Arizona jumps to No. 2 behind
Purdue in AP Top 25, Alabama into top 10; Kansas falls out of rankings
[November 25, 2025]
By AARON BEARD
Purdue remained at No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college
basketball poll, while Arizona jumped to No. 2 to continue its
opening-month rise after another impressive win against a ranked
opponent.
The Boilermakers (6-0) earned 46 of 61 first-place votes in Monday’s
poll to remain at the top after beating then-No. 15 Texas Tech by 30
to win the Baha Mar Championship in the Bahamas.
The Wildcats (5-0) earned 11 first-place votes to jump two spots.
That came after last week’s win at then-No. 3 UConn, part of run
that began with a victory over reigning NCAA champion Florida in Las
Vegas and a win against a ranked UCLA team in Los Angeles.
Arizona was ranked No. 13 in the preseason AP Top 25, but jumped to
No. 5 after the Florida win before inching up to No. 4 last week.
The top tier
Houston, which spent a week at No. 1 earlier this month, slid a spot
to No. 3 to make room for the Wildcats, while Duke and UConn rounded
out the top five.
Louisville, Michigan, Alabama, BYU and Florida rounded out the top
10, with the Crimson Tide rising from No. 11 after its win against
then-No. 8 Illinois in Chicago.
Rising
No. 11 Michigan State had the week's biggest jump, climbing six
spots after beating Kentucky in the Champions Classic.
No. 17 Tennessee climbed three spots, while No. 16 North Carolina
and No. 23 N.C. State each rose two spots.
In all, 11 teams moved up from last week's poll.
Sliding
Kentucky's 17-point loss to the Spartans triggered the week's
biggest fall of seven spots to No. 19, while the 13th-ranked Illini
and 20th-ranked Red Raiders each tumbled five spots.
In all, six teams fell from last week's poll.
Status quo
Six teams stayed locked in last week's position, including five of
the top 10 teams and No. 14 St. John's.
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Arizona guard Jaden Bradley (0) is guarded by UConn guard Malachi
Smith in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game,
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, in Storrs, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Comings and goings
No. 24 Vanderbilt and No. 25 Indiana were the new additions to the
poll, replacing Wisconsin (No. 23 last week) and Kansas (24th).
The Commodores spent one week at No. 24 last season, which before
Monday stood as the only AP Top 25 ranking for the program since
December 2015.
It is the second straight year the Jayhawks, who lost to Duke in the
Champions Classic last week, have fallen out of the poll at least
once. Before last season, Kansas had been ranked in every poll but
one — missing one week during the 2020-21 season played amid the
COVID-19 pandemic — dating to the 2009-10 season.
Conference watch
The Southeastern Conference didn't have a team ranked higher than
eighth, yet posted the biggest overall haul of any conference with
seven ranked teams, including No. 21 Auburn and No. 22 Arkansas.
The Big Ten was next with six AP Top 25 teams, followed by the Big
12 with five, the Atlantic Coast Conference with four, the Big East
with two and the West Coast Conference with one.
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