Purdue stays No. 1 in AP Top 25; NC State in at No. 22

Purdue’s unquestioned grip on No. 1 in The Associated Pressmen’s college basketball poll is gone after a weekend loss. Thatdidn’t stop the Boilermakers from remaining at the top anyway.

The Boilermakers earned 38 of 62 first-place votes in the pollreleased Monday to remain at No. 1 for a third straight week andseventh time this season. Purdue was the unanimous choice lastweek, the first for any team this season, before falling at Indianaover the weekend for only its second loss.

The Boilermakers (22-2, 11-2) have a leading candidate fornational player of the year in Zach Edey and KenPom’s No. 1-rankedoffense (121.1 points scored per 100 possessions) to go with atop-25 defense. But they got down big, committed 16 turnovers andallowed the Hoosiers — up to No. 18 this week — to shoot nearly 53%in a 79-74 loss Saturday.

“When we go to Zach and we make some perimeter shots, thedefense gets better sometimes when the offense flows,” Purdue coachMatt Painter said at his postgame news conference. “And you can’tdo that. You can always rebound, you can always take care of theball, you can always make your free throws, those thingsthere.”

The loss meant Houston collected 22 first-place votes as it roseone spot to No. 2, followed by No. 3 Alabama and No. 4 Arizona ineach claiming one.

THE TOP TIER

Texas jumped five spots to No. 5, shooting past Tennessee, whichfell four spots to No. 6 after losing last week at Florida.

UCLA, Virginia, Kansas and Marquette rounded out the top 10,with Shaka Smart’s Golden Eagles cracking the top 10 for the firsttime since 2019.

RISING

The Longhorns’ jump marked the biggest of the week, followed byMarquette and Miami each rising four spots. No. 13 Xavier, No. 15Saint Mary’s and No. 21 UConn joined Indiana in each moving upthree positions.

In all, 12 teams rose from last week’s rankings.

SLIDING

Kansas State took the week’s biggest tumble, falling five spotsto No. 12 after losing at Kansas and at home to Texas last week.No. 16 Gonzaga joined Tennessee in falling four spots after itsovertime loss at Saint Mary’s.

In all, nine teams fell from last week’s rankings.

STATUS QUO

Purdue was the only team to remain in the same position thisweek.

WELCOME

North Carolina State earned its first AP Top 25 ranking in fouryears, checking in at No. 22.

The Wolfpack (19-5, 9-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) spent sixweeks in the poll during the 2018-19 season. N.C. State already hassurpassed the win total for each of the last two seasons and is incontention for the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth since2018.

Creighton and Rutgers joined N.C. State as this week’s newadditions to the poll, though both were ranked earlier this season.The Bluejays were No. 9 in the preseason poll and peaked at No. 7before falling out by mid-December, while the Scarlet Knights spenta week at No. 23 in mid-January.

FAREWELL (FOR NOW)

Florida Atlantic (No. 19), Clemson (No. 20) and Auburn (No. 25)fell out of this week’s poll.

CONFERENCE WATCH

The Big 12 leads all leagues with six ranked teams, includingNo. 11 Iowa State, No. 14 Baylor and No. 17 TCU. The Big East isnext with five ranked teams, followed by the Big Ten and ACC withthree each.

The Pac-12, Southeastern and West Coast conferences each havetwo ranked teams, while the American Athletic and Mountain Westeach have one.

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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter athttp://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap