After chaotic week that saw a lot of change in the AP Top 25 poll, things remained steady for the top five on Monday with defending national champion UConn remained at No. 1 in the rankings.
The Huskies remained ahead of Purdue, North Carolina, Houston and Tennessee. All of which held their spot from last week's poll.
However, there was plenty of chaos in the rest of the poll, with 10 teams moving 5 spots in either direction.
UConn gained first-place votes after a convincing 99-56 win over Xavier to win their eighth-straight win. They garnered 48 of 63 ballots from the sports writers, while the Boilermakers received 14 votes for the No. 1 spot and the Cougars took the remaining vote.
Purdue held onto the No. 2 ranking after hanging on for a 68-60 win over Rutgers, thanks to reigning AP player of the year Zach Edey's 26 point game. The Boilermaker big man became only the sixth Big Ten player with at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
Third-ranked North Carolina pushed their winning streak to 10 with wins over Wake Forest and Florida State. Houston and their tough defensive play stymied No. 21 BYU and Kansas State to remain at No. 4. Tennessee remained at No. 5 with a win over Vanderbilt last week.
Things get a little more volatile in from that point in the poll.
Wisconsin climbed all the way to No. 6 after a slew of losses by top-10 teams and wins over Minnesota and Michigan. This the Badgers highest ranking since Dec. 28, 2020.
Duke rose five spots to No. 7, followed by Kansas, Marquette and Kentucky.
The Wildcats fell from the eighth spot following a loss to South Carolina last week, while the other Wildcats, Arizona, come in at No. 11.
Iowa State made the biggest jump of anyone in the polls this week, vaulting 11 spots after beating Kansas State and seventh-ranked Kansas.
Following the Cyclones, are Creighton, Illinois and Texas Tech, which now leads the Big 12 following its win over Oklahoma.
After suffering back-to-back losses to Alabama and Mississippi State, Auburn tumbled eight spots to No. 16.
Utah State sits at the 17 spot, followed by Baylor and New Mexico, who moved up six positions to No. 19 after ending a nine-game losing streak to Nevada with an 89-55 rout.
The Florida Atlantic Owls survived a slugfest with North Texas and now sit at No. 20.
The poll was rounded out by Dayton, BYU and Oklahoma — who tumbled 12 spots after losses to Texas and Texas Tech — along with Alabama and TCU. The latter two both returned to the poll after falling out earlier this season.
The Big East, Big Ten, ACC, Big 12 and SEC each have a top-five team — in fact, each had two in the top 10. But the Big 12 still leads the overall Top 25 count with eight ranked teams after the Horned Frogs returned to the poll this week.
Associated Press Top 25
1. UConn
2. Purdue
3. North Carolina
4. Houston
5. Tennessee
6. Wisconsin
7. Duke
8. Kansas
9. Marquette
10. Kentucky
11. Arizona
12. Iowa State
13. Creighton
14. Illinois
15. Texas Tech
16. Auburn
17. Utah State
18. Baylor
19. New Mexico
20. Florida Atlantic
21. Dayton
22. BYU
23. Oklahoma
24. Alabama
25. TCU
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