Arizona tumbles to No. 10 in AP Top 25 poll after loss to Stanford
Jan 1, 2024, 12:03 PM
Head coach Tommy Lloyd of the Arizona Wildcats looks on before the Desert Classic against the Florida Atlantic Owls at T-Mobile Arena on December 23, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Arizona Wildcats are hanging in the top 10 of the AP top-25 poll by a thread after suffering an upset to Stanford.
The Wildcats fell six spots from No. 4 to No. 10, joining Florida Atlantic and Gonzaga as the biggest fallers in the poll.
The Wildcats’ second loss in three games allowed a bunch of teams to jump ahead of them: Kentucky climbed two spots to sixth, Marquette moved up three spots to seventh, North Carolina rose to eighth and Illinois climbed two spots to ninth.
FAU dropped from a program-best seventh to No. 17 as voters grappled with the odd resume the Owls have put together this season. They beat Texas A&M and earned a marquee win with a double-overtime victory over Arizona, but they lost to Bryant and were upset by Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday night.
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Meanwhile, the Bulldogs fell 11 spots from No. 13 after their 84-74 loss to San Diego State. Gonzaga has been ranked in every poll since Jan. 11, 2016, but that streak is in jeopardy after coach Mark Few’s team dropped to 9-4 with no Quad 1 wins this season.
Purdue remained atop the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for the third straight week Monday.
The Boilermakers picked up three more first-place votes and had 49 of 63 from the national media panel, easily outdistancing second-place Kansas, which received five first-place nods. Houston remained third despite keeping its perfect record intact with a victory over Penn and picking up the other nine first-place votes.
UConn and Tennessee each moved up one spot to round out the top five following Arizona’s loss to Stanford on Sunday.
‘LOPES HANGING AROUND
Grand Canyon (12-1) remains a threat to make an appearance in the poll after receiving 5 votes. Last week they received 3 votes.
IN AND OUT
Auburn moved into the poll for the first time since Jan. 30, 2023, after improving to 10-2 with a victory over Chattanooga. The Tigers took their spot in the Top 25 from the Bluejays, whose 72-67 loss to Marquette was their third in four games.
CONFERENCE WATCH
There were 10 conferences represented in the poll this week, led by six from the Big 12, which also had four of the top 12 teams in the nation. The SEC was next with four, followed by the Big Ten, Big East and ACC with three apiece.
College basketball rankings: Arizona drops six spots in AP top-25 poll
| Team | Record | Pts | Prv |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Purdue (49) | 12-1 | 1561 | 1 |
| 2. Kansas (5) | 12-1 | 1497 | 2 |
| 3. Houston (9) | 13-0 | 1477 | 3 |
| 4. UConn | 11-2 | 1302 | 5 |
| 5. Tennessee (1) | 9-3 | 1234 | 6 |
| 6. Kentucky | 10-2 | 1196 | 8 |
| 7. Marquette | 11-3 | 1137 | 10 |
| 8. North Carolina | 9-3 | 1088 | 9 |
| 9. Illinois | 10-2 | 980 | 11 |
| 10. Arizona | 10-3 | 975 | 4 |
| 11. Oklahoma | 12-1 | 898 | 12 |
| 12. BYU | 12-1 | 723 | 14 |
| 13. Colorado State | 12-1 | 694 | 15 |
| 14. Duke | 9-3 | 662 | 16 |
| 15. Memphis | 11-2 | 631 | 19 |
| 16. Clemson | 11-1 | 630 | 18 |
| 17. Florida Atlantic | 10-3 | 603 | 7 |
| 18. Baylor | 10-2 | 589 | 17 |
| 19. James Madison | 13-0 | 469 | 20 |
| 20. Texas | 10-2 | 374 | 21 |
| 21. Wisconsin | 9-3 | 355 | 23 |
| 22. Ole Miss | 13-0 | 329 | 24 |
| 23. Providence | 11-2 | 198 | 25 |
| 24. Gonzaga | 9-4 | 173 | 13 |
| 25. Auburn | 10-2 | 168 | – |
Others receiving votes in AP’s college basketball rankings: San Diego St. 113, Creighton 106, Colorado 86, Utah 82, Miami 41, Iowa St. 22, Michigan St. 15, Nevada 13, Texas A&M 13, Ohio St. 8, New Mexico 6, Dayton 5, Grand Canyon 5, South Carolina 4, Mississippi St. 4, Northwestern 3, Villanova 3, Alabama 3.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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