AP men’s college basketball Top 25 poll breakdown
Arizona and Miami (OH) remain undefeated this week as a new AP Top 25 poll is released. Only four team rankings remained unchanged.
The Wildcats remain unanimous number one for a third consecutive week. They are followed by Michigan, which flipped its place with UConn to become No. 2. The Big Ten continues to have two teams in the top five, with Illinois replacing Nebraska as the final team, after the latter lost two straight games last week. The Cornhuskers, however, remain in the top 10, dropping only four spots.
The biggest jump in the poll came from the Fighting Illini (four spots), with Kansas, Vanderbilt and St. John’s each moving up three spots in the rankings. Miami (OH) moved up one spot, while fellow St. Louis moved up two.
Arkansas fell the furthest in the poll, down six spots. Alabama dropped out completely, leaving room for Tennessee to re-enter the Top 25. Other teams that fell in the rankings included Louisville and the aforementioned Cornhuskers (four spots), as well as BYU and Michigan State (three).
Below you’ll find the full Top 25 rankings, including what’s next for each team this week.
All times are Eastern. All statistics courtesy of ESPN Research unless otherwise noted.
Previous polls: Pre-season | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12
Previous ranking: 1
Results 2025-26: 22-0
Stat to know: Arizona is off to its best start in school history. His 22-0 record is also tied for the longest winning streak in school history (22 straight from 1914-17). The Wildcats are also tied with 1996-97 Kansas for the best start in Big 12 history.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Oklahoma State, 4 p.m., ESPN
Previous ranking: 3
Results 2025-26: 20-1
Stat to know: Michigan is 5-0 against ranked teams this season – with four of those wins coming by double digits.
What’s next: Thursday vs. Penn State, 6:30 p.m., FS1
Previous ranking: 2
Results 2025-26: 21-1
Stat to know: UConn improves to 11-0 in conference play for the first time since its 1998-99 NCAA title run (those Huskies also started 11-0 before losing their 12th conference game). UConn is on a 17-game winning streak, its longest winning streak in a single season since 19-game winning streak in 1998-99.
What’s next: Tuesday vs. Xavier, 7 p.m., Peacock/NBCSN
Previous ranking: 4
Results 2025-26: 20-1
Stat to know: Duke is 20-1, its fewest number of games required to reach 20 wins since the 2007-08 season (when it also started 20-1).
What’s next: Tuesday vs. Boston College, 7 p.m., ACCN
Previous ranking: 9
Results 2025-26: 19-3
Stat to know: Keaton Wagler is the first player in AP Poll history to score 25 or more points in multiple road wins over top-five opponents this season (he had 46 last week in a road win over Purdue and 28 points this weekend against Nebraska).
What’s next: Wednesday vs. Northwestern, 9 p.m., BTN
Previous ranking: 6
Results 2025-26: 22-1
Stat to know: The Zags have won 39 straight games while leading by 10 or more points (their last loss was on December 7, 2024 against Kentucky after leading by 18). Over the last eight seasons, Gonzaga has led by 10 or more points in 220 games (tonight) and lost only four.
What’s next: Wednesday at Portland, 10 p.m., ESPN+
Previous ranking: 8
Results 2025-26: 20-2
Stat to know: Iowa State has scored 95 or more points in consecutive conference games for the first time since January 1990.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Baylor, 2 p.m., ESPN
Previous ranking: 10
Results 2025-26: 19-2
Stat to know: Houston has 16 straight home wins, the longest active streak in the Big 12. The Cougars are 49-1 in their last 50 home games.
What’s next: Wednesday vs. UCF, 7 p.m., FS1
Previous ranking: 5
Results 2025-26: 20-2
Stat to know: The Cornhuskers are the eighth program in AP poll history to lose their first two games ever played as a top 5 team. The only other team to do so in the last 40 years was Butler in 2019-20.
What’s next: Saturday at Rutgers, 12 p.m., BTN
Previous ranking: 7
Results 2025-26: 19-3
Stat to know: Michigan State has lost 10 straight games to an AP top 5 team. He hasn’t won one of these matches since beating No. 4 Kentucky in double overtime in November 2022.
What’s next: Wednesday in Minnesota, 7 p.m., BTN
Previous ranking: 14
Results 2025-26: 16-5
Stat to know: This is the first time Kansas’ first 5+ game winning streak in a season has occurred in January or later (or never occurred at all) since 2008-09.
