Level Media
