No. 1 Changes Again as Baylor Moves Atop Men's AP Poll

The reigning national champs are back in a familiar spot: atop men's college basketball.

On Monday, Baylor became the fourth different team to lead the men's AP top 25 in 2021–22, taking over the top spot and receiving all 61 first-place votes after Sunday's dominant win over Villanova. The Bears shut down the Wildcats, 57–36, to move to 9–0 on the season.

Purdue, which rose to No. 1 last week for the first time in program history, dropped to No. 3 after losing at Rutgers on a buzzer beater. The Boilermakers nearly went 0–2 last week, but rallied to beat NC State in overtime in Brooklyn on Sunday. 

Duke, which held the No. 1 spot for one week in November, checks in at No. 2. The Blue Devils have been idle for two weeks but get back in action on Tuesday vs. South Carolina State.

Flo Thamba (No. 0) celebrates during Baylor's win over Villanova.

Chris Jones/USA TODAY Sports

Arizona has cracked the top 10 after winning at Illinois to move to 9–0 in Tommy Lloyd's first season, while Iowa State—a major surprise of the season so far at 10–0, is up to No. 11. Kentucky fell from No. 10 to 21 after a loss at Notre Dame, Arkansas tumbled 12 spots to No. 24 after a loss to Oklahoma, and Florida dropped out after a stunning loss to Texas Southern and a neutral-site defeat to Maryland. Wisconsin and BYU also fell out after losses. 

Full top 25 (as of Dec. 13):

1. Baylor
2. Duke
3. Purdue
4. UCLA
5. Gonzaga
6. Alabama
7. Kansas
8. Arizona
9. Villanova
10. USC
11. Iowa State
12. Michigan State
13. Auburn
14. Houston
15. Ohio State
16. Seton Hall
17. Texas
18. Tennessee
19. LSU
20. UConn
21. Kentucky
22. Xavier
23. Colorado State
24. Arkansas
25. Texas Tech

Others receiving votes: Wisconsin 156, North Carolina 85, Providence 57, Oklahoma 46, San Francisco 36, Illinois 31, West Virginia 24, Loyola Chicago 20, Michigan 8, St. Bonaventure 6, BYU 4, Minnesota 3, Creighton 1.