Five takeaways from AP Top 25 men's basketball poll

In this week's Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll, released on Monday, a new No. 1 team emerges for the second week in a row. Here are five takeaways from the poll.

Purdue reclaims top spot from Houston

One week after losing the No. 1 ranking to the Cougars, the Boilermakers (4-0) used a late 7-0 run to take down then-No. 8 Alabama in Tuscaloosa and pick up their third road win over a nonconference top-10 opponent in program history.

Houston (4-0) overcame a poor shooting performance (43%) to escape with a 73-72 win over No. 22 Auburn on Sunday, securing its 16th win over an AP-ranked opponent since it joined the Big 12 in 2023-24. Both teams added key wins to their resumes, but it is hard to deny that Purdue isn't more deserving of the top ranking right now.

UConn holds firm at No. 3 after top-10 win

The Huskies withstood a late rally from the seventh-ranked BYU Cougars on Saturday night in a thrilling 86-84 win. While freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa had 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting for BYU, it was the balanced scoring of senior forward Alex Karaban, senior center Tarris Reed Jr. and junior guard Silas Demary Jr., who each had 21 points, that proved to be the difference.

UConn (4-0) did not move up from its No. 3 ranking, but with upcoming nonconference games against No. 4 Arizona (Wednesday), No. 8 Illinois (Nov. 28), No. 24 Kansas (Dec. 2) and No. 10 Florida (Dec. 9), plenty of opportunities lie ahead.

Louisville rides historic offense to No. 6 ranking

The Cardinals (4-0), up six spots to No. 6, defeated their in-state rival and ninth-ranked Kentucky for the first time since 2020 and are averaging 103 points per game through four outings this season, their most in a four-game span since December 1971.

As good as the offense has been, the defense has made some key plays as well, something the Wildcats were unable to overcome after some defensive struggles on their end. The schedule will only get more difficult from here, but the historic offense and balanced production from freshman Mikel Brown Jr. (19.3 PPG) and senior Ryan Conwell (19.3 PPG) has been hard to slow down so far.

Illinois, Gonzaga keep climbing after impressive starts

The Fighting Illini (4-0), up six spots to No. 8, have three straight wins over AP-ranked opponents going back to last season after an 81-77 win over then-No. 11 Texas Tech last week. Neither team played great defensively, but junior guard Andrej Stojakovic was clutch with 23 points and a key block on a late three-point attempt to help close out the win.

Gonzaga (4-0) moves up six spots to No. 13 after putting up 90 points on then-No. 23 Creighton and pulling away late to take down Arizona State, 77-65, on Saturday. However, with No. 11 Alabama (Nov. 24), No. 12 Kentucky (Dec. 5) and No. 19 UCLA (Dec. 13) lurking on the Bulldogs' schedule, their strong start will really be put to the test.

NC State the only newcomer to the poll

The Wolfpack (3-0) enter the rankings at No. 25, having scored at least 94 points in all three games. They have not been tested yet, but with senior forward Darrion Williams coming off a career-high 32 points with six threes, 10 rebounds and four steals against UNC Greensboro, NC State appears to be in good hands.