Houston’s loss is Purdue’s gain: AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll welcomes new No. 1.

For the fourth time this season, the top spot in the Associated Press Top 25 changed, and for the second time it’s Purdue that is on top. The Boilermakers previously held the No. 1 spot from Week 6 through Week 9 before suffering a home loss to Rutgers — which remains their only defeat.

There has yet to be a unanimous No. 1 team, even as North Carolina, Houston and Purdue have each spent time at the top. The first stint at No. 1, it was UConn that siphoned away first place votes. This time, it’s Alabama.

The Crimson Tide is currently on an eight-game winning streak during which its closest game was an 11-point win at Mississippi State. Freshman forward Brandon Miller is a clear frontrunner to claim all the national rookie-of-the-year awards as he leads the team with 19.8 points per game.

Carolina started the season at No. 1, followed by Houston, Purdue and back to the Cougars before they were upset by Temple at home last week.

Highest rise

Kansas State continued its improbable climb thanks to its win over rival Kansas. The Wildcats, unranked to start the season, jumped into the top 10, moving up eight spots to No. 5.

Tennessee got voters to forgive its home loss to Kentucky from two weeks ago. The Volunteers moved up five spots to No. 4. Arizona, by way of beating UCLA at home, also jumped five spots to No. 6.

Biggest drop

The fall of Kansas was really weeks in the making. The Jayhawks had been flirting with disaster in home wins against Oklahoma State and Oklahoma in which they faced double digit deficits in the second half before rallying to win.

It caught up to them this week in an overtime loss at Kansas State before getting handed a 23-point beat down at home by TCU. The pair of losses dropped KU from No. 2 to No. 9.

Clemson experienced a grand opening last week with its debut at No. 19. The Tigers nearly experienced a grand closing after losing at Wake Forest 87-77 and fell to No. 24.

Welcome to the Top 25

Saint Mary’s rides a nine game winning streak into making its poll debut. The Gaels could be poised to break Gonzaga’s stranglehold on the West Coast Conference and win at least a share of the regular season title for the first time since 2015-16.

Outta here

Illinois also found its way back out of the poll with a 15-point home loss to Indiana. Rutgers and Arkansas followed the Illini to the exit door. The Razorbacks had been ranked in the first 10 polls this season, but injuries have devastated their roster.

AP Top 25

C.L. Brown’s ballot