AP Top 25: Michigan makes big move, Purdue remains No. 1 in college basketball rankings

The fourth AP Top 25 Poll of the 2025-2026 season was released Monday, and despite efforts by Arizona and Michigan, Purdue remains the No. 1 team in the country. The Boilermakers have been at the top of the poll for the past three weeks, with the lone exception when Houston defeated Purdue in the first poll of the season.

Last week’s biggest winner was Michigan. The Wolverines went 3-0 at the Players Era Festival and jumped four spots to No. 3 after posting wins over Auburn, San Diego State and Gonzaga. Michigan is 7-0 heading into its first conference game of the season against Rutgers on Saturday. Michigan’s advance to No. 3 marks the first time since 2015-16 that the Big Ten has had multiple teams in the top three of the AP poll.

While the Wolverines had a week to remember, reigning national champion Florida had one to forget. The Gators were on the wrong end of an 84-80 loss to TCU, which marked their second loss of the young season. Florida’s second loss of the 2024-25 season came earlier this calendar year, on Jan. 14, against Missouri in SEC play. Florida fell five spots to No. 15. Another SEC team, Alabama, also fell out of the top 10, dropping from No. 8 to No. 12 after a loss to Gonzaga.

Another important note heading into December is that 14 of the past 17 title winners went undefeated in November – including the last three champions (Florida twice and UConn). Eight teams enter the final poll without a loss: Purdue, Arizona, Duke, Michigan State, Indiana, USC, Oklahoma State and UC San Diego.

AP Top 25

1.Purdue (40)
2. Arizona (6)
3.Michigan (15)
4. Duke
5. UConn
6.Louisville
7. Michigan State
8. Houston
9. BYU
10. Iowa State
11. Gonzaga
12. Alabama
13.Tennessee
14.Illinois
15. Florida
16. North Carolina
17.Vanderbilt
18.Kentucky
19. Texas Technology
20. Chestnut brown
21. Kansas
22.Indiana
23. St. John
24. USC
25.Arkansas

Others receiving votes: Iowa 100, UCLA 59, Nebraska 53, TCU 36, Missouri 28, Utah State 16, Saint Mary’s 15, Baylor 13, Oklahoma State 12, SMU 12, Clemson 11, LSU 7, Seton Hall 6, Wisconsin 6, NC State 5, Wake Forest 3, California 2, Colorado 1, George Mason 1, Buffalo 1.

The race for number 1 is going to be interesting

This week, Purdue remained at No. 1, but there was some competition at the top. Arizona received 11 first-place votes and rose to number two in the poll last week, while Houston received four first-place votes. In this week’s poll, Michigan received 15 first-place votes, while Arizona received four. The Wolverines got a huge boost in the rankings after a dominant show in Las Vegas. Still, voters held firm and kept Purdue at No. 1. It’s hard to see anyone else occupying that spot — for now — until Purdue loses a game. Notably, the Boilermakers face No. 10 Iowa State this weekend.

St. John’s continues to decline

There was no team in the poll that fell further than St. John’s this week. The Red Storm fell nine spots to No. 23 after losses to Iowa State and Auburn. St. John’s now has three losses this season – the most of any team ranked in the latest poll – and could be in danger of falling apart completely with another early defeat. Rick Pitino’s team will have the opportunity to improve its resume in the next three weeks with games against Ole Miss and Kentucky. St. John’s entered this season with high expectations, and so far Pitino’s group has not lived up to them. St. John’s is 0-3 against ranked opponents.

USC is participating in the poll for the first time this season

USC improved to 7-0 and captured the Maui Invitational title with a win over Arizona State. The Trojans are now ranked (No. 24) for the first time this season under second-year coach Eric Musselman. The Trojans begin Big Ten play this week with games against Oregon and Washington.