AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll: Houston overtakes UConn at No. 1 after Huskies’ blowout loss to Creighton

Finally, for the first time in weeks, there’s a new top-ranked team in college basketball

Here’s everything you missed in Week 16 of the season, and the latest Associated Press men’s basketball poll.

Houston overtakes UConn at No. 1

It took two full months, but UConn finally lost a game.

Creighton absolutely dominated UConn in Omaha last week. The Bluejays rolled to an 85-66 upset win, which marked their first over a top-ranked team in history. Before that loss, UConn had gone 14 games over a full two-month span without losing a game — and it even blew out then-No. 4 Marquette.

UConn did bounce back with a big 24-point win over Villanova on Saturday. The Huskies slipped two spots to No. 3 in the poll this week.

As a result, Houston overtook the Huskies to grab the No. 1 ranking this week. Houston fended off Iowa State first last week and then managed to down Baylor in overtime after a would-be buzzer-beater from Jamal Shead was called off in regulation. Houston is now 24-3 on the season, and it has won five straight headed into Tuesday’s matchup against Cincinnati. The Cougars have just one ranked opponent left on their schedule, too. They’ll host Kansas on March 9 to end the regular season.

Purdue won both of its games last week, first with a blowout over Rutgers and then in a tight one over Michigan. The Boilermakers jumped up to No. 2. Tennessee and Marquette then round out the top five.

While Creighton managed a huge win, the Bluejays fell to Rick Pitino and St. John’s on Sunday. Despite the loss, Creighton moved up to No. 12.

Washington State’s streak ends

Washington State was on an incredible run well into last week.

The Cougars won eight straight games and climbed into the national rankings last week for the first time since 2008. They also managed to knock off Arizona, 77-74, in Tucson in what was one of the biggest wins in recent program history on Thursday night.

Washington State, thanks to a 27-point night and a clutch four-point play in the final minute from Jaylen Wells, stunned the Wildcats and briefly took over the top spot in the Pac-12 standings on Thursday. The loss was Arizona’s first at home this season, and sent it down to No. 6 in the rankings this week.

The Cougars’ run, however, ended on Saturday night. Arizona State got back to .500 on the season with a big 73-61 win over Washington State. The win dropped the Cougars back behind Arizona once again in the Pac-12 standings, but they still moved up two spots to No. 19 in the poll.

Though the win streak ended, Washington State has more than proven itself as a legitimate contender one final time in the Pac-12. The Cougars will face USC, UCLA and Washington to close out their regular season, all of which are winnable games.

As long as they can manage the loss to the Sun Devils and get back on track right away, the Cougars will be set up to make their first NCAA tournament since the Tony Bennett era more than a decade ago.

Games to watch this week

Wednesday, Feb. 28

No. 11 Auburn at No. 4 Tennessee | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN2

Saturday, March 2

No. 24 Florida at No. 18 South Carolina | 12 p.m. ET | ESPN

No. 7 Kansas at No. 15 Baylor | 1 pm. ET | ABC

No. 13 Illinois at Wisconsin | 1 p.m. ET | BTN

No. 5 Marquette at No. 12 Creighton | 2:30 p.m. ET | Fox

No. 4 Tennessee at No. 14 Alabama | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN

AP Top 25

The full AP Top 25 poll from Feb. 26, 2024

1. Houston (24-3)

2. Purdue (25-3)

3. UConn (25-3)

4. Tennessee (21-6)

5. Marquette (21-6)

6. Arizona (21-6)

7. Kansas (21-6)

8. Iowa State (21-6)

9. North Carolina (21-6)

10. Duke (21-6)

11. Auburn (21-6)

12. Creighton (20-8)

13. Illinois (20-7)

14. Alabama (19-8)

15. Baylor (19-8)

16. Kentucky (19-8)

17. Saint Mary's (23-6)

18. South Carolina (22-5)

19. Washington State (21-7)

20. San Diego State (21-7)

21. Dayton (21-5)

22. Utah State (22-5)

23. Gonzaga (22-6)

24. Florida (19-8)

25. South Florida (21-5)

Others Receiving Votes: BYU 92, Texas Tech 65, Clemson 45, TCU 45, Wake Forest 44, Wisconsin 42, Nevada 25, Colorado St. 20, Arizona St. 17, New Mexico 10, FAU 8, Oklahoma 7, Nebraska 7, Mississippi St. 5, Washington 4, Appalachian St. 3, Northwestern 1, Boise St. 1, McNeese St. 1, Indiana St. 1, Loyola Chicago 1