Arizona rises in AP poll after sweep over Oregon schools
The Wildcats eeked a spot up in The Associated Press' latest men's basketball top 25 poll, even earning a single first-place vote.
Oregon State Beavers center KC Ibekwe #24 backs into Arizona Wildcats forward Azuolas Tubelis #10 during the first half of a basketball game between the Oregon State Beavers and the Arizona Wildcats on February 4, 2023 at McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christopher Hook/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Christopher Hook/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Arizona Wildcats eeked up one spot, to fourth overall, in The Associated Press’ latest men’s basketball top 25 poll revealed on Monday, even earning a single first-place vote.
Tommy Lloyd’s team swept the Oregon schools at home, starting with a 91-76 win against Oregon on Thursday behind a 40-point performance by forward Azuolas Tubelis.
Arizona (21-3) then held the Oregon State Beavers to 36% shooting — no OSU player scored in double-figures — in an 84-52 victory on Saturday.
The Wildcats jumped the previous No. 2 team, Tennessee, which split a pair of games against Florida and Auburn and fell to sixth.
Purdue remained atop the AP college basketball poll despite suffering a loss to Indiana, while Marquette pushed into the top 10 and North Carolina State made its first poll appearance in four years.
The Boilermakers earned 38 of 62 first-place votes in the poll released Monday to remain at No. 1 for a third straight week and seventh time this season. Purdue was the unanimous choice last week before falling at Indiana over the weekend for only its second loss this season.
Houston rose to No. 2 with 22 first-place votes, followed by Alabama, Arizona and Texas to round out the top tier. The Longhorns jumped five spots for the week’s biggest climb.
Tennessee fell four spots to No. 6, followed by UCLA, Virginia, Kansas and Marquette — with Shaka Smart’s Golden Eagles cracking the top 10 for the first time since 2019.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
AP men’s basketball top 25 rankings
| Record | Pts | Prv | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Purdue (38) | 22-2 | 1508 | 1 |
| 2. Houston (22) | 22-2 | 1483 | 3 |
| 3. Alabama (1) | 20-3 | 1436 | 4 |
| 4. Arizona (1) | 21-3 | 1375 | 5 |
| 5. Texas | 19-4 | 1267 | 10 |
| 6. Tennessee | 19-4 | 1254 | 2 |
| 7. UCLA | 19-4 | 1159 | 9 |
| 8. Virginia | 17-4 | 1034 | 6 |
| 9. Kansas | 18-5 | 1013 | 8 |
| 10. Marquette | 19-5 | 909 | 14 |
| 11. Iowa St. | 16-6 | 869 | 13 |
| 12. Kansas St | 18-5 | 855 | 7 |
| 13. Xavier | 19-5 | 843 | 16 |
| 14. Baylor | 17-6 | 832 | 11 |
| 15. Saint Mary’s | 21-4 | 742 | 18 |
| 16. Gonzaga | 19-5 | 602 | 12 |
| 17. TCU | 17-6 | 517 | 15 |
| 18. Indiana | 16-7 | 431 | 21 |
| 19. Miami | 18-5 | 425 | 23 |
| 20. Providence | 17-6 | 369 | 17 |
| 21. UConn | 18-6 | 275 | 24 |
| 22. NC State | 19-5 | 156 | – |
| 23. Creighton | 15-8 | 154 | – |
| 24. Rutgers | 16-7 | 125 | – |
| 25. San Diego St. | 18-5 | 96 | 22 |
Others receiving votes: FAU 93, Duke 87, Auburn 65, Clemson 31, Pittsburgh 26, Illinois 25, New Mexico 16, Nevada 16, Maryland 12, Arkansas 11, Iowa 8, Missouri 6, Oral Roberts 5, West Virginia 5, Southern Cal 4, Northwestern 3, Coll of Charleston 3, Utah St. 2, VCU 2, Kentucky 1.
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