What’s next: Monday at Texas Tech, 9 p.m., ESPN
Previous ranking: 12
Results 2025-26: 18-4
Stat to know: Braden Smith has 954 career assists, passing Greg Anthony (10th at 952) and tying Aaron Miles for ninth on DI’s all-time assists list.
What’s next: Saturday vs. Oregon, 1 p.m., CBS
Previous ranking: 11
Results 2025-26: 16-5
Stat to know: JT Toppin is up to 16 25-point games at Texas Tech, second most in the last 20 seasons after Jarrius Jackson (17). He had 21 games with 20 points and 10 rebounds at Texas Tech – the fourth most such games in Big 12 history, behind Raef LaFrentz (27), Blake Griffin (26) and Michael Beasley (23).
What’s next: Monday vs. Kansas, 9 p.m., ESPN
Previous ranking: 16
Results 2025-26: 17-4
Stat to know: Caleb Wilson now has 15 20-point games this season, breaking a tie with Tyler Hansbrough in 2005-06 (14) for the most such games by a freshman in North Carolina history.
What’s next: Monday vs. Syracuse, 7 p.m., ESPN
Previous ranking: 18
Results 2025-26: 19-3
Stat to know: Vanderbilt is 17-0 when holding opponents to fewer than 80 points this season (2-3 when allowing 80 or more).
What’s next: Saturday vs. Oklahoma, 3:30 p.m., SEC Network
Previous ranking: 13
Results 2025-26: 17-4
Stat to know: AJ Dybantsa is averaging 19.4 points against AP ranked teams with 39% FG. He’s averaging 24.5 points on 57% FG against unranked teams. BYU is 1-4 against ranked AP teams so far this season and 16-0 against unranked teams.
What’s next: Wednesday at Oklahoma State, 9 p.m., FS1
Previous ranking: 19
Results 2025-26: 16-6
Stat to know: Florida outscored Alabama 72-26 in the paint on Sunday, the most paint points by an SEC team in a conference game in the last 20 seasons. The Gators also had just two turnovers (their fewest in any game in the last 30 seasons).
What’s next: Wednesday at South Carolina, 9 p.m., SEC Network
Previous ranking: 17
Results 2025-26: 18-3
Stat to know: Virginia is on a five-game road winning streak, the longest in the last five seasons.
What’s next: Tuesday vs. Pitt, 9 p.m., ACCN
Previous ranking: 21
Results 2025-26: 21-1
Stat to know: Saint Louis has seven 100-point games this season, tied with Georgia, Miami (OH) and Michigan for the most games in Division I. This is the most such games in a season in Atlantic 10 history, breaking a tie with Rhode Island in 1987-88. The Billikens had never had more than three 100-point games in a season before.
What’s next: Tuesday at Davidson, 9 p.m., CBSSN
Previous ranking: 22
Results 2025-26: 18-4
Stat to know: Clemson held an opponent to 16 points in the first half for only the second time this season (vs. Pitt on Saturday, vs. New Hampshire in the season opener). The Tigers had only done it once in the previous four seasons.
What’s next: Wednesday at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACCN
Previous ranking: 15
Results 2025-26: 16-6
Stat to know: Darius Acuff Jr. has 13 20-point games this season, tied with Duke’s Cameron Boozer for third among DI freshmen, behind North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson (15) and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa (14).
What’s next: Saturday at Mississippi State, 12 p.m., ESPN2
Previous ranking: 25
Results 2025-26: 16-5
Stat to know: St. John’s is on a seven-game winning streak.
What’s next: Tuesday at DePaul, 8 p.m., Peacock
Previous ranking: 24
Results 2025-26: 22-0
Stat to know: Miami (OH) is enjoying its longest winning streak in program history and MAC history.
What’s next: Tuesday at Buffalo, 6:30 p.m., ESPN+
Previous ranking: 20
Results 2025-26: 15-6
Stat to know: Louisville leads the ACC in games with at least 10 made 3s (16). It’s also tied for the second-most such games in Division I.
What’s next: Wednesday vs. Notre Dame, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Previous ranking: Unclassified
Results 2025-26: 15-6
Stat to know: Tennessee leads Division I in games played with a plus-15 rebound differential (11).
What’s next: Tuesday vs. Ole Miss, 7 p.m., ESPN2
