USA Today College Basketball Coaches Poll Top 25 released with new No. 1

The latest USA Today college basketball coaches poll top 25 rankings were released after a weekend featuring upsets and now a new No. 1 team.

It’s still early in the season, but a month in, it’s fair to say we see some national title contenders playing some great basketball. But that’s the beauty, there’s still plenty to play this winter.

Let’s dive into the latest coaches poll rankings from USA Today after the fifth week of the season.

1. Arizona (+1)

Arizona remained undefeated with a win over Colgate, 82-55. The Wildcats are well balanced and easily a national title contender to this point.

Caleb Love has been a great addition and the big men such as Keshad Johnson and Oumar Ballo were great contributors over the first month. Good luck stopping this team.

2. Houston (+3)

Houston improved to 8-0 with a win over Xavier to go into last weekend. LJ Cryer is what the kids call: a dog. He had 23 points in the latest win.

Good balance with Jamal Shead, Emanuel Sharp and J’wan Roberts will be key as the Cougars go throughout the season. Coming up is Rice, Jackson State and then Texas A&M.

3. Kansas (+3)

The biggest win going into the weekend, arguably, was Kansas beating defending champion UConn. Nice tip of the cap to Bill Self and crew here.

The Jayhawks improved to 7-1 on the year led by Kevin McCullar Jr., who put up 21 points and five rebounds. Hunter Dickinson added 15 points and nine rebounds to aid the effort to a top five win.

4. Purdue (-3)

Purdue suffered another loss on the road as a No. 1 team in the country, this time 92-88 to Northwestern. The Boilermakers are still very talented, but we’ve seen this movie before.

Coming up next is a tough stretch. Iowa at home, at Alabama and then a big date with Arizona in the middle of December. Woof.

5. UConn (-1)

UConn fell to Kansas in a top five matchup from last week. This one was painful since it was 69-65, a razor thin margin.

The defending national champions are right there and could very well win it again. But right now, the Jayhawks are just slightly better. Still early though for Dan Hurley’s crew.

6. Baylor (+3)

Baylor went into the weekend with a 91-40 win over NW State and remained undefeated. However, the Bears will get tested coming out.

Seton Hall, Michigan State and Duke are the next three contests. Can Baylor go 3-0 in that stretch? Certainly possible and it might be time to talk about the Bears as title contenders if they do.

7. Marquette (-4)

Marquette suffered its second loss of the season, an upset at Wisconsin. It wasn’t the finest moment for the squad early on in 2023-24.

Don’t look now, but Shaka Smart and company have a big test coming up Wednesday. The Texas Longhorns, Smart’s former school, looks to hand Marquette another upset.

8. Gonzaga (+2)

Gonzaga ended the weekend with a win over USC before returning to the floor Tuesday. AR-Pine Bluff, Washington and MS Valley are next before a true test against UConn.

In the win over the Trojans, six players scored in double figures, led by Dusty Stromer and Ryan Nembhard, who each had 15. Now that’s great balance by the Bulldogs.

9. Florida Atlantic (+8)

Florida Atlantic improved to 7-1 on the season with a win over Charleston but now a big test comes on Tuesday. The Owls will head to Champaign to take on Illinois.

In the latest win, Johnell Davis was awesome. He put up 24 points, 10 rebounds and three assists to lead the way. Giancarlo Rosado added 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

10. North Carolina (+6)

The Tar Heels improved to 7-1 on the season with a 78-70 win over Florida State. This team’s been hot and now climbing up the polls.

RJ Davis was awesome against the Seminoles. In his great performance, Davis had 27 points, three rebounds and five assists to lead the team. Armando Bacot had 13 points and 13 boards to assist the effort.

Rest of Coaches Poll Top 25

11. Creighton (+3)
12. Colorado State (+9)
T-13. Tennessee (-2)
T-13. BYU (+6)
15. Miami (-7)
16. Texas (+2)
17. Kentucky (-5)
18. Illinois (+6)
19. Texas A&M (-6)
20. Clemson (NR)
21. Duke (-14)
22. Oklahoma (+9)
23. Virginia (NR)
24. James Madison (-1)
25. Ohio State (NR)

Dropped out: No. 15 Villanova; No. 20 Alabama; No. 22 Mississippi State; No. 25 Michigan State

Receiving votes: Wisconsin 66; Alabama 55; TCU 53; Michigan State 42; Princeton 38; San Diego State 34; Northwestern 24; Ole Miss 23; Iowa State 23; Auburn 21; UCLA 17; Nevada 13; Memphis 9; Florida State 8; Cincinnati 8; Villanova 5; Utah 5; USC 5; Mississippi State 2

Another week is in the books as we get closer to the holiday season. Basically, we’re just about a third of the way through before March Madness. Just getting warmed up.