UNC Drops Out of Men’s AP Top 25 Two Weeks After Being No. 1

Maryland, Auburn, UConn and Mississippi State were among the teams on the rise.

Houston and Texas remain firmly entrenched atop The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll, while preseason No. 1 North Carolina has dropped out entirely after a fourth straight loss.

The Cougars earned 37 of 62 first-place votes in Monday’s poll, extending the program’s first stay at No. 1 since the “Phi Slama Jama” days in the 1980s for another week. Houston (8–0) beat Norfolk State and Saint Mary’s in its first week at the top.

The Longhorns received 14 first-place votes. No. 3 Virginia got three votes and No. 4 Purdue got the remaining eight.

Connecticut (9–0) climbed to No. 5, the program’s highest ranking since early in the 2011-12 season. Other than the top five, there are three other teams in the AP Top 25 that entered Monday undefeated (No. 11 Auburn, No. 13 Maryland and No. 23 Mississippi State).

Armando Bacot and the Tar Heels were the preseason No. 1 :: Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAY Sports

Swift Fall

North Carolina is only the sixth team to go from preseason No. 1 to unranked since at least the 1961–62 season, most recently with Michigan State during the 2019–20 season.

Of that group, the Tar Heels had the swiftest exit from the poll to start the season (four weeks) except for UCLA in 1965–66. The Bruins fell out of the poll after just three weeks back when only 10 teams were ranked.

The Top Tier

Kansas climbed to No. 6, followed by three Southeastern Conference teams in Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas. For the Volunteers and Crimson Tide, it marked their first appearances inside the top 10 this year. Arizona rounded out the top 10, falling six spots after a loss at Utah.

Rising

No. 13 Maryland had the biggest jump of the week, vaulting nine spots after wins against Louisville and Illinois last week in the Terrapins’ first year under Kevin Willard. That marks the program’s highest ranking since pushing into the top 10 during the 2019–20 season.

Tennessee was next up with a six-spot climb, while No. 11 Auburn rose four spots.

In all, 13 teams climbed from last week.

Full men’s top 25 (as of Dec. 5):

1. Houston
2. Texas
3. Virginia
4. Purdue
5. UConn
6. Kansas
7. Tennessee
8. Alabama
9. Arkansas
10. Arizona
11. Auburn
12. Baylor
13. Maryland
14. Indiana
15. Duke
16. Kentucky
17. Illinois
18. Gonzaga
19. UCLA
20. Iowa State
21. Creighton
22. San Diego State
23. Mississippi State
24. TCU
25. Ohio State

Others receiving votes: Iowa 70, College of Charleston 54, Miami 29, Virginia Tech 27, Arizona State 20, Utah 16, Wisconsin 16, UNLV 14, Texas Tech 10, West Virginia 8, Marquette 7, Xavier 6, New Mexico 3, Michigan State 3, Memphis 3, Missouri 2, North Carolina 1, Kansas State 1