Arizona falls out of No. 1 ranking; Grand Canyon earns top-25 AP votes
Dec 18, 2023, 11:13 AM | Updated: 11:25 am
Braden Smith #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers shoots the ball against KJ Lewis #5 of the Arizona Wildcats during the second half in the Indy Classic at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on December 16, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Purdue’s slide from No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll turned out to be brief.
The Boilermakers headlined Monday’s latest poll for the second time this season after beating 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’ stint at the top after one week.
The Wildcats fell to fourth. Elsewhere in the state Grand Canyon Antelopes earned two votes in the AP poll, with six wins in a row and a 9-1 record bolstered by a victory against then-ranked San Diego State on Dec. 5.
Purdue received 48 of 62 first-place votes in the latest poll to jump from third with the Arizona win, which marked the program’s first win against a No. 1 team in 23 years. It also marked the latest impressive nonconference win to a resume that already includes ranked teams in Gonzaga, Tennessee and Marquette.
Preseason No. 1 Kansas stayed at No. 2 with six first-place votes, while Houston moved up one spot to No. 3 and had the other eight votes.
UConn, Marquette, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kentucky and Baylor rounded out the top 10.
No. 23 Memphis and No. 25 Mississippi were the week’s new additions. Miami (No. 24) and Northwestern (No. 25) fell out from last week.
Men’s college basketball AP rankings – Dec. 18
| Record | Pts | Prv | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Purdue (48) | 10-1 | 1534 | 3 |
| 2. Kansas (6) | 10-1 | 1457 | 2 |
| 3. Houston (8) | 11-0 | 1394 | 4 |
| 4. Arizona | 8-1 | 1372 | 1 |
| 5. UConn | 10-1 | 1367 | 5 |
| 6. Marquette | 9-2 | 1235 | 7 |
| 7. Oklahoma | 10-0 | 1062 | 11 |
| 8. Tennessee | 8-3 | 983 | 12 |
| 9. Kentucky | 8-2 | 981 | 14 |
| 10. Baylor | 9-1 | 896 | 6 |
| 11. North Carolina | 7-3 | 773 | 9 |
| 12. Creighton | 9-2 | 734 | 8 |
| 13. Illinois | 8-2 | 727 | 16 |
| 14. FAU | 9-2 | 716 | 15 |
| 15. Gonzaga | 8-3 | 642 | 10 |
| 16. Colorado St. | 10-1 | 588 | 17 |
| 17. BYU | 10-1 | 569 | 18 |
| 18. Clemson | 9-1 | 501 | 13 |
| 19. Texas | 8-2 | 449 | 19 |
| 20. James Madison | 10-0 | 442 | 20 |
| 21. Duke | 7-3 | 311 | 21 |
| 22. Virginia | 9-1 | 287 | 22 |
| 23. Memphis | 8-2 | 274 | – |
| 24. Wisconsin | 8-3 | 269 | 23 |
| 25. Mississippi | 10-0 | 180 | – |
Others receiving votes: Miami 97, Auburn 87, Colorado 84, Utah 37, Iowa St. 24, Ohio St. 12, Michigan St. 10, TCU 10, Texas A&M 9, San Diego St. 8, Northwestern 5, Providence 5, Alabama 3, Dayton 3, Nevada 3, New Mexico 2, Grand Canyon 2, Washington 2, Saint Joseph’s 2, South Carolina 1, Mississippi St. 1.
