College basketball rankings: Purdue takes No. 1, Tennessee, Kansas State move into top five in Coaches Poll

The Coaches Poll falls in line with the AP Top 25 rankings by putting the Boilermakers at the top

By David Cobb

Jan 23, 2023 at 1:13 pm ET • 1 min read

USATSI

Purdue made it a clean sweep of the new college basketball rankings on Monday, when the Boilermakers came in at No. 1 in the Coaches Poll after also claiming the top spot in the AP Top 25. Their return to No. 1 came as Houston dropped two spots to No. 3 following a stunning 56-55 home loss to Temple on Sunday.

The Boilermakers received 24 of 32 possible first-place votes to edge out Alabama for the top spot as the Crimson Tide moved up two spots to No. 2. At 19-1, Purdue has won six in a row since a Jan. 2 home loss against Rutgers that cost the Boilermakers an undefeated record and the top spot in the polls.

But three of the Boilermakers' wins in that stretch have come by a combined six points as they emerged with one-possession victories over Ohio State, Michigan State and Maryland this month. By contrast, the Crimson Tide are 17-2 but have been dominating opponents recently.

Alabama has won eight straight with every victory in that span coming by double digits. Alabama's only losses this season on neutral floors against UConn and Gonzaga, and its resume includes wins over Michigan State, North Carolina, Memphis and a road win over Houston. Purdue's best non conference victories are against Duke, West Virginia and Marquette.

Tennessee and Kansas State rounded out the top-five in this week's Coaches Poll as the Volunteers rose five spots to No. 4 and Kansas State jumped a whopping 10 spots to No. 5.

Florida Atlantic made its first appearance in the Coaches Poll at No. 24 after improving its winning streak to 18 over the weekend. Voters went with the Owls over a couple of resurgent blue bloods as both Indiana and Kentucky were left in the "others receiving votes" category this week despite three-game winning streaks that have helped turn their seasons around.