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Dec 9, 2025
Arizona takes No. 1 in AP Top 25 men's basketball poll, Iowa State up to No. 4, Gonzaga into top 10 | Chattanooga Times Free Press
Arizona takes No. 1 in AP Top 25 men's basketball poll, Iowa State up to No. 4, Gonzaga into top 10 | Chattanooga Times Free Press
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Arizona took over the top spot in the AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll on Monday, a reward for a perfect start to the season that includes a quartet of wins against ranked foes, including a lopsided victory over Auburn last weekend.
Purdue, which had spent the past three weeks at No. 1, slid to sixth following its 81-58 home loss to Iowa State and the entire poll got a shakeup as only two teams remained in the same spots from last week.
The Wildcats received 33 of 60 first-place votes from a national media panel to claim No. 1 for the first time since Dec. 11, 2023, and only the third time since the 2013-14 season. They edged No. 2 Michigan, which earned 19 first-place votes, thanks in part to wins over Florida, UConn and UCLA, along with their 97-68 romp over the then-No. 20 Tigers on Saturday night.
"Obviously it's nothing you shy away from," Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd said of being No. 1. "You know, you're at Arizona. The big stage. It's part of being at a program like this. But we have bigger things on our mind."
The Wolverines also moved up one spot for their best ranking since March 2021. Duke claimed six first-place votes and moved up to No. 3. And the Cyclones parlayed their big win in West Lafayette, Indiana, into a six-spot climb to No. 4 and a first-place vote. Iowa State has never been ranked No. 1 in the AP poll era, which began with the 1948-49 season.
"They stole our spirit," said Purdue coach Matt Painter, whose team tied a record for largest margin of defeat at home as the nation's No. 1 team. "Our reason for having a high frustration level was them. They're damn good. They took us to the woodshed."
UConn remained ahead of Purdue at No. 5 after beating Kansas inside Allen Fieldhouse last week.
Houston was seventh, Gonzaga climbed three spots to eighth, Michigan State was ninth and BYU rounded the top 10 following a week of high-profile matchups across college basketball.
Louisville dropped five spots to No. 11 after losing to Arkansas
