There is a new team atop the Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll for the third week in a row after the Houston Cougars reclaimed the top spot this week.
Houston (25-2) previously held the No.1 ranking for two weeks in January but fell after a one-point home loss to Temple. Seven consecutive wins for the Cougars and losses by Purdue and Alabama over the past couple of weeks allowed Houston to return to the top.
Alabama, which beat Houston in November, dropped to No.2 after topping last week’s poll. Purdue fell to No.5 after losing two of its previous three games, and No.3 Kansas and No.4 UCLA rounded out the top five.
Virginia, Arizona, Texas, Baylor, and Marquette also ranked in the top 10.
Providence made the most significant jump of the ranked teams this week, moving from No.24 to No.20 following wins over No.18 Creighton and Villanova. Creighton dropped one spot to No.19.
Iowa State fell the furthest this week from No.19 to No.23.
Northwestern (No.21) and Texas A&M (No.25) joined the rankings for the first time this season, while North Carolina State and Florida Atlantic fell out.
There are five schools from the state of Texas ranked this week.
Houston, leading the way at No.1, will face Tulane and East Carolina this week. The Cougars beat Tulane by 20 earlier this season, while Saturday’s game will be their only matchup against East Carolina.
Texas dropped to No.8 after getting upset by Texas Tech and narrowly avoiding a loss against last-place Oklahoma. The Longhorns host No.23 Iowa State and travel to No.9 Baylor this week.
Baylor stayed at No.9 despite losing to Kansas by 16. The Bears will play two more ranked teams in No.14 Kansas State (6 p.m. CT Tuesday) and No.8 Texas (1 p.m. CT Saturday).
TCU dropped to No.24 but stayed in the top 25 for the 11th consecutive week. The Horned Frogs have lost five of their last six games — including Monday night’s loss to Kansas — and will face Texas Tech at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday in Lubbock.
Texas A&M is ranked for the first time this season after a 12-2 start to conference play.
When asked about the ranking on his weekly radio show Monday, head coach Buzz Williams wondered why it took so long.
“I was curious what the threshold was,” he told co-host and Aggies’ radio announcer Andrew Monaco. “… I guess for Texas A&M, the threshold was 12-2.”
FULL AP TOP 25 (first-place votes)
1. Houston (48) 25-2
2. Alabama (7) 23-4
3. Kansas (7) 22-5 – at the time the poll was released
4. UCLA 23-4
5. Purdue 24-4
6. Virginia 21-4
7. Arizona 24-4
8. Texas 21-6
9. Baylor 20-7
10. Marquette 21-6
11. Tennessee 20-7
12. Gonzaga 23-5
13. Miami (FL) 22-5
14. Kansas State 20-7
15. St. Mary’s 24-5
16. Xavier 20-7
17. Indiana 19-8
18. Connecticut 20-7
19. Creighton 18-9
20. Providence 20-7
21. Northwestern 20-7
22. San Diego State 21-5
23. Iowa State 17-9
24. TCU 18-9 – at the time the poll was released
25. Texas A&M 20-7
Here are the other teams who received votes but did not make the top 25:
North Carolina State 54, Pittsburgh 34, Maryland 14, Oral Roberts 14, Kentucky 12, Boise State 12, Arkansas 6, Florida Atlantic 6, Charleston 4, Missouri 3, Duke 3, Illinois 2, Kent State 2, Nevada 1, Oklahoma State 1.
