College basketball rankings: Purdue jumps Houston for No. 1 spot in AP Top 25; Louisville moves into top 10
Illinois also received a bump in the rankings after a huge win over Texas Tech
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3 min read
The second AP Top 25 poll of the 2025-26 season released Monday, and college basketball has a new No. 1 team. Purdue, the preseason top-ranked team, was leapfrogged by Houston last week despite not sustaining a loss. The Boilermakers jumped back to the spot the program held in the preseason after recording a statement 87-80 win over Alabama.
Preseason All-American forward Trey Kaufman-Renn made his season debut against the Crimson Tide after missing the first two games and finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. Braden Smith, the preseason CBS Sports Player of the Year, was also brilliant in the upset. He finished with 29 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Alabama came off a statement win over St. John's. After jumping into the top-10 (No. 8), Alabama dropped three spots to No. 11 following the loss to Purdue.
One of the biggest winners of last week was Louisville. The Cardinals jumped six spots to No. 6 after defeating in-state rival Kentucky 96-88 behind the brilliance of star freshman Mikel Brown Jr. The former five-star recruit scored a team-high 29 points in the win over the Wildcats. Kentucky dropped three spots to No. 12 after the loss.
The full AP Top 25 rankings after the third week of the season are below.
AP Top 25
1. Purdue (44)
2. Houston (12)
3. UConn (2)
4. Arizona (2)
5. Duke (1)
6. Louisville
7. Michigan
8. Illinois
9. BYU
10. Florida
11. Alabama
12. Kentucky
13. Gonzaga
14. St. John's
15. Texas Tech
16. Iowa State
17. Michigan State
18. North Carolina
19. UCLA
20. Tennessee
21. Arkansas
22. Auburn
23. Wisconsin
24. Kansas
25. NC State
Others receiving votes: San Diego State. 71, Indiana 65, Vanderbilt 57, Oregon 28, Ohio State 21, USC 16, Georgetown 16, Creighton 12, Baylor 11, Saint Mary's 8, Missouri 7, Mississippi 5, Iowa 3, Utah State 2, Georgia 2, Virginia 1, Virginia Tech 1, Stanford 1, Kansas State 1.
The No. 1 spot could fluctuate this season
The voters surprisingly gave Houston the nod last week at No. 1 despite Purdue not losing a game. The Boilermakers looked sluggish in their win over Oakland, but part of that can be attributed to not having Kaufman-Renn in the lineup. The voters got it right this week by giving Purdue the nod at No. 1.
However, it seems college basketball may be due for some chaos as the season progresses. That's because five different teams received votes for the No. 1 spot. UConn and Arizona each received two, while Duke got a single first-place vote. UConn registered a marquee win over BYU, while Arizona added a win over UCLA to its résumé last week. If last week's voting showed anything, it's that weekly shake-ups at the very top of the poll could be the norm, especially with all the ranked-on-ranked matchups coming up during November.
Illinois is one of the biggest winners of the week
Illinois defeated Texas Tech 81-77 last week behind a huge performance from Cal transfer Andrej Stojaković, who finished with a team-high 23 points in one of the biggest ranked-on-ranked matchups of the season. That win over the Red Raiders bumped Illinois into the top 10 (No. 8).
The Fighting Illini were one of three teams that jumped six spots in the poll this week, with Louisville and Gonzaga being the others. This is Illinois' highest ranking in the AP poll since finishing No. 6 in the final rankings of the 2023-24 season. Illinois is now one of three teams from the Big Ten ranked inside the top 10.
NC State enters the poll for the first time under Will Wade
After reaching the Final Four in one of the craziest runs in college basketball history during the 2024 NCAA Tournament, NC State finished 12-19 overall last season and fired coach Kevin Keatts shortly thereafter. The Wolfpack made a splash this offseason by hiring away Will Wade from McNeese State, and it's already paying off.
NC State (No. 25) entered the rankings for the first time this season. The Wolfpack are off to a 3-0 start, with wins over NC Central, UAB and UNC Greensboro. The first real test of the Wade era comes Dec. 3 when NC State faces No. 22 Auburn on the road.
