AP men's basketball Top 25: Arizona falls again, this time to Stanford, as conference play gets underway

It's now officially 2024, which means conference play is either already underway or coming up this week for just about everyone in college basketball.

Here’s everything you missed in Week 8 of the season, and the latest AP Top 25:

Arizona drops again

Arizona dropped a third game Sunday afternoon in what was just the latest stumble for the Wildcats.

Unranked Stanford, led by freshman Kanaan Carlyle’s 25 points, knocked off Arizona, 100-82. It marked Arizona’s third loss in its last six games, and it was much worse than last week’s double-overtime loss to FAU.

Stanford led the entire way at Maples Pavilion, and they held Arizona to just seven 3-pointers as a team en route to the 18-point win. Spencer Jones added 21 points and shot an impressive 8-of-9 from the field to add to Carlyle’s night, which gave the Cardinal its first win over a ranked opponent since it beat Arizona last season. Caleb Love dropped 23 points to lead the Wildcats on Sunday, but Omar Ballo was the only other player to hit double figures.

As a result, Arizona fell to No. 10 this week in the poll. The Wildcats’ loss last week to FAU didn’t cause them to drop any, though this stretch of losses is starting to pile up as Pac-12 play gets underway.

Dunk City stuns FAU

Speaking of FAU, the Owls were knocked off by Florida Gulf Coast last week.

The old “Dunk City” program beat FAU 72-68 on Saturday night, which marked the biggest upset in program history. They led nearly the entire way, and — despite scoring just four points in the final 3:40 of the game — held on to the four-point win.

FAU, which is fresh off its Final Four run last season, fell 10 spots to No. 17 this week in the poll. The Owls have now lost three times this season, but they’ve picked up a win over then-No. 12 Texas A&M to go with the Arizona win in their nonconference slate.

What about Illinois?

Illinois had no issue getting past Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday, but the Illini’s immediate future is unclear now that Terrance Shannon is out.

Illinois suspended Shannon — who was the team’s leading scorer and an All-American candidate — on Thursday after he was arrested on rape charges. The incident allegedly occurred in Lawrence, Kansas, in September when Shannon was in town for the Illinois-Kansas football game.

Shannon had averaged 21.7 points and shot over 40% from behind the arc through 11 games this season. The Illini had reached No. 11 in the polls with him, too, which made them a real threat to take the Big Ten away from Purdue. Their win on Friday moved them to 10-2 on the season, which jumped them to No. 9 this week.

Illinois will take on Northwestern on Tuesday before a matchup with the top-ranked Boilermakers on Friday. Assuming Shannon is still out — he could be gone the rest of the year — it’s unclear how long Illinois can keep this pace up.

Games to watch this week

Friday, Jan. 5
No. 9 Illinois at No. 1 Purdue | 8:30 p.m. ET | FS1

Saturday, Jan. 6
No. 8 North Carolina at No. 16 Clemson | 12 p.m. ET | ESPN2
No. 23 Providence at Creighton | 2 p.m. ET | FS1
No. 22 Ole Miss at No. 5 Tennessee | 6 p.m. ET | SEC Network

AP Top 25

The full AP Top 25 poll from Jan. 1, 2024

1. Purdue (12-1)

2. Kansas (12-1)

3. Houston (13-0)

4. UConn (11-2)

5. Tennessee (9-3)

6. Kentucky (10-2)

7. Marquette (11-3)

8. North Carolina (9-3)

9. Illinois (10-2)

10. Arizona (10-3)

11. Oklahoma (12-1)

12. BYU (12-1)

13. Colorado State (12-1)

14. Duke (9-3)

15. Memphis (11-2)

16. Clemson (11-1)

17. FAU (10-3)

18. Baylor (10-2)

19. James Madison (13-0)

20. Texas (10-2)

21. Wisconsin (9-3)

22. Ole Miss (13-0)

23. Providence (11-2)

24. Gonzaga (9-4)

25. Auburn (10-2)
Others receiving votes: San Diego State 113, Creighton 106, Colorado 86, Utah 82, Miami 41, Iowa State 22, Michigan State 15, Nevada 13, Texas A&M 13, Ohio State 8, New Mexico 6, Dayton 5, Grand Canyon 5, South Carolina 4, Mississippi State 4, Northwestern 3, Villanova 3, Alabama 3