This week in men’s college basketball wasn’t quite as chaotic as the previous one. There were, however, a handful of results that shook up the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll.
The top three spots remain unchanged. Connecticut will spend another week at No. 1, receiving 24 of 32 first-place votes after staving off a tough challenge from Villanova over the weekend. Purdue holds at No. 2 while claiming the remaining eight firsts, and North Carolina hangs on at No. 3.
The shifting begins at No. 4 as losses by Kansas and Duke created a couple of openings. Houston is back up to the fourth spot, and Tennessee vaults two places to No. 5. A couple other SEC squads follow on the heels of the Volunteers as Auburn and Kentucky land in a tie for sixth. Kansas drops four positions to No. 8.
TOP 25: Complete USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball poll
Arizona and Wisconsin round out the top 10 as Duke tumbles six places to No. 12 after a surprise loss to Pittsburgh. Baylor also slips out of the top 10, taking a five-spot drop to No. 14.
It was a rough week for Memphis, as a pair of losses send the Tigers tumbling 10 places to No. 22. Dayton makes a big move in the upward direction, vaulting six positions to No. 17.
The Mountain West gains a pair of ranked squads as Colorado State rejoins the poll at No. 23 and New Mexico makes its season debut at No. 25. It’s just a net gain of one for the conference, however, as San Diego State falls out. Florida Atlantic is also back in at No. 24.
Mississippi and TCU are the week’s other dropouts.
