Undefeated Purdue Moves to No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25 College Basketball Poll
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue is undefeated after five games to start the 2021-22 college basketball season, and wins over North Carolina and Villanova in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament propelled the team to No. 3 in this week's AP Top 25 poll.
The Boilermakers previously ranked No. 6 after starting the season with two victories at Mackey Arena. They overtook Kansas, Michigan and Villanova while remaining behind Gonzaga and UCLA.
Purdue ended a three-game homestand against Wright State on Tuesday, Nov. 16, taking down Wright State handily with a 96-52 victory. Sophomore center Zach Edey and senior forward Trevion Williams combined for 38 points to lead the team to a win.
The program then traveled to the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn., this weekend to take part in the 2021 Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament. In the first round, the team took down then-No. 18 North Carolina 93-84 on Saturday, advancing to play then-No. 5 Villanova.
In a battle of similarly-ranked teams Sunday, the Boilermakers fought back from an 11-point deficit in the second half to win 80-74. The team returns home Friday for a matchup with Omaha at 2:00 p.m. ET.
After their losses, Villanova dropped to No. 7 while North Carolina was left off the top 25 entirely. Purdue is now the highest-ranked among three Big Ten programs in the top 25.
AP Top 25 College Basketball Poll, Nov. 22
- Gonzaga (4-0)
- UCLA (4-0)
- Purdue (5-0)
- Kansas (3-0)
- Duke (5-0)
- Baylor (4-0)
- Villanova (3-2)
- Texas (3-1)
- Memphis (4-0)
- Kentucky (3-1)
- Alabama (4-0)*
- Houston (3-0)
- Arkansas (3-0)
- Illinois (2-1)
- Tennessee (3-1)
- St. Bonaventure (5-0)
- Arizona (5-0)
- BYU (4-0)
- Auburn (3-0)
- Michigan (3-2)
- Seton Hall (3-0)
- Connecticut (4-0)
- Florida (3-0)
- USC (3-0)
- Xavier (4-0)
* = Kentucky and Alabama each received 880 total points this week, which makes them tied for No. 10 in the country.
Others receiving votes:
Oregon 96, Virginia Tech 91, Ohio State 89, North Carolina 75, Indiana 45, Michigan State 44, Marquette 41, Colorado State 30, Maryland 28, Texas Tech 26, LSU 6, Iowa 6, Mississippi State 4, Florida State 4, Drake 2, George Mason 1, San Francisco 1, Ohio 1, Loyola Chicago 1
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.