College basketball rankings: UCLA right on heels of new No. 1 Villanova in AP Top 25
Villanova takes over the No. 1 spot but UCLA and Baylor move up too
By
Kyle Boone
•
2 min read
This weekend of college hoops had a little bit of everything. No. 1 Kentucky fell at home. No. 10 Baylor notched another top-10 win. And Saturday's big slate of games caused a shakeup, once again, at the top of the poll.
Below is the updated AP Top 25.
Below is the AP Top 25 college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Dec. 4, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week's ranking:
| Team | Record | Points | Previous |
| 1. Villanova (57) | 8-0 | 1613 | 2 |
| 2. UCLA (2) | 9-0 | 1478 | 11 |
| 3. Kansas | 7-1 | 1458 | 4 |
| 4. Baylor (6) | 8-0 | 1437 | 9 |
| 5. Duke | 8-1 | 1389 | 5 |
| 6. Kentucky | 7-1 | 1274 | 1 |
| 7. North Carolina | 8-1 | 1234 | 3 |
| 8. Gonzaga | 8-0 | 1198 | 8 |
| 9. Indiana | 7-1 | 1103 | 13 |
| 10. Creighton | 8-0 | 1003 | 10 |
| 11. Louisville | 7-1 | 901 | 14 |
| 12. Saint Mary's (Cal) | 6-0 | 899 | 12 |
| 13. Xavier | 7-1 | 784 | 7 |
| 14. Virginia | 7-1 | 758 | 6 |
| 15. West Virginia | 6-1 | 729 | 25 |
| 16. Butler | 8-0 | 691 | 18 |
| 17. Wisconsin | 7-2 | 655 | 17 |
| 18. Purdue | 6-2 | 485 | 15 |
| 19. South Carolina | 8-0 | 476 | 20 |
| 20. Arizona | 6-2 | 320 | 16 |
| 21. Florida | 7-1 | 285 | 24 |
| 22. Cincinnati | 7-1 | 258 | - |
| 23. Notre Dame | 8-0 | 197 | - |
| 24. Oregon | 7-2 | 175 | 23 |
| 25. Iowa State | 5-2 | 95 | 19 |
Others receiving votes: Syracuse 45, Southern Cal 43, Ohio State 40, TCU 33, Florida State 18, Virginia Tech 11, California 10, Maryland 9, Valparaiso 7, Wichita State 5, Temple 3, Michigan State 3, Minnesota 1, Fort Wayne 1, UNC Wilmington 1.
Here are our takeaways from this week's AP Top 25:
1. Baylor's resume warrants a higher ranking
If we're replacing the Baylor logo with the Kansas logo on the front of the jersey, I'm not so sure Baylor isn't the new No. 1. The Bears have three top-10 wins over Oregon, Louisville and now Xavier. They are 8-0. They have five top-35 KenPom wins. And the way they're playing, they'll likely start their conference slate undefeated.
2. UCLA's stock is sky high
Jump on the bandwagon now, because it's almost full. The Bruins are hot, fresh off a win over No. 1 Kentucky. On the road. At Rupp Arena. Lonzo Ball gets all the attention but the Bruins proved Saturday they are more than just a one-trick pony. They have an incredibly deep, talented back court who can shoot the lights out. They're shooting 3-pointers at a 45.4 percent clip, which is second in the country, and have made more than any other team. Good luck slowing them down.
3. Villanova's mission to repeat looks feasible
Josh Hart recorded the first triple-double for Villanova in more than three decades this weekend. The Wildcats have been the Steady Eddie team of the season behind him, now 8-0 coming off a win in the Holy War rivalry against Saint Joseph's. Their road win against Purdue is their most impressive thus far. But how they are winning is what is most impressive: Seven of their eight wins have come by double digits. Nova will put its newly minted No. 1 ranking on the line immediately as the Wildcats face undefeated Notre Dame, now ranked No. 23, at 12 p.m. Saturday in the Never Forget Tribute Classic on CBS and live streaming on CBSSports.com
