Wildcats move up 3 spots in AP men’s basketball poll
Nov 14, 2022, 10:47 AM | Updated: 10:51 am
Arizona Wildcats guard Kerr Kriisa #25 and Arizona Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd, during a Pac-12 basketball game between the Cal Golden Bears and the Arizona Wildcats on February 5, 2022 at McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christopher Hook/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Christopher Hook/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Two wins to start the 2022-23 season have the Arizona Wildcats moving up three spots, to No. 14 overall, in The Associated Press men’s basketball poll.
Tommy Lloyd’s team beat Nicholls, 117-75, on Monday by setting a school record with 71.7% shooting from the field and then dropped Southern, 95-78, behind a triple-double from point guard Kerr Kriisa on Friday.
Arizona remains the second of two ranked Pac-12 teams, behind the No. 8 UCLA Bruins.
North Carolina and Gonzaga remain 1-2 in the first regular-season men’s college basketball poll from The Associated Press.
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The top-ranked Tar Heels (2-0) earned 44 of 63 first-place votes in the AP Top 25 while the second-ranked Bulldogs (2-0) picked up 14 after the opening week of the regular season. Third-ranked Houston and fourth-ranked Kentucky picked up the remaining votes in a poll that featured only slight changes from the preseason poll released Oct. 17.
Baylor and Kansas were tied for fifth previously. This time, Baylor is alone at No. 5, followed by Kansas and Duke. UCLA, Arkansas and Creighton round out the top 10.
Tennessee (1-1) took the biggest tumble, falling 11 spots to No. 22 after losing to Colorado in its home state. And Villanova went from 16th to unranked for the first time since February 2019 after a loss to Temple in its second game under Kyle Neptune, who took over in the spring after the retirement of Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright.
Illinois (2-0) had the biggest jump, climbing four spots to No. 19 after two easy home wins.
No. 24 Texas A&M and No. 25 Connecticut are the week’s new additions, while Oregon joined Villanova as the two teams to fall out from the preseason poll.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
AP Top 25 men’s basketball rankings
| Record | Pts | Prv | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. North Carolina (44) | 2-0 | 1543 | 1 |
| 2. Gonzaga (14) | 2-0 | 1497 | 2 |
| 3. Houston (2) | 2-0 | 1439 | 3 |
| 4. Kentucky (3) | 2-0 | 1394 | 4 |
| 5. Baylor | 2-0 | 1253 | 5 |
| 6. Kansas | 2-0 | 1218 | 5 |
| 7. Duke | 2-0 | 1216 | 7 |
| 8. UCLA | 2-0 | 1138 | 8 |
| 9. Arkansas | 2-0 | 1059 | 10 |
| 10. Creighton | 2-0 | 1036 | 9 |
| 11. Texas | 2-0 | 932 | 12 |
| 12. Indiana | 2-0 | 867 | 13 |
| 13. Auburn | 2-0 | 724 | 15 |
| 14. Arizona | 2-0 | 694 | 17 |
| 15. TCU | 2-0 | 630 | 14 |
| 16. Virginia | 2-0 | 590 | 18 |
| 17. San Diego St. | 2-0 | 524 | 19 |
| 18. Alabama | 2-0 | 436 | 20 |
| 19. Illinois | 2-0 | 316 | 23 |
| 20. Michigan | 2-0 | 308 | 22 |
| 21. Dayton | 2-0 | 280 | 24 |
| 22. Tennessee | 1-1 | 264 | 11 |
| 23. Texas Tech | 2-0 | 190 | 25 |
| 24. Texas A&M | 2-0 | 131 | – |
| 25. UConn | 2-0 | 124 | – |
Others receiving votes: Michigan St. 119, Purdue 104, Villanova 96, Miami 61, Saint Louis 47, Xavier 44, Oregon 36, Ohio St. 36, Iowa 36, Memphis 20, Virginia Tech 13, Colorado 11, Arizona St 9, Rutgers 8, Toledo 8, Saint Mary’s (Cal) 7, Florida 5, UC Irvine 4, Grambling St 4, Seton Hall 3, Penn St. 1.
