AP men's basketball Top 25: Houston is No. 1 this week after yet another top team, this time Alabama, loses
It feels like we can’t go a week without a No. 1 team losing.
Here’s everything you missed in Week 15 of the season, and the latest Associated Press men’s college basketball poll.
Alabama falls to Tennessee again, Purdue drops another
Tennessee got back on track last week, though only briefly, and gave fans an upset reminiscent of the college football season a few months ago.
The Volunteers knocked off top-ranked Alabama on Wednesday night, which officially marked the eighth loss by a No. 1 team so far this season. That ties the record set during the 1993-94 season. North Carolina, Houston, Purdue and Alabama have all held the top spot.
Alabama more than made up for the loss Saturday. Honestly, the Crimson Tide probably took things a little too far in their 108-59 rout of Georgia. But still, the loss to Tennessee dropped them to No. 2 in this week’s poll.
Tennessee, true to form, backed up its win with a loss to Kentucky on Saturday. The Volunteers are ranked No. 11 this week.
With Alabama’s drop, Houston is ranked No. 1 again. The Cougars have won seven straight games and boast a 25-2 record, with losses to only Alabama and Temple.
Purdue’s struggles that knocked it out of the top spot carried over last week, too. The Boilermakers fell to Maryland on Thursday in what was their third loss in four games. While they rolled past Ohio State on Sunday in a near-30 point win, the Boilermakers are ranked No. 5 this week. They’ll take on No. 17 Indiana on Saturday.
Get ready for the Gonzaga-Saint Mary’s rematch
Let's look forward to what will be a critical WCC matchup this weekend.
No. 15 Saint Mary's and No. 12 Gonzaga will square off Saturday night in a game that could snap Gonzaga’s decade-long streak of owning at least a share of the regular-season conference title.
Their first matchup earlier this month was fantastic. The Gaels, behind a dominant performance from freshman Aiden Mahaney, knocked off Gonzaga in overtime at home. They held Gonzaga to just nine points in the extra period and handed the Bulldogs their second WCC loss of the year — following one last month to LMU that snapped their home win streak.
Though both teams have a game before Saturday — Saint Mary’s will host Pacific on Thursday and Gonzaga will host San Diego that night — the contest will presumably determine who wins the conference, something Gonzaga has held at least a share of since 2011-12. If the Zags lose to Saint Mary’s a second time, their streak dies in Spokane.
The Gaels are one of the hottest teams in the country, and seem to have what it takes to make a deep run in March. Though they’ve made it through the WCC schedule almost completely unscathed, Saturday will be a great test before conference tournaments kick off.
Games to watch this week
Monday, Feb. 20
No. 3 Kansas at No. 24 TCU | 9 p.m. ET
Tuesday, Feb. 21
No. 9 Baylor at No. 14 Kansas State | 7 p.m. ET
No. 10 Marquette at No. 19 Creighton | 8:30 p.m.
No. 23 Iowa State at No. 8 Texas | 9 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Feb. 22
No. 20 Providence at No. 18 UConn | 6:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, Feb. 25
No. 8 Texas at No. 9 Baylor | 2 p.m. ET
No. 17 Indiana at No. 5 Purdue | 7:30 p.m. ET
No. 15 Saint Mary’s at No. 12 Gonzaga | 10 p.m. ET
Full AP Top 25
The full AP Top 25 poll from Monday, Feb. 20:
Houston (25-2)
Alabama (23-4)
Kansas (22-5)
UCLA (23-4)
Purdue (24-4)
Virginia (21-4)
Arizona (24-4)
Texas (21-6)
Baylor (20-7)
Marquette (21-6)
Tennessee (20-7)
Gonzaga (23-5)
Miami (22-5)
Kansas State (20-7)
Saint Mary's (24-5)
Xavier (20-7)
Indiana (19-8)
UConn (20-7)
Creighton (18-9)
Providence (20-7)
Northwestern (20-7)
San Diego State (21-5)
Iowa State (17-9)
TCU (18-9)
Texas A&M (20-7)
Others receiving votes:North Carolina State 54, Pittsburgh 34, Maryland 14, Oral Roberts 14, Kentucky 12, Boise State 12, Arkansas 6, Florida Atlantic 6, Charleston 4, Missouri 3, Duke 3, Illinois 2, Kent State 2, Nevada 1, Oklahoma State 1
