Reigning national champion Kansas cracked its way back into the top five of the latest Coaches Poll on Monday for the first time in four weeks, moving up from No. 6 to No. 4 after smacking ranked Indiana 84-62 inside Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday to improve to 10-1 on the season. The Jayhawks have risen as high as No. 3 in the Coaches Poll this season but had been just outside the top five the last month following a 64-50 loss to Tennessee on Nov. 25.
The top of the poll stayed stagnant this week once again with Purdue retaining its No. 1 spot for a second consecutive week, as it earned 24 first-place votes following a late pull-away win over Davidson on Saturday. For the third consecutive week, though, the order of the top five was shaken up as UConn and Houston both moved up one spot to No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.
Kansas jumped up two spots to No. 4 and Arizona moved up four spots to No. 5.UCLA was the biggest riser inside the top 10 this week and tied for the biggest riser on the week with Mississippi State and Wisconsin, all of which jumped five spots in the Coaches Poll this week. UCLA moved to No. 9 following its east coast trip this week that included wins over ranked Maryland and ranked Kentucky on Wednesday and on Saturday, respectively.
Mississippi State won each of its two games over mid-major competition with ease to achieve its highest ranking this season at No. 15, while Wisconsin, ranked No. 23 a week ago and now No. 18, saw its stock rise after blowing out Lehigh on Thursday to improve to 9-2 on the year.
Coaches Poll
The top 25 teams in the USA Today college basketball Coaches Poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week's ranking:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Purdue (24) | 11-0 | 789 | 1 |
| 2 | UConn (7) | 12-0 | 767 | 3 |
| 3 | Houston | 11-1 | 726 | 4 |
| 4 | Kansas | 10-1 | 693 | 6 |
| 5 | Arizona | 10-1 | 641 | 9 |
| 6 | Virginia | 8-1 | 638 | 2 |
| 7 | Texas | 9-1 | 573 | 8 |
| 8 | Arkansas | 10-1 | 519 | 10 |
| 9 | UCLA | 10-2 | 500 | 14 |
| 10 | Alabama | 9-2 | 481 | 5 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 9-2 | 480 | 7 |
| 12 | Gonzaga | 9-3 | 469 | 15 |
| 13 | Baylor | 8-2 | 468 | 11 |
| 14 | Duke | 10-2 | 439 | 12 |
| 15 | Mississippi State | 11-0 | 281 | 20 |
| 16 | Kentucky | 7-3 | 225 | 13 |
| 16 | Illinois | 8-3 | 225 | 19 |
| 18 | Wisconsin | 9-2 | 219 | 23 |
| 19 | TCU | 9-1 | 180 | 22 |
| 20 | Virginia Tech | 11-1 | 175 | 23 |
| 21 | Indiana | 8-3 | 173 | 16 |
| 22 | Miami | 11-1 | 150 | 25 |
| 23 | Maryland | 8-3 | 94 | 17 |
| 24 | Auburn | 9-2 | 91 | 18 |
| 25 | Marquette | 9-3 | 89 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Ohio State 45; West Virginia 37; Xavier 33; Arizona State 33; Iowa 30; New Mexico 21; Charleston 19; North Carolina 18; Iowa State 18; Memphis 15; Kansas State 13; Utah St. 9; San Diego State 6; Saint Mary's 6; USC 4; Michigan State 4; Texas Tech 3; FAU 1.
Dropped out: No. 21 Ohio State