Houston is new No. 1 in AP Top 25. NC State drops out, and Duke receiving votes
.JPG "Houston guard Marcus Sasser (0) shoots over Virginia’s Reece Beekman (2) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Erin Edgerton)")
The way the season has progressed, it should come as no surprise that another No. 1 team has fallen, and a new No. 1 takes its place. Granted, it’s essentially been Purdue and Houston that have jumped up to take the mantle with short stints from North Carolina and, now, Alabama.
The Crimson Tide lost at Tennessee 68-59, dropping their first Southeastern Conference game of the season and being held to a season-low in points in doing so. They were No. 1 last week for the first time in 20 years, but couldn’t keep that title longer than a week.
That means the Cougars, who have won 16 of their past 17, including seven straight games, are back at No. 1 for the third time this season. It’s ironic because Bama was the first team to knock them out of the top spot with a 71-65 loss back on Dec. 10.
Local look
N.C. State’s loss at Syracuse was enough to get it dropped out of the top 25 despite bouncing back with a dominating finish to its 77-69 win over UNC on Sunday.
Duke looked arguably the best it has in a road game all season with its 77-55 win at Syracuse. The Blue Devils didn’t receive any votes in last week’s AP poll and only picked up three this week.
Highest rise
Providence moved up four spots to No. 20 after a thrilling 94-86 double overtime win against Creighton and a home win over Villanova last week.
Biggest drop
Iowa State inexplicably dropped four places after beating then-No. 22 TCU, but losing at to then-No. 12 Kansas State.
Indiana’s loss to Northwestern got the Hoosiers dropped three spots to No. 17.
Welcome to the Top 25
It’s pretty remarkable what coach Chris Collins has done in turning Northwestern into a Big Ten title contender. The former Duke guard has his Wildcats currently trail Purdue by one game in the loss column in league standings. Their current streak of five wins includes victories over the then-No. 1 Boilermakers and No. 14 Indiana. Northwestern made its debut at No. 21.
Texas A&M, which is surprisingly the second place team in the SEC, popped up at No. 25 this week. The Aggies have won seven of their last eight games including last week’s wins over Arkansas and Missouri.
Outta here
No. 24 Florida Atlantic plummeted out after a 74-70 loss to Middle Tennessee. And No. 25 Illinois evaporated from my ballot after consecutive road losses at Penn State and Indiana.
AP Poll
| Rk Team |
| 1. Houston (48) |
| 2. Alabama (7) |
| 3. Kansas (7) |
| 4. UCLA |
| 5. Purdue |
| 6. Virginia |
| 7. Arizona |
| 8. Texas |
| 9. Baylor |
| 10. Marquette |
| 11. Tennessee |
| 12. Gonzaga |
| 13. Miami |
14. Kansas State |
| 15. St. Mary’s |
| 16. Xavier |
| 17. Indiana |
| 18. UConn |
| 19. Creighton |
| 20. Providence |
21. Northwestern |
22. San Diego St |
| 23. Iowa State |
| 24. TCU |
| 25. Texas A&M |
C.L. Brown’s ballot
| Rk. Team |
| 1. Houston |
| 2. UCLA |
| 3. Alabama |
| 4. Kansas |
| 5. Purdue |
| 6. Baylor |
| 7. Arizona |
| 8. Virginia |
| 9. Marquette |
| 10. Tennessee |
| 11. Texas |
| 12. Gonzaga |
| 13. Miami |
14. Kansas State |
15. Northwestern |
| 16. Iowa State |
| 17. Indiana |
| 18. Xavier |
| 19. Providence |
| 20. UConn |
| 21. Creighton |
| 22. St. Mary’s |
23. San Diego St |
| 24. N.C. State |
| 25. TCU |
This story was originally published February 20, 2023 at 9:27 AM.