Houston returned to No. 1 within the AP males’s school basketball ballot on Monday for the third time this season, whereas Northwestern and Texas A&M barged into the rankings after every had a pair of spectacular wins final week.
The Cougars, driving a seven-game profitable streak, jumped over Alabama and back into the highest spot, the place they spent two weeks in November and December and had one other two-week stint final month. They picked up 48 first-place votes from the 62-member nationwide media panel to put declare to No. 1 with simply two weeks left within the common season.
“This is my fourth year coaching these guys. We’ve developed a really good program here,” stated Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, referring to his veteran leaders that went to a Final Four two years in the past and the Elite Eight final season. “But the emphasis is ‘we have.’ One person doesn’t do it. I’m proud of our program. I’m proud of everyone in it.”
The Crimson Tide dropped just one spot after shedding to Tennessee and routing Georgia of their lone week at No. 1. They held onto seven first-place votes, whereas Kansas additionally earned seven to climb two spots to No. 3 on this week’s ballot.
UCLA remained at No. 4 whereas Purdue slid two spots to spherical out of the highest 5.
“We’re not as good a basketball team, from a tactical standpoint, as last year’s basketball team yet,” stated Jayhawks coach Bill Self, whose staff is making an attempt to change into the primary back-to-back nationwide champions since Florida in 2006 and ’07. “From a competitive standpoint, this team is an equivalent, or on par, with that team.”
That was evident Saturday, when the Jayhawks rallied from 17 right down to beat No. 9 Baylor 87-71 in Allen Fieldhouse.
Virginia was at No. 6 after beating Louisville and Notre Dame final week. Arizona was seventh whereas Texas fell two spots to eighth after shedding to Texas Tech and needing extra time to beat Oklahoma. The Bears held their spot whereas Marquette moved into the highest 10 for the primary time since Feb. 25, 2019.
The (*25*) dropped to No. 11 after following up their win over Alabama with a loss to Kentucky. Gonzaga, Miami and Kansas State had been subsequent, with Saint Mary’s giving the West Coast Conference two groups within the high 15.
The Gaels (24-5, 13-1) and Bulldogs (23-5, 12-2) every play midweek video games earlier than their showdown on Saturday.
Xavier held regular at No. 16 this week whereas Indiana, UConn, Creighton and Providence rounded out the highest 20.
Northwestern entered the ballot for the primary time in additional than two years at No. 21 after following its upset of Purdue two weeks in the past with wins over the Hoosiers and Iowa. San Diego State, Iowa State and TCU had been subsequent, with Texas A&M making it back into the ballot after spending one week at No. 24 in November.
“We haven’t gotten ahead of ourselves,” Wildcats coach Chris Collins stated. (*1*) Collins continued. “We can reflect at the end of the year, when it’s all done in a month’s time. And we can look back at the ups and downs. But we’re trying our hardest right now to stay in the moment.”
IN AND OUT
The Wildcats, winners of 5 straight, and the Aggies entered the ballot at the expense of North Carolina State and Florida Atlantic. The Wolfpack misplaced to Syracuse on Tuesday and the Owls misplaced to Middle Tennessee on Thursday.
RISING AND FALLING
There was little or no motion on this week’s ballot. Providence made the largest climb at simply 4 spots to No. 20 after wins over Creighton and Villanova. Iowa State likewise made the largest fall at 4 sports activities to No. 23 after following a win over TCU with a loss to Kansas State on Saturday.
CONFERENCE WATCH
The Big 12 continues to prepared the ground with six groups within the AP Top 25 and Oklahoma State receiving a vote. The Big East has 5 groups within the ballot — and all within the high 20 — whereas the SEC and Big Ten have three groups apiece.
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AP school basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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