Defending national champion UConn remained No. 1 in the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll for the sixth consecutive week Monday.
The Huskies are 24-2 overall and have won 14 straight games entering the week. They haven’t lost in almost two full months since December 20. UConn received 62 first-place votes in Monday’s updated poll.
Houston (22-3) moved up a spot to No. 2 after Purdue (23-3) lost Sunday to unranked Ohio State. The Boilermakers, ranked as the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament selection committee