An 8-0 start to the season with four victories over top-20 teams has the Arizona Wildcats men’s basketball team ranked No. 1 in the country heading into a Saturday meeting with No. 12 Alabama.
The Wildcats last held The Associated Press poll’s No. 1 ranking for two weeks in December 2023, when they got off to an 8-0 start before a loss to then-No. 3 Purdue.
Head coach Tommy Lloyd’s team began this year ranked No. 13 in the AP’s top 25 but leapt into the top four with a win over then-No. 3 Florida to begin the year. The resume-building since then has included wins against then-No. 15 UCLA and previous-No. 3 UConn, the second of which was a true road game.
A 97-68 blowout against No. 20 Auburn on Saturday, combined with former No. 1 Purdue falling 81-58 against Iowa State, set up the Wildcats to jump into the top ranking.
The No. 2 Michigan Wolverines remain hot on their heels with a similar 8-0 record after a 101-60 blowout against Rutgers.
The Wildcats received 33 of 60 first-place votes and edged No. 2 Michigan, which earned 19 first-place votes.
The Wolverines also moved up one spot for their best ranking since March 2021.
Duke claimed six first-place votes and moved up to No. 3. And the Cyclones parlayed their big win in West Lafayette, Indiana, into a six-spot climb to No. 4 and a first-place vote. Iowa State has never been ranked No. 1 in the AP poll era, which began with the 1948-49 season.
The NCAA NET rankings, which are used for NCAA Tournament resumes, have the top three in the country, in order, of Michigan, Duke and Iowa State. Arizona is No. 6.
Six Big 12 teams are in the top 25. Oklahoma State (54 points), TCU (2) and Arizona State (2) additionally earned top 25 votes.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
AP top 25 poll: Arizona Wildcats rise to No. 1
Record Pts Prv 1. Arizona (33) 8-0 1461 2 2. Michigan (19) 8-0 1440 3 3. Duke (7) 10-0 1400 4 4. Iowa St. (1) 9-0 1304 10 5. UConn 8-1 1263 5 6. Purdue 8-1 1173 1 7. Houston 8-1 1064 8 8. Gonzaga 9-1 1054 11 9. Michigan St. 8-1 1017 7 10. BYU 7-1 1007 9 11. Louisville 8-1 877 6 12. Alabama 7-2 854 12 13. Illinois 7-2 771 14 14. North Carolina 8-1 724 16 15. Vanderbilt 9-0 686 17 16. Texas Tech 7-2 508 19 17. Arkansas 7-2 488 25 18. Florida 5-3 422 15 19. Kansas 7-3 380 21 20. Tennessee 7-3 286 13 21. Auburn 7-3 264 20 22. St. John’s 5-3 254 23 23. Nebraska 9-0 180 – 24. Virginia 8-1 130 – 25. UCLA 7-2 79 –Others receiving votes: Iowa 60, Oklahoma St. 54, Southern Cal 50, Georgia 49, Saint Mary’s 38, Seton Hall 31, Kentucky 29, Wisconsin 24, Indiana 18, Clemson 14, LSU 14, Villanova 9, California 6, Notre Dame 4, Miami 4, SMU 3, TCU 2, Arizona St 2, Miami (Ohio) 2, St. Bonaventure 1.
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