Purdue remained at No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll, while Arizona jumped to No. 2 to continue its opening-month rise after another impressive win against a ranked opponent.
The Boilermakers (6-0) earned 46 of 61 first-place votes in Monday’s poll to remain at the top after beating then-No. 15 Texas Tech by 30 to win the Baha Mar Championship in the Bahamas.
The Wildcats (5-0) earned 11 first-place votes to jump two spots. That came after last week’s win at then-No. 3 UConn, part of run that began with a victory over reigning NCAA champion Florida in Las Vegas and a win against a ranked UCLA team in Los Angeles.
Arizona was ranked No. 13 in the preseason AP Top 25, but jumped to No. 5 after the Florida win before inching up to No. 4 last week.
Sports Roundup
Rising
No. 11 Michigan State had the week’s biggest jump, climbing six spots after beating Kentucky in the Champions Classic.
No. 17 Tennessee climbed three spots, while No. 16 North Carolina and No. 23 N.C. State each rose two spots.
In all, 11 teams moved up from last week’s poll.
Sliding
Kentucky’s 17-point loss to the Spartans triggered the week’s biggest fall of seven spots to No. 19, while the 13th-ranked Illini and 20th-ranked Red Raiders each tumbled five spots.
In all, six teams fell from last week’s poll.
Conference watch
The Southeastern Conference didn’t have a team ranked higher than eighth, yet posted the biggest overall haul of any conference with seven ranked teams, including No. 21 Auburn and No. 22 Arkansas.
The Big Ten was next with six AP Top 25 teams, followed by the Big 12 with five, the Atlantic Coast Conference with four, the Big East with two and the West Coast Conference with one.
RankSchool (1st votes)RecordPointsPrevious1Purdue (46)6-0150912Arizona (11)5-0143943Houston (4)5-0142524Duke7-0131955UConn5-1120836Louisville5-0120167Michigan4-0108078Alabama3-11070119BYU4-11033910Florida4-19611011Michigan State5-08791712Gonzaga5-08631313Illinois5-1830814St. John’s3-17431415Iowa State4-07061616North Carolina5-05951817Tennessee5-04952018UCLA5-14881919Kentucky4-23941220Texas Tech4-23191521Auburn4-12692222Arkansas5-12602123NC State5-12142524Vanderbilt5-0111NR25Indiana5-0100NR
Others receiving votes: Wisconsin 45, Kansas 34, Oregon 31, Georgetown 31, Saint Mary’s 27, Nebraska 27, Ohio St. 26, Missouri 20, Utah St. 16, Baylor 14, Southern Cal 10, Mississippi 10, Iowa 6, Clemson 6, Santa Clara 3, Creighton 3, Oklahoma St. 2, Virginia Tech 2, Buffalo 1.
Find more college sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.