Purdue returned to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for men's college basketball on Monday before Houstonwho spent only one week there after passing the Boilermakers.
However, this is unlikely to be a two-team race for first place. University of California, Connecticut, Arizona And Duke also received No. 1 votes from the 61-member media panel in a poll that also had No. 6. Louisville and No. 8 Illinois get into the top 10.
The Boilermakers received 44 first-place votes after an impressive week that included a road win over then-No. 8 Alabama and victory over Akron. Houston lost six early votes but still had 12 after winning Auckland and edging No. 22 Auburn in the Final Four matchup last season.
“We have a great group of guys,” said Purdue coach Matt Painter, who also picked up his 500th career win last weekend, “and just trying to go from one game to the next, I think it's very difficult after an emotional and big road win like we had.”
UConn remained in third place with three first-place votes after defeating then-No. 7 BYU 86-84 on Saturday. That started a tough road for the Huskies that includes games against No. 4 Arizona on Wednesday, No. 24 Illinois and No. 24 Illinois. Kansas down the road.
The Wildcats traded places with Duke this week, moving up into the top two spots thanks in part to a win over then-No. 15 UCLA. The Blue Devils received the remaining No. 1 seed votes heading into Tuesday night's game against the Jayhawks.
Louisville had the biggest rise in the Top 25, jumping six spots after beating then-No. 9 Kentucky 96-88 last week. Michigan fell one spot to seventh, while Big Ten rival Illinois also moved up six spots. BYU dropped two spots with the loss to the Huskies while defending national champions. Florida closes the top 10.
Losses for Alabama and Kentucky cost each three spots in this week's poll, pushing them into the top 10. Gonzaga was next, followed by St. John's And Texas Techwhich dropped four spots after the loss to Illinois.
Speaking of the Illini, they moved up nine spots from No. 17 in the preseason poll, their highest since they were No. 6 in the final poll two seasons ago. Staying there will be a challenge. Illinois plays the Crimson Tide on Wednesday night, No. 20 UConn in a couple weeks. Tennessee the first week of December and then Ohio, Nebraska And Missouri – they are all unbeaten so far this season – until Christmas.
“It's how you train, your mental focus — not reading everything your guy says, the fans and everything else,” Illini coach Brad Underwood said when asked about keeping early success in perspective. “I call it drinking poison. But you can't. You have to stay with what’s vital and what’s important.”
The Illini joined Louisville and Gonzaga in moving up six spots this week, while the biggest drops came from Texas Tech, as well as UCLA, which dropped four spots after a close loss to Arizona. North Carolina State moved to 25th place in the poll due to Creighton.
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The Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC led the way with six teams in the top 25, although the Big Ten and Big 12 also each had three teams in the top 10. The ACC was next with four ranked teams, the Big East had two and the Big Ten had one.
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San Diego State was the best team outside the top 25, followed by Indianawhich appeared in 18 ballots. Follow Georgetownwho appeared on six ballots and entered the week with a 4–0 record; The Hoyas have not been ranked since the final poll of the 2014-15 season.
