AP Top 25 Poll updated as regular season enters final week

The regular season is winding down in college basketball, with just one week left before conference tournaments get underway. The action hasn’t slowed down, though, as a wild weekend has resulted in more big changes to the AP Top 25 Poll.

Out of the 25 teams ranked entering the week, just nine left unscathed. 12 teams picked up one loss, while four picked up two losses.

The top four – No. 1 Houston, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Kansas and No. 4 UCLA – survived the week with no losses. No. 10 Marquette did as well, but the rest of the top ten wasn’t as lucky. No. 6 Virginia picked up two losses on the week against Boston College and North Carolina. No. 5 Purdue, No. 7 Arizona, No. 8 Texas and No. 9 Baylor also picked up one loss on the week, with Texas’ defeat coming at the hands of Baylor on Saturday.

In addition to Virginia, three other teams had disappointing 0-2 weeks. No. 19 Creighton lost to Marquette and Villanova. No. 21 Northwestern fell against Illinois and Maryland. No. 23 Iowa State lost to Texas and Oklahoma.

This week’s poll has definitely shifted following the previous week of surprises. After all, 16 of the top 25 coming into the week played at least one game against another top 25 team, resulting in some interesting changes to the updated rankings.

Updated AP Top 25 Poll

1. Houston (27-2)
2. Alabama (25-4)
3. Kansas (24-5)
4. UCLA (25-4)
5. Purdue (24-5)
6. Marquette (23-6)
7. Baylor (21-8)
8. Arizona (24-5)
9. Texas (22-7)
10. Gonzaga (25-5)
11. Kansas State (22-7)
12. Tennessee (21-8)
13. Virginia (21-6)
14. UConn (22-7)
15. Indiana (20-9)
16. Miami (23-6)
17. Saint Mary’s (25-6)
18. San Diego State (23-5)
19. Xavier (21-8)
20. Providence (21-8)
21. Maryland (20-9)
22. TCU (19-10)
23. Kentucky (20-9)
24. Texas A&M (21-8)
25. Pittsburgh (21-8)

Maryland, Kentucky, and Pittsburgh join this week’s rankings, taking the places of Creighton (previously No. 19), Northwestern (previously No. 21) and Iowa State (previously No. 23).

Creighton still finished at No. 26, receiving 87 votes. Duke (78), Oral Roberts (40), Northwestern (39), Florida Atlantic (25), Iowa State (20), Nevada (17), Missouri (16), Arkansas (7), NC State (6), Charleston (6), Clemson (5), Memphis (4), Boise State (3), VCU (1) and West Virginia (1) also received votes.

Virginia was the week’s biggest faller, dropping seven spots from No. 6 to No. 13. Three teams rose four spots – Marquette, UConn and San Diego State.