December 18, 2023, 12:58 PM ET
Purdue's slide from No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll proved brief.
The Boilermakers topped the final poll Monday for the second time this season after defeating former No. 1 Arizona over the weekend. The Wildcats had spent two weeks at No. 1 after Purdue's loss to Northwestern ended the Boilermakers' stay at the top after one week.
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Purdue received 48 of 62 first-place votes in the latest poll and jumped up from third place with Arizona's win. This was the program's first win against a No. 1 team in 23 years. It was also the latest impressive win outside of the conference, which already includes ranked teams in Gonzaga, Tennessee and Marquette.
Kansas, the preseason No. 1, remained at No. 2 with six first-place votes, while Houston moved up one spot to No. 3 and had the other eight votes. Arizona fell to fourth place.
| team | Record |
|---|---|
| 1. Purdue (48) | 10-1 |
| 2. Kansas (6) | 10-1 |
| 3. Houston (8) | 11-0 |
| 4.Arizona | 8-1 |
| 5. UConn | 10-1 |
| 6. Marquette | 9-2 |
| 7.Oklahoma | 10-0 |
| 8. Tennessee | 8-3 |
| 9.Kentucky | 8-2 |
| 10. Baylor | 9-1 |
| 11. North Carolina | 7-3 |
| 12. Creighton | 9-2 |
| 13. Illinois | 8-2 |
| 14. Florida Atlantic | 9-2 |
| 15. Gonzaga | 8-3 |
| 16. Colorado State | 10-1 |
| 17.BYU | 10-1 |
| 18. Clemson | 9-1 |
| 19.Texas | 8-2 |
| 20. James Madison | 10-0 |
| 21st Duke | 7-3 |
| 22.Virginia | 9-1 |
| 23. Memphis | 8-2 |
| 24.Wisconsin | 8-3 |
| 25. Ole Miss | 10-0 |
UConn, Marquette, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kentucky and Baylor rounded out the top 10.
Of this group, the Sooners are ranked in the top 10 for the first time since February 2021. The Wildcats cracked the top 10 for the first time this season after defeating North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic.
UP; UP; MOVE DOWN
Kentucky's move up five spots marked the biggest jump of the week. Oklahoma and Tennessee were next with four spots to move into the top 10, while No. 13 Illinois moved up three spots. In total, 10 teams climbed from last week's poll.
No. 15 Gonzaga and No. 18 Clemson suffered the biggest falls, each falling five spots after losses. Next up were Baylor, which lost to Michigan State, and No. 12 Creighton, which fell four spots. A total of seven teams slipped from last week's rankings.
STATUS QUO
Six teams retained their positions from last week, including UConn, No. 19 Texas, No. 20 James Madison, No. 21 Duke and No. 22 Virginia.
WELCOME ON BOARD
No. 23 Memphis and No. 25 Ole Miss were the week's newcomers.
Memphis handed Clemson its first loss after a 9-0 start and jumped up the rankings for the first time this season.
As for Ole Miss, the Rebels (10-0) are off to their best start since opening 13-0 in the 2007-08 season. The program, in its first season under Chris Beard, is ranked again for the first time since January 2019.
Miami (No. 24) and Northwestern (No. 25) fell last week.
CONFERENCE WATCH
The Big 12 led all conferences with six ranked teams, including No. 17 BYU. Next up was the Atlantic Coast Conference with four teams, followed by three each for the Big East, Big Ten and Southeastern conferences.
The American Athletic Conference had two ranked teams, while the Pac-12, West Coast, Mountain West and Sun Belt conferences each had one.