AP men's basketball Top 25: UConn, Purdue hold strong as Big 12 chaos continues
The Big 12 has eight different teams ranked in the top 25 this week
There are only about six weeks left before conference tournaments kick off, and it’s still anybody’s race in the Big 12.
Here’s everything you missed in Week 12 of the season, and the latest Associated Press men’s basketball poll.
More Big 12 chaos
There’s no doubting how great the Big 12 conference truly is. The league has eight teams ranked inside the top 25 this week, and easily has multiple legitimate national title contenders.
But it's very hard to keep up with, and almost impossible to know who is going to come out on top.
Outside of No. 4 Houston — which seems to have found its footing after back-to-back losses early in conference play — the rest of the Big 12 was extremely chaotic this past week. Iowa State knocked off Kansas at Hilton Coliseum, but that win came days after the Cyclones were hit with cheating allegations after a win over Kansas State. The Cyclones jumped up 11 spots to No. 12 this week, while Kansas fell to No. 8 in the poll.
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Oklahoma fell twice last week, too, first to unranked Texas and then again on Saturday in a one-point battle with Texas Tech. That sent the Sooners tumbling 12 spots to No. 23 this week. Texas Tech jumped to No. 15. Though Texas looked great against the Sooners, BYU flew past the Longhorns by double digits on Saturday — but only after yet another “Horns Down” scandal. The Cougars are ranked No. 22 this week.
TCU, which has several huge wins under its belt already, beat Baylor in three overtimes on Saturday, too. Jameer Nelson hit a huge putback go-ahead shot in the third overtime to seal the three-point win in Waco. The Bears have now dropped three straight games, and have fallen to No. 18. TCU re-entered the poll at No. 25.
The Big 12 won’t get any easier this week. Houston and Texas will square off in Austin on Monday night, and then the Cougars will travel to Lawrence on Saturday to take on Kansas. Baylor will try to snap its losing skid against UCF before Iowa State comes to town on Saturday, too.
We’re still about a month out, but the Big 12 tournament is going to be a ton of fun in Kansas City in March.
Zach Edey hits rare milestone
Zach Edey and Purdue kept cruising this past week.
The Boilermakers won back-to-back games handily, first with a 32-point win over Michigan and then with a road win over Rutgers on Sunday. Edey had 26 points against the Scarlet Knights, which brought him to the 2,000-point mark in his career. He’s now just the sixth player in Big Ten history to have at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in his career.
✅ 2,000 career points
✅ 1,000 career rebounds
Zach Edey joined a prestigious group today. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/PID2m9DBox— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 28, 2024
The Boilermakers stayed at No. 2 in the polls this week, behind only UConn. The Huskies rolled over Xavier by 43 points on Sunday in what was their eighth straight win. Purdue will host Northwestern next on Wednesday in what is a chance to avenge its loss to the Wildcats in December. The Boilermakers will then travel to No. 6 Wisconsin on Sunday in what’s sure to be a great matchup.
Both the ACC and SEC have huge matchups coming up on Saturday, too. No. 7 Duke and No. 3 North Carolina will kick things off on Saturday at the Dean Smith Center in their first battle this season, and then No. 5 Tennessee and No. 10 Kentucky will close out the night in Lexington.
Games to watch this week
Monday, Jan. 29
No. 4 Houston at Texas | 9 p.m. ET | ESPN
Tuesday, Jan. 30
No. 15 Texas Tech at No. 25 TCU | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN 2
Wednesday, Jan. 31
Northwestern at No. 2 Purdue | 6:30 p.m. ET | BTN
Saturday, Feb. 3
Texas at No. 25 TCU | 2 p.m. ET | X
No. 4 Houston at No. 8 Kansas | 4 p.m. ET | ESPN
No. 7 Duke at No. 3 North Carolina | 6:30 p.m. ET | ESPN
No. 12 Iowa State at No. 18 Baylor | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN 2
No. 5 Tennessee at No. 10 Kentucky | 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN
Sunday, Feb. 4
No. 2 Purdue at No. 6 Wisconsin | 1 p.m. ET | CBS
AP Top 25
The full AP Top 25 poll from Jan. 29, 2024
1. UConn (18-2)
2. Purdue (19-2)
3. North Carolina (17-3)
4. Houston (18-2)
5. Tennessee (15-4)
6. Wisconsin (16-4)
7. Duke (15-4)
8. Kansas (16-4)
9. Marquette (15-5)
10. Kentucky (15-4)
11. Arizona (15-5)
12. Iowa State (16-4)
13. Creighton (16-5)
14. Illinois (15-5)
15. Texas Tech (16-3)
16. Auburn (16-4)
17. Utah State (18-2)
18. Baylor (14-5)
19. New Mexico (18-3)
20. FAU (17-4)
21. Dayton (16-3)
22. BYU (15-5)
23. Oklahoma (15-5)
24. Alabama (14-6)
25. TCU (15-5)
Others Receiving Votes: South Carolina 108, San Diego St. 95, Memphis 48, Northwestern 32, Mississippi 30, Texas 10, Colorado St. 10, Saint Mary's 9, Indiana St 5, Boise St. 5, Richmond 4, Gonzaga 4, Virginia 3, McNeese St. 2, Appalachian St 1
