The top five spots in the Associated Press Men’s College Basketball Poll remained the same. The rest of the AP Top 25 was a big mess.
Houston was No. 1 for the second straight week in the poll released Monday, receiving 49 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel. No. 2 Alabama got five first-place votes and No. 3 Kansas received eight.
UCLA and Purdue round out the top five. The Boilermakers held on at No. 5 despite losing to No. 15 Indiana.
In the remainder of the poll, only No. 20 Providence held the same position as last week as teams prepare for conference tournaments next week and the start of March Madness..
Alabama held onto their spot after winning two games despite a tough week off the court. Brandon Miller has had a pair of huge games since police alleged that he brought a gun to former teammate Darius Miles, who is charged with capital murder in a fatal shooting.
Against Arkansas on SaturdayMiller’s regular pre-game introduction with a Crimson Tide staff member slapping him down didn’t sit well with coach Nate Oats — or anyone else.
“I can assure you that it definitely won’t happen again the rest of this year,” Oats said.
Miller had 24 points in the 86-83 win over the Razorbacks after scoring 41 points in a two-point win over South Carolina..
FLYING EAGLES
Marquette made a rapid rise under trainer Shaka Smart.
The Golden Eagles captured a share of their first Big East regular season title in a decade with a 90-84 win over DePaul Saturday and moved up four spots in this week’s poll to No. 6. This is Marquette’s highest ranking reaching No. 1 in 1977-78.
HOUSTON UP
Houston took the top spot last week and held onto it after a pair of routs last week. Cougars win 76-57 in East Carolina Saturday won the American Athletic Association regular season championship, the fourth time in five seasons they have at least shared the conference title.
“Our kids know how to win – I say that often,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “But we figured out how to play with our system, be selfless.”
UP/DOWN
Marquette tied No. 14 UConn and No. 18 San Diego State with the biggest jump of the week among the teams in the poll, each moving up four spots.
13th Virginia suffered the biggest drop, dropping seven spots after losses to Boston College and North Carolina last week.
IN AND OUT
The No. 21 Maryland is back in the AP Top 25 after wins over Minnesota and then the No. 23 Northwest.
Kentucky No. 23 returned to the polls after a seven-week absence. The Wildcats fell quickly after being No. 4 in the preseason poll, but picked up wins over No. 12 at Tennessee, Florida and Auburn.
No. 25 Pittsburgh is ranked for the first time since 2016 after beating Georgia Tech and Syracuse last week.
Northwestern’s return to the polls for the first time in two years didn’t last long. The Wildcats retired this week after losses to Maryland and Illinois.
Iowa State fell from No. 23 after three straight losses and back-to-back losses knocked Creighton out of No. 19.
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