After Baylor's stunning 57-36 blowout win in a top-10 battle against Villanova on Sunday, the Bears are the new No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 poll released Monday. Baylor was last ranked No. 1 by the AP voters in February 2020. The Bears spent most of the 2020-21 season at No. 2 and checked in at No. 3 in the final poll of the season, which was released just before Baylor went on its historic run to win the first NCAA Tournament in school history.
There was a time when the Bears being ranked No. 1 would be unusual in men's basketball, but with the success of Scott Drew's program over the last half decade, including the 2021 national championship, being at the top of the sport is now familiar territory.
While Baylor would certainly have a strong argument for No. 1 at 9-0 against anyone, the availability of that top spot was opened prior to the weekend when Purdue, the unanimous No. 1 in last week's balloting, lost to Rutgers at the buzzer in its first game in school history as the No. 1 team in the AP poll. The Boilermakers nearly suffered another defeat at NC State on Sunday but emerged victorious in overtime and dropped two spots to No. 3 in the updated rankings, just behind No. 2 Duke.
Villanova dropped from No. 6 to No. 9 after the 21-point loss to Baylor while Alabama moved up three spots to No. 6 following its thrilling 83-82 win against Houston on Saturday. The Crimson Tide have jumped from No. 16 two weeks ago thanks to wins against Gonzaga and Houston to the cusp of cracking the top five where they were in the final poll last season.
Other notable movers include Texas falling 10 spots to No. 17 after its loss to Seton Hall, which jumped up seven spots to No. 16 after its win. Both USC and Iowa State moved up six spots to No. 10 and No. 11, respectively, as they continued their unbeaten start to the season and Ohio State also moved up six spots to No. 15 after a resounding win against Wisconsin improved the Buckeyes to 8-2 on the season.
Check out the full AP Top 25 poll below:
AP Top 25
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week's ranking:
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baylor (61) | 9-0 | 1,525 | 2 |
| 2 | Duke | 7-1 | 1,429 | 3 |
| 3 | Purdue | 9-1 | 1,319 | 1 |
| 4 | UCLA | 9-1 | 1,312 | 4 |
| 5 | Gonzaga | 8-2 | 1,291 | 5 |
| 6 | Alabama | 8-1 | 1,202 | 9 |
| 7 | Kansas | 8-1 | 1,181 | 8 |
| 8 | Arizona | 9-0 | 1,172 | 11 |
| 9 | Villanova | 7-3 | 924 | 6 |
| 10 | USC | 10-0 | 810 | 16 |
| 11 | Iowa State | 10-0 | 798 | 17 |
| 12 | Michigan State | 9-2 | 707 | 19 |
| 13 | Auburn | 8-1 | 693 | 18 |
| 14 | Houston | 8-2 | 683 | 14 |
| 15 | Ohio State | 8-2 | 656 | 21 |
| 16 | Seton Hall | 9-1 | 635 | 23 |
| 17 | Texas | 6-2 | 583 | 7 |
| 18 | Tennessee | 7-2 | 390 | 13 |
| 19 | LSU | 9-0 | 376 | 25 |
| 20 | UConn | 9-2 | 360 | 15 |
| 21 | Kentucky | 7-2 | 345 | 10 |
| 22 | Xavier | 9-1 | 301 | NR |
| 23 | Colorado State | 10-0 | 251 | NR |
| 24 | Arkansas | 9-1 | 241 | 12 |
| 25 | Texas Tech | 7-1 | 164 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Wisconsin 156, North Carolina 85, Providence 57, Oklahoma 46, San Francisco 36, Illinois 31, West Virginia 24, Loyola Chicago 20, Michigan 8, St. Bonaventure 6, BYU 4, Minnesota 3, Creighton 1
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