FAU snuck up on teams last season en route to its magical NCAA Tournament run that culminated with a a Final Four appearance, but it will be unable to do so this season after a resounding win over No. 4 Arizona over the weekend that catapulted it to its highest AP Top 25 ranking. After its 96-95 double-overtime victory vs. the Wildcats, the cat is out of the bag on the Owls, who on Monday moved up seven spots in the poll, from No. 14 to No. 7, the biggest riser in the latest men’s rankings that bested its previous AP-high of No. 10.
Despite five of the top 10 ranked teams falling this past week, the top five of the rankings — led by No. 1 Purdue — remained the same in the refreshed rankings on Christmas Day. Purdue garnered 46 of a possible 60 first-place votes to cling to the top spot for a second consecutive week, while No. 2 Kansas received five and No. 3 Houston earned the remaining nine. Arizona and UConn — fresh off losses to conference foes and bounce back wins — retained their spots at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively.
That was good news for the Big East and for the Pac-12 but across the region in the Big 12, voters weren’t as kind. Big 12 programs Oklahoma and Baylor fell five and seven spots to No. 12 and No. 17, respectively, after going 0-2 and 1-1 on the week. The losses were good news for UNC, which moved into the top 10 at No. 9 after taking down Oklahoma, and for Kentucky, which moved up one spot to No. 8 after dismantling rival Louisville in its lone outing of the week. Marquette fell four spots but rounded out the top 10 at No. 10 after a 1-1 week with a loss at Providence and a resounding win over Georgetown.
Among fallers, the Big East was not immune entirely this week, as no team fell more precipitously than Creighton this week. Creighton fell 10 spots to No. 22 after losing to Villanova in overtime, marking its second loss in its last three games as it dropped to 9-3 on the season.
AP Top 25
1. Purdue (46)
2. Kansas (5)
3. Houston (9)
4. Arizona
5. UConn
6. Tennessee
7. FAU
8. Kentucky
9. North Carolina
10. Marquette
11. Illinois
12. Oklahoma
13. Gonzaga
14. BYU
15. Colorado State
16. Duke
17. Baylor
18. Clemson
19. Memphis
20. James Madison
21. Texas
22. Creighton
23. Wisconsin
24. Ole Miss
25. Providence
Others receiving votes: Auburn 121, Colorado 64, Miami 51, Utah 45, Virginia 40, Iowa St. 21, Nevada 13, Ohio St. 10, Texas A&M 9, San Diego St. 8, Michigan St. 8, Villanova 6, New Mexico 6, Northwestern 5, Dayton 4, Grand Canyon 3, South Carolina 2, Mississippi St. 2, Alabama 2, Princeton 1.
