Purdue stays No. 1 in AP Top 25; NC State in at No. 22

Purdue’s unchallenged hold at No. 1 in the Associated Press men’s college basketball poll is over after a weekend loss. That didn’t stop the Boilermakers from staying on top.

The Boilermakers received 38 out of 62 first-place votes in the poll released Monday to remain No. 1 for the third consecutive year and seventh time this season. Purdue was the unanimous pick last week, the first for each team this season, before falling in Indiana over the weekend from just its second loss.

The Boilermakers (22-2, 11-2) have a top contender for national player of the year in Zach Edey and No. 1 KenPoms in attack (121.1 points per 100 possessions) who comes with a top-25 defense. But they came down big, making 16 turnovers and allowing the Hoosiers — ranked 18th this week — to shoot nearly 53% in a 79-74 loss on Saturday.

“If we go to Zach and do some outside shots, sometimes the defense gets better when the offense is flowing,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said at his postgame press conference. “And you can’t. You can always bounce, you can always watch the ball, you can always take your free throws, those things.”

The loss meant Houston amassed 22 first-place votes as it rose one spot to No. 2, followed by No. 3 Alabama and No. 4 Arizona, each claiming a first-place vote.

The top tier

Texas jumped five places to No. 5 and shot past Tennessee, which fell four places to No. 6 after losing in Florida last week.

UCLA, Virginia, Kansas and Marquette completed the top 10, with Shaka Smart’s Golden Eagles cracking the top 10 for the first time since 2019.

rising

The Longhorns’ jump marked the biggest of the week, followed by Marquette and Miami, each up four places. No. 13 Xavier, No. 15 Saint Mary’s and No. 21 UConn joined Indiana, each moving up three positions.

A total of 12 teams rose from last week’s ranking.

Slide

Kansas State posted its biggest drop of the week, falling five spots to No. 12 after losing to Texas at Kansas and at home last week. No. 16 Gonzaga joined Tennessee, falling four places after his overtime loss at Saint Mary’s.

A total of nine teams fell from last week’s rankings.

status quo

Purdue was the only team to remain tied this week.

Welcome

NC State earned its first AP Top 25 finish in four years, finishing at No. 22.

The Wolfpack (19-5, 9-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) spent six weeks in the polls during the 2018-19 season. NC State has already surpassed overall wins from the past two seasons and has been in contention for the program’s first NCAA tournament spot since 2018.

Creighton and Rutgers joined NC State as this week’s newcomers to the poll, despite both being ranked earlier this season. The Bluejays were 9th in the preseason poll and peaked at 7th before falling out in mid-December, while the Scarlet Knights spent a week at 23rd in mid-January.

farewell (for now)

Florida Atlantic (No. 19), Clemson (No. 20) and Auburn (No. 25) dropped out of this week’s poll.

conference clock

The Big 12 leads all leagues with six ranked teams including No. 11 Iowa State, No. 14 Baylor, and No. 17 TCU. The Big East is next with five ranked teams, followed by the Big Ten and ACC with three each.

The Pac-12, Southeastern, and West Coast conferences each have two ranked teams, while American Athletic and Mountain West each have one.