College basketball rankings: Purdue rises to AP No 1

Purdue picked up wins over West Virginia, No. 15 Gonzaga and No. 12 Duke in consecutive weeks to win the Phil Knight Legacy tournament earlier in the season.

Wins over Hofstra and Nebraska last week, combined with a loss by Houston, were enough to move the Boilermakers to No. 1 the men’s AP top 25 for the second straight season.

Purdue, unranked in the preseason poll, moved up three spots in the rankings released on Monday, receiving 27 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel. No. 2 Virginia received 19 first-place votes to move up a spot, No. 3 Connecticut received 15 and No. 6 Tennessee also got one.

Alabama and Houston rounded out the top five.

The Boilermakers hope this run at No. 1 will last longer than their last one. Purdue went to No. 1 for the first time in school history in Week 4 last season and promptly lost to Rutgers.

No. 17 Mississippi State had the biggest jump in the poll, moving up six spots after beating Minnesota. No. 19 Auburn had the biggest drop, losing eight spots following an 82–73 loss to Memphis. No. 20 Maryland dropped with consecutive losses to No. 22 Wisconsin and No. 6 Tennessee.

No. 7 Texas lost a chance to move up to No. 1 after its overtime loss to Illinois, dropping five spots instead.

Full men’s top 25 (as of Dec. 5):

1. Purdue
2. Virginia
3. UConn
4. Alabama
5. Houston
6. Tennessee
7. Texas
8. Kansas
9. Arizona
10. Arkansas
11. Baylor
12. Duke
13. Kentucky
14. Indiana
15. Gonzaga
16. UCLA
17. Mississippi State
18. Illinois
19. Auburn
20. Maryland
21. TCU
22. Wisconsin
23. Ohio State
24. Virginia Tech
25. Miami

Others receiving votes: Memphis 74, College of Charleston 64, Arizona State 39, Marquette 39, Iowa State 39, UNLV 27, Xavier 26, Iowa 25, West Virginia 20, Saint Mary’s 15, San Diego State 14, Texas Tech 14, New Mexico 12, Utah 12, Creighton 11, Michigan State 5, Utah State 4, Mississippi Valley State 4, Kansas State 2.