UConn has its first No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press men’s college basketball poll in nearly 15 years, following last year’s run to the NCAA championship. Meanwhile, Gonzaga has fallen out of the AP Top 25 for the first time in eight years.
The Huskies moved to the top of the AP’s latest poll on Monday after a week filled with upsets, resulting in five new teams jumping in the poll. UConn claimed 39 of 63 first-place votes to climb three spots and replace Purdue at the top after their loss at Nebraska dropped them to No. 2.
The No. 1 ranking from Connecticut marks the first time UConn has hit No. 1 in the AP Top 25 since spending four weeks there in the second half of the 2008-09 season, which ended with the Huskies reaching the Final Four. Upon coach Dan Hurley said last week about the potential of reaching No. 1: “Some people don’t want the target. I think we embrace the target at UConn.”
Purdue claimed 20 first-place votes, followed by Kansas, holding three first-place votes. North Carolina’s jumped three spots to No. 4 after beating rival North Carolina State. Gonzaga fell out from No. 23 after a loss at Santa Clara, marking the first time they’ve been unranked since the final two months of the 2015-16 season.
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