Purdue now stands at the top of the Associated Press Top 25 poll following an eventful week in men's basketball.
The Boilermakers replaced Kansas on the strength of their Maui Invitational title.
Men's Top 25 AP Poll
2. Arizona
3. Marquette
6. Houston
10. Tennessee
11. Gonzaga
12. Kentucky
13. Florida Atlantic
14. Texas A&M
15. Creighton
17. North Carolina
18. Villanova
20. Colorado State
21. Mississippi State
22. James Madison
23. Alabama
24. Illinois
25. Oklahoma
Thanks to the numerous tournaments spread across the country, fans were glued to their televisions all week. No event garnered more attention than the Maui Invitational with three of the top five and five of the 11 best teams from the last AP poll taking part.
Purdue returned to West Lafayette unscathed after reeling off victories against No. 11 Gonzaga, No. 7 Tennessee and No. 4 Marquette. Zach Edey earned the tournament's Most Valuable Player trophy after averaging 25.3 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks.
Kansas' 73-59 loss to Marquette meant the Boilermakers were all but guaranteed to move up to No. 1. Turning around and beating Tennessee 69-60 meant the Jayhawks were unlikely to fall too far.
The Vols were the biggest loser in Hawai'i as they went 1-2 in the Maui Invitational, though losing to the top two teams in the country by 13 combined points was far from a damning outcome.
"I think we've got a chance to be as good as anybody in the country, but we're going to have to get better," head coach Rick Barnes said.
Barnes added Tennessee "didn't have a great tournament here where I thought we shot the ball the way we're capable of." The Volunteers hit 32 percent of their shots between the Kansas and Purdue games.
Over the mainland, Arizona was bound to eat into Purdue's first-place vote share a bit after moving to 6-0 with a 74-68 win over No. 21 Michigan State on Thanksgiving Day. Wildcats fans got the full Caleb Love experience as the senior guard scored a team-high 17 points on 20 shots and went 2-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Elsewhere, defending champion UConn cleared its first major hurdle by taking down No. 15 Texas 81-71. Alex Karaban, Samson Johnson and Cam Spencer combined for 51 points.
Florida Atlantic also undid some of the damage from its upset to Bryant by earning a 96-89 win over Texas A&M. The Aggies lost despite the best efforts of Wade Taylor IV, who had 35 points and five assists in 34 minutes on the floor.
Looking ahead to this coming week, the ACC/SEC Challenge guarantees some intriguing battles on the hardwood. The inter-conference showcase is headlined by Tennessee's trip to Chapel Hill to play North Carolina on Wednesday. Kentucky also hosts Miami in Lexington on Tuesday night.
The premier matchup for the upcoming slate won't arrive until Friday, when UConn and Kansas tip off at 9 p.m. ET in Lawrence.
The AP poll could be due for another big reshuffle when the voters weigh in one week from now.
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November 28, 2023 at 01:09AM
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AP College Basketball Poll 2023: Complete Week 4 Men's Rankings Released - Bleacher Report
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