UConn hits No. 1 for first time in 15 years in AP Top 25

Field Level Media|published: Mon 15th January, 14:02 2024

Jan 14, 2024; Hartford, Connecticut, USA; Connecticut Huskies head coach Dan Hurley reacts wi6h his players as they take on the Georgetown Hoyas at XL Center. credits: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Taking advantage of upset losses by the two top-ranked teams last week, defending national champion UConn reached No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since the 2008-09 season, according to the latest poll released Monday.

Meanwhile, Gonzaga (11-5), which lost 77-76 to Santa Clara on Thursday, tumbled out of the rankings for the first time in eight years. The topsy-turvy week also saw five teams enter the poll.

UConn (15-2), which was No. 4 last week, garnered 39 of 63 first-place votes to climb over previous No. 1 Purdue. The Boilermakers (15-2) received 20 first-place votes and fell one spot to No. 2.

Kansas (14-2) held on to the No. 3 position, followed by North Carolina (13-3), which jumped three spots. Houston (14-2) rounded out the top five after dropping three places following two losses to unranked teams — a 68-67 loss to TCU on Saturday and a 57-53 loss to Iowa State on Tuesday.

No. 6 Tennessee (12-4) leads the next five, followed by No. 7 Duke (13-3), No. 8 Kentucky (12-3), No. 9 Baylor (14-2) and Memphis (15-2).

Baylor was the biggest riser of the week, climbing five places in the poll. No. 15 Oklahoma (13-3) and No. 17 Marquette (11-5) each plummeted six spots.

Added to the rankings this week are No. 19 TCU (13-3), No. 21 Dayton (13-2), No. 22 Ole Miss (15-1), No. 24 Iowa State (13-3) and No. 25 Texas Tech (14-2).

In addition to Gonzaga, Texas, Clemson, San Diego State and Colorado State dropped out of the Top 25.

The rest of the top 25:

11. Wisconsin

12. Arizona

13. Auburn

14. Illinois

15. Oklahoma

16. Utah State

17. Marquette

18. Creighton

19. TCU

20. BYU