College basketball rankings: Houston jumps Purdue for No. 1 spot in AP Top 25; Florida drops after early loss

The first in-season AP Top 25 poll of the 2025-26 college basketball season was released Monday, and we already have a new No. 1 team. Houston jumped Purdue to assume the No. 1 spot in the latest poll despite receiving just 18 first-place votes.

Purdue struggled during its second game of the season but held on for an 87-77 win over Oakland. The Boilermakers' first test of the season will come against No. 8 Alabama on Thursday. Six different teams received at least one first-place vote in the poll.

That wasn't the only shakeup in the top 10 after reigning national champion Florida lost to Arizona and St. John's was on the wrong side of an upset loss against Alabama.

Florida dropped seven spots to No. 10, while St. John's fell from No. 5 to No. 13 in the poll. Alabama moved up to No. 8 after recording a statement win over the Red Storm at Madison Square Garden behind a standout performance by star guard Labaron Philon. Arizona leapfrogged Florida and moved to No. 5.

Late decision by Labaron Philon to return to Alabama pays off in early season upset vs. St. John's

Cameron Salerno

One of the risers into the top five was Duke. The Blue Devils jumped two spots to No. 4 after a win over Texas in the first game of the Cameron Boozer era. UConn moved up one spot to No. 3 after blowout wins over New Haven and UMass Lowell to open the season.

Arkansas dropped seven spots after losing to Michigan State on the road in one of the marquee ranked-on-ranked matchups of the opening week of the season. The Razorbacks checked in at No. 21 this week.

The full AP Top 25 rankings after the second week of the season are below.

AP Top 25 

1. Houston (18)
2. Purdue (36)
3. UConn (3)
4. Duke (2)
5. Arizona
6. Michigan (1)
7. BYU
8. Alabama (1)
9. Kentucky
10. Florida
11. Texas Tech
12. Louisville
13. St. John's
14. Illinois
15. UCLA
16. Iowa State
17. Michigan State
18. North Carolina
19. Gonzaga
20. Tennessee
21. Arkansas
22. Auburn
23. Creighton
24. Wisconsin
25. Kansas

Others receiving votes: NC State 87, San Diego State 67, Indiana 45, Oregon 43, Vanderbilt 37, Ohio State 17, Baylor 14, USC 12, Kansas State 5, Missouri 4, Ole Miss 4, Mississippi State 3, Georgia 2, Stanford 1, Oklahoma State 1, Texas 1, Georgetown 1, Utah State 1, Iowa 1, Virginia Tech 1.

Voters go with Houston over Purdue at No. 1

The biggest surprise of the week was seeing Houston jump to No. 1. It happened despite Houston taking care of business against opponents it should beat and Purdue not losing a game. The fact that the Boilermakers dropped already could be a sign of the parity that is yet to come. Purdue struggled against Oakland. That's no secret. However, in Purdue's defense, it was playing without preseason All-American Trey Kaufman-Renn. Still, Purdue should have been able to take care of business handily at home.

Houston was a popular choice from voters heading into the season for the top spot. Houston received the second-most first-place votes (16) and would've been a logical choice for No. 1. However, Purdue got the nod. The Boilermakers have a key game against Alabama later this week. If Purdue wins that game, it wouldn't be surprising if the polls flipped again.

North Carolina gets boost after big win over Kansas

One of the biggest winners of the opening week of the season was North Carolina. The Tar Heels picked up a massive home win over Kansas to move to 2-0. Freshman forward Caleb Wilson had another standout performance as he continues to establish himself as one of the best first-year players in the sport.

With the win, the Tar Heels jumped seven spots in the poll to No. 18, while Kansas dropped all the way to No. 25. The only team that had a bigger jump than UNC in the poll was Arizona (eight spots).

Put Caleb Wilson among nation's top freshmen as well after UNC's win vs. Kansas in early blue-blood battle

Isaac Trotter

SEC, Big 12, Big Ten dominate rankings

Six teams from the SEC, Big 12 and Big Ten are ranked in the second poll of the season. That would account for 72% of teams in the rankings. The ACC and Big East each have three teams in the latest poll. 

The Big 12 has three teams (Houston, Arizona and BYU) ranked in the top seven, while the SEC has three teams in the top 10.