Houston took over the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 poll Monday morning and did the same Monday afternoon in the USA Today Coaches Poll, jumping one spot from No. 2 just one week after it had moved from No. 3 — where it began in the preseason — to No. 2. The Cougars supplanted preseason No. 1 North Carolina after UNC took two losses in three days participating in the PK85.
UNC fell 14 spots this week to No. 15.Twenty-three of a possible 32 first-place votes cast by coaches went to Houston on the week to spur its charge to the top. There was far from a consensus, though, with four teams in total earning at least one first-place vote including Texas, Virginia and Purdue.
Texas, which ranks No. 2 in the Coaches Poll this week, up two spots from last week, earned the second-most first-place votes with five. Purdue, which jumped 18 spots to No. 5, earned the third-most with three while No. 3 Virginia earned one vote.
Coaches poll
- Houston (23)
- Texas (5)
- Virginia (1)
- Arizona
- Purdue (3)
- UConn
- Creighton
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Baylor
- Arkansas
- Gonzaga
- Tennessee
- Alabama
- North Carolina
- Duke
- Illinois
- Kentucky
- Auburn
- Michigan State
- UCLA
- Maryland
- Iowa State
- San Diego State
- Ohio State
Others receiving votes: TCU 40; Iowa 28; Texas Tech 16; Wisconsin 15; West Virginia 11; Mississippi State 11; Michigan 9; Xavier 8; Saint Mary’s 8; Oklahoma 7; St. John’s 5; Miami 5; Kansas State 5; Charleston 5; UNLV 4; Drake 2.
Dropped out: No. 20 Texas Tech; No. 24 Iowa.
