There's a change atop the AP Top 25 men's college basketball rankings for a seventh time this season with Houston once again retaking the No. 1 spot after a wild week in which No. 1 Alabama and No. 3 Purdue both took losses. The Cougars move to No. 1 for the third time this season after previously summitting the poll for two-week increments earlier this season from weeks 4-5 and 10-11. They earned 48 of 62 first-place votes in jumping past Alabama.
The Crimson Tide was one-and-done at No. 1 after supplanting Purdue last week then falling two days later on the road at Tennessee, but they did not fall far this week, dropping one spot to No. 2. Alabama went 1-1 on the week as the top team in the sport and rebounded from its 68-59 loss — its lowest-scoring output all season — by scoring the most points in a game all season in a 108-59 beatdown of Georgia on Saturday. Alabama still managed seven first-place votes.
Kansas also earned seven first-place votes to move up to No. 3, with Alabama's 1,448 total points narrowly edging KU's 1,409 total points to separate the two.Purdue after losing thrice in a five-game stretch rebounded with a resounding win Sunday over Ohio State to maintain a 1.5 game lead in the Big Ten and stop the bleeding from its recent slump. The Boilermakers last week were ranked No. 3 but fell two spots to No. 5, its lowest ranking since Nov. 28, 2022.
With so much adversity for teams at the top, the top five teams got a total makeover in almost an entirely different order but with the same teams. UCLA was the only top five team to retain its spot inside the top five at No. 4. Rounding out the top 10 this week is Virginia, Arizona, Texas, Baylor and Marquette.
AP Top 25
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week's ranking:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston (48) | 25-2 | 1,534 | 2 |
| 2 | Alabama (7) | 23-4 | 1,448 | 1 |
| 3 | Kansas (7) | 22-5 | 1,409 | 5 |
| 4 | UCLA | 23-4 | 1,363 | 4 |
| 5 | Purdue | 24-4 | 1,294 | 3 |
| 6 | Virginia | 21-4 | 1,228 | 7 |
| 7 | Arizona | 24-4 | 1,213 | 8 |
| 8 | Texas | 21-6 | 1,083 | 6 |
| 9 | Baylor | 20-7 | 1,013 | 9 |
| 10 | Marquette | 21-6 | 968 | 11 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 20-7 | 887 | 10 |
| 12 | Gonzaga | 23-5 | 856 | 13 |
| 13 | Miami | 22-5 | 833 | 15 |
| 14 | Kansas State | 20-7 | 666 | 12 |
| 15 | Saint Mary's | 24-5 | 650 | 17 |
| 16 | Xavier | 20-7 | 563 | 16 |
| 17 | Indiana | 19-8 | 539 | 14 |
| 18 | UConn | 20-7 | 440 | 20 |
| 19 | Creighton | 18-9 | 361 | 18 |
| 20 | Providence | 20-7 | 350 | 24 |
| 21 | Northwestern | 20-7 | 349 | NR |
| 22 | San Diego State | 21-5 | 336 | 21 |
| 23 | Iowa State | 17-9 | 309 | 19 |
| 24 | TCU | 18-9 | 162 | 22 |
| 25 | Texas A&M | 20-7 | 125 | NR |
Others receiving votes: NC State 54, Pittsburgh 34, Oral Roberts 14, Maryland 14, Kentucky 12, Boise State 12, FAU 6, Arkansas 6, Charleston 4, Missouri 3, Duke 3, Southern Miss 3, Illinois 2, Kent St. 2, Oklahoma St. 1, Nevada 1.
