AP Top 25 could see jumble after upcoming Tobacco Road matchups. Purdue unanimous No. 1.
No. 16 Duke lost its first road game of the season at Wake Forest, though the Blue Devils were playing without two key players. Dariq Whitehead and Derek Lively II will be in the lineup as they make their second road trip of the season at N.C. State on Wednesday. A second road loss probably wouldn’t bounce the Blue Devils from the polls, but they’d be teetering for sure.
Wake Forest did not receive any votes this week, but could jump into the rankings if it leaves Chapel Hill on Wednesday with a win over North Carolina. That would give the Demon Deacons wins over current ranked teams Duke and Wisconsin, and former ranked teams in Virginia Tech and UNC. The Tar Heels are just happy to be home again after playing their past three games away from the Dean E. Smith Center.
As we enter the new calendar year, Purdue and New Mexico are hanging on as the only two unbeaten schools left in Division I men’s basketball. The Boilermakers (13-0) were a unanimous No. 1 this week, receiving all 60 votes, after UConn’s loss at Xavier. The Boilermakers will get a tough test on the road Thursday when they travel to Ohio State, but they have won three of its past four games in Columbus.
The Lobos (14-0) are off to their best start since the 1967-68 season. They’ll travel to Fresno State on Tuesday, then face UNLV at home on Saturday.
Highest rise
Missouri under first-year coach Dennis Gates, who is a former Florida State assistant, understandably played a soft non-conference schedule to open the season. Gates had so many new players — seven of their top eight scorers were not on the roster last season -- there was no need to play it tough.
Those early wins over teams that they should have beaten built confidence and, even when they were blasted by Kansas in a renewal of their rivalry, the Tigers pressed on beating a ranked Illinois team and then handling Kentucky.
Missouri made its debut in the poll at No. 20.
Xavier Climbed four spots to No. 18 after handing UConn its first loss of the season. I placed them at No. 19 after previously being unranked last week.
Biggest drop
Baylor plummeted seven spots back to No. 19 after its loss at Iowa State.
When at full strength, Arkansas is easily a Final Four contender. The problem is, the Razorbacks haven’t been at full strength for some time now and will never get that chance with Trevon Brazile out for the season. Nick Smith Jr., who could be a NBA lottery pick this draft, has battled recurring knee problems and has only played five games this season. Arkansas’ loss to LSU dropped it four spots to No. 13.
Welcome to the poll
College of Charleston finally made its breakthrough and is ranked No. 23 this week. The Cougars are right there with Purdue and New Mexico with the longest win streaks this season. They’ve won 13 in a row since losing at North Carolina 102-86 on Nov. 11. That win streak includes a win over Virginia Tech and the Cougars will likely be favored in every Colonial Athletic Conference game with the exception of their trip to UNC Wilmington on Jan. 11.
Outta here
Kentucky fells from No. 19 to out of my poll. The Wildcats did bounce back after its loss at Missouri to beat Louisville at home, but this is a season where the Cardinals can only hurt a team’s resume. UK doesn’t have any wins that jump out -- its best one is Michigan -- and it has now lost two of its last four games.
The Wildcats took its blue blood neighbor with them, as Carolina had its four game win streak snapped when it couldn’t close on the road at Pitt. The Tar Heels didn’t have far to tumble, going from No. 25 last week to not receiving any votes this week.
Mississippi State (21) and West Virginia (24) also didn’t get voted back into the poll after losses..
Week 8 AP Top 25 poll
| Rk. Team |
| 1. Purdue |
| 2. Houston |
| 3. Kansas |
| 4. UConn |
| 5. Arizona |
| 6. Texas |
| 7. Alabama |
| 8. Tennessee |
| 9. Gonzaga |
| 10. UCLA |
| 11. Virginia |
| 12. Miami |
| 13. Arkansas |
| 14. Wisconsin |
| 15. Indiana |
| 16. Duke |
| 17. TCU |
| 18. Xavier |
| 19. Baylor |
| 20. Missouri |
| 21. New Mexico |
| 22. Auburn |
| 23. Charleston |
| 24. Ohio State |
| 25. Iowa State |
C.L. Brown’s ballot
| Rk. Team |
| 1. Purdue |
| 2. Houston |
| 3. Arizona |
| 4. UConn |
| 5. Alabama |
| 6. Texas |
| 7. Tennessee |
| 8. Kansas |
| 9. Gonzaga |
| 10. Virginia |
| 11. UCLA |
| 12. Wisconsin |
| 13. Miami |
| 14. TCU |
| 15. Baylor |
| 16. Duke |
| 17. Arkansas |
| 18. Indiana |
| 19. Xavier |
| 20. Missouri |
| 21. Marquette |
| 22. New Mexico |
23. San Diego St |
| 24. Charleston |
| 25. Iowa State |
This story was originally published January 2, 2023 at 10:43 AM.