Arizona strengthens hold on No. 1 in AP Top 25; Vanderbilt cracks top 10

Arizona tightened its hold on the top spot in The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll on Monday while Vanderbilt’s unbeaten season has landed the Commodores in the top 10.

A week ago, Arizona led then-No. 2 Michigan by a single point for the top spot to barely avoid what would have been only the second-ever tie at No. 1 in the poll’s 78-year history. But with Wisconsin handing the Wolverines their first loss, the Wildcats (16-0) became the easy choice at the top by earning 60 of 61 first-place votes in the latest poll.

Iowa State got the other and moved up one spot to No. 2, followed by UConn. Michigan fell two spots to No. 4, followed by Purdue, Duke and Houston in their same positions from last week.

Nebraska spent a second straight week in the top 10 and continued its season-long climb by moving up two spots to No. 8, matching that program’s all-time highest ranking set in February 1966. Gonzaga was ninth, followed by the Commodores to round out the top 10. Vanderbilt has not been in the top 10 since the 2011-12 preseason poll.

Reigning national champion Florida returned to the poll at No. 19 to headline four new additions to the rankings. Clemson checked in at No. 22, followed by Utah State at No. 23 and No. 25 Seton Hall, which is ranked for the first time since January 2022.

Iowa, Kansas, SMU and UCF fell out of this week’s poll.

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