Coaches Poll Top 25 updated for college basketball following Feast Week

On Monday, the USA Today Coaches Poll received its latest update following a loaded Feast Week of college hoops over Thanksgiving.

Seven days full of turkey and holiday hoops brought pandemonium to the new Coaches Poll ranking for this upcoming week. Purdue takes over the top spot after a very impressive week down at the Maui Invitational, which was played in Honolulu this season, where the Boilermakers defeated ranked Gonzaga and Tennessee teams before toppling previously No. 5 Marquette in the title. They’re the toast of Feast Week and lead the way in Monday’s new poll.

Take a look at the full Coaches Poll rankings below:

1. Purdue

What a week for Matt Painter’s group, who made a similar splash at this time in each of the last two seasons as well. With Zach Edey surrounded by a slightly deeper and more athletic and versatile supporting cats, Purdue looked elite as they mowed down top-10-ranked Gonzaga, Tennessee and Marquette teams.

As a result of those wins plus a loss from No. 1 Kansas, Purdue leaps to the top spot, where they also reside in most analytical models as well. Sure, it’s early and we all know how the ’21, ’22 and ’23 seasons ended for this program. But at the very least, Painter is going to threaten for a No. 1 seed and another Big Ten title.

2. Arizona

While many of the other top-ranked teams cannibalized themselves in Honolulu or at various other holiday tournaments, the Wildcats won a home game vs. UT Arlington and then became the latest club to defeat a struggling Michigan State team on a neutral court.

With wins over MSU and at Duke while remaining undefeated, Arizona moves up to a worthy No. 2. As for the team itself, there’s such balance with Tommy Lloyd’s third group in Tucson. Six players average between 10 and 14 points per game while the rotation stretches out to a very reliable eight or nine, with no one player dominating the ball.

3. Marquette

The Golden Eagles suffered their first loss of the season vs. now-No. 1 Purdue, but have nothing to hang their heads over on the way back from Hawaii. Marquette certainly lived up to their billing and then some in the Maui Invite, finishing runner-up while surprising folks by handling Kansas after barely getting by UCLA in the tourney opener.

Tyler Kolek, Kam Jones and especially Oso Ighodaro were all terrific in the Thanksgiving Week event, but the depth of the Golden Eagles appears stronger than last season. Those main three still rack up most of the stats, but the surrounding pieces are a year older and better after many served the same roles a year ago.

4. UConn

The Huskies are smashing opponents to start the year. In the four-team Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden, UConn kicked things off by blasting Indiana 77-57 to move on and face Texas. After the Longhorns needed a miraculous buzzer-beater to defeat lowly Louisville, UConn made quick work of them in an 81-71 victory, giving the Huskies a pair of solid wins to hang their hats on.

In those wins plus the others against some low-major foes, UConn is putting up some blistering efficiency numbers on both ends of the court. Per Bart Torvik’s raw points-per-possession data, the Huskies are outscoring the opposition by 43 points per 100 possessions. That’s good for No. 2 in the country right now, just behind BYU at 44.4.

5. Houston

The Cougars still haven’t faced a lot of stiff competition but they did pick up some decent resume wins as they stampeded their way to the Shriner’s Children’s Charleston Classic trophy. Houston got the better of a physically challenging Utah team that deploys two seven-footers, then beat a surging Dayton team by 14 to win the event.

Challenges against Xavier and Texas A&M remain in the non-conference before Kelvin Sampson has to ready his guys for the program’s first run through the Big 12 gauntlet, but for now, UH is undefeated. And after a slightly slow start to the year shooting the ball from deep, LJ Cryer has turned it on. He made 45.8% of his threes in Charleston and is shooting right at 45% from deep over his last five games.

6. Kansas

The Jayhawks are yet another of the top-ranked teams who left the Maui Invitational wreckage with some scars but also a terrific win. The Jayhawks drew Chaminade in the first game and disposed of them with ease before getting shown up by Marquette, who held KU to under 60 points in a victory by double-digits.

Bill Self did salvage the trip by scoring what will be a massive resume win down the road by toppling Tennessee on a neutral court. The Volunteers were the odd team out among the handful of top-10 clubs in Honolulu, picking up two losses to Purdue and Kansas (the only teams to be ranked No. 1 this year) while beating Syracuse. But as they get into conference play, that win will look very good for the Jayhawks.

7. Duke

The Blue Devils slide up thanks to a couple of ho-hum blowout wins over mid-majors while half of the top-10 ate each other alive five time zones away. With a win over Michigan State not looking all that impressive, it’s hard to judge the Blue Devils just yet with the loss to No. 2 Arizona and no other results of real note.

But that changes this week as Duke faces a pair of road tests this week, starting with the much more difficult of the two: a trip to Bud Walton Arena to face Arkansas. Don’t let the Razorbacks’ loss to UNC Greensboro fool you, that arena will have the energy of 10 Taylor Swift concerts while the talent and athleticism on the actual Arkansas roster makes them threatening in any matchup. Then, the Blue Devils will head over a couple states to open ACC play at a struggling Georgia Tech game.

8. Miami (FL)

The Hurricanes actually had the entire last week off after taking care of business in their multi-team event last weekend. At the Baha Mar Invitational, The U scored an 11-point win over Georgia and then an eight-point victory over Kansas State, their second and third power-conference wins of the season along with a 16-point win over UCF.

Miami’s undefeated start to the year and surge into the top 10 sets up one of the premier games of the non-conference slate: at Kentucky. Miami and Kentucky both play micro ball compared to most teams in the country, deploying small and versatile big men while allowing their elite respective perimeter talent dominate the ball. These are two fun and free-flowing offenses set to do battle in Lexington this week.

9. Baylor

Baylor once again possesses a high-powered offense driven by elite guard play. Freshman Ja’Kobe Walter is a lightning bolt scorer while the older guys also contribute on the scoreboard but chip in elsewhere. For instance, Toledo transfer RayJ Dennis is a nice table-setter under Scott Drew, while Jayden Nunn is a terrific defender with a nice three-point stroke and Langston Love can fill in at any spot in the backcourt.

Such talent at the 1-3 spots with plenty of veteran leadership inside makes this perhaps the most dangerous Baylor team since the 2021 champions. With wins over Auburn, Florida and Oregon State in the month of November, they’re starting to prove such a statement.

10. Gonzaga

The Maui Bump is very, very real this season as now four teams from the event have found themselves in the top 10 of the coaches poll — even though they all beat each other up during the actual tournament. The Zags drew the short straw with Purdue in the opening round, lost to them and then rebounded to beat Syracuse and UCLA in the final two games.

It’s a shame Gonzaga didn’t get to face at least one of Marquette, Kansas or Tennessee in another game out in the islands for a second big test. Syracuse is rebuilding with a brand new coach for the first time in 50 years while UCLA’s roster just isn’t in contender shape any more. Alas, the Zags do get a few more marquee non-conference matchups with games vs. USC, UConn and Kentucky all coming up.

Coaches Poll 11-25

11. Tennessee
12. Kentucky
13. Texas A&M
14. Creighton
15. Villanova
16. North Carolina
17. FAU
18. Texas
19. BYU
20. Alabama
21. Colorado State
22. Mississippi State
23. James Madison
24. Illinois
25. Michigan State

Others receiving votes: Memphis 63; Virginia 54; UCLA 46; TCU 45; San Diego State 45; Oklahoma 44; Colorado 43; Ohio State 37; Clemson 27; Auburn 26; Princeton 24; Nevada 11; Iowa State 11; USC 7; Liberty 6; Bradley 4; Cincinnati 2; Arkansas 2; Florida 1