AP Top 25: Michigan makes big move, Purdue stays at No. 1 in college basketball rankings

The fourth AP Top 25 poll of the 2025-26 season was released Monday, and despite pushes from Arizona and Michigan, Purdue remains the No. 1 team in the country. The Boilermakers have been at the top of the poll for the last three weeks — with the lone exception coming when Houston jumped Purdue in the first in-season poll.

The biggest winner of last week was Michigan. The Wolverines went 3-0 in the Players Era Festival and jumped four spots to No. 3 after recording blowout wins over Auburn, San Diego State and Gonzaga. Michigan sits at 7-0 ahead of its first conference matchup of the season against Rutgers on Saturday. Michigan moving up to No. 3 marks the first time since 2015-16 that the Big Ten has multiple teams in top three of the AP poll. 

While the Wolverines had a week to remember, reigning national champion Florida had one to forget. The Gators were on the wrong side of an 84-80 upset loss to TCU, which marked their second loss of the young season. Florida’s second loss of the 2024-25 campaign came against Missouri in SEC play earlier this calendar year on Jan. 14. Florida dropped five spots to No. 15. Another SEC team, Alabama, also fell out of the top 10, dropping from No. 8 to No. 12 on the heels of a loss to Gonzaga. 

Another note of significance heading into December is that 14 of the past 17 title winners were undefeated through November — including the last three champions (Florida and UConn twice). Eight teams enter the latest poll without a loss: Purdue, Arizona, Duke, Michigan State, Indiana, USC, Oklahoma State and UC San Diego.

AP Top 25

1. Purdue (40)
2. Arizona (6)
3. Michigan (15)
4. Duke
5. UConn
6. Louisville
7. Michigan State
8. Houston
9. BYU
10. Iowa State
11. Gonzaga
12. Alabama
13. Tennessee
14. Illinois
15. Florida
16. North Carolina
17. Vanderbilt
18. Kentucky
19. Texas Tech
20. Auburn
21. Kansas
22. Indiana
23. St. John’s
24. USC
25. Arkansas

Others receiving votes: Iowa 100, UCLA 59, Nebraska 53, TCU 36, Missouri 28, Utah State 16, Saint Mary’s 15, Baylor 13, Oklahoma State 12, SMU 12, Clemson 11, LSU 7, Seton Hall 6, Wisconsin 6, NC State 5, Wake Forest 3, California 2, Colorado 1, George Mason 1, Buffalo 1.

The race for No. 1 gets interesting

This week, Purdue remained at No. 1, but it had some competition at the top. Arizona received 11 first-place votes and jumped to No. 2 in the poll last week, while Houston received four first-place votes. In this week’s poll, Michigan received 15 first-place votes, while Arizona got four. The Wolverines got a huge boost in the rankings after a dominant showing in Las Vegas. Despite that, the voters held strong and kept Purdue at No. 1. It’s hard to see anyone else occupying that spot — for now — until Purdue loses a game. Notably, the Boilermakers face No. 10 Iowa State this weekend.

St. John’s continues to fall

There wasn’t a team in the poll that dropped further than St. John’s did this week. The Red Storm fell nine spots to No. 23 after losing against Iowa State and Auburn. St. John’s now has three losses on the season — the most of any team ranked in the latest poll — and could be in danger of falling out entirely with another early loss. Rick Pitino’s team will have an opportunity during the next three weeks to improve its résumé with games against Ole Miss and Kentucky. St. John’s came into this season with lofty expectations, and so far, Pitino’s group hasn’t met them. St. John’s is 0-3 against ranked opponents.

USC enters the poll for the first time this season

USC improved to 7-0 and captured the Maui Invitational title with a win over Arizona State. The Trojans are now ranked (No. 24) for the first time this season under second-year coach Eric Musselman. The Trojans begin Big Ten play this week with games against Oregon and Washington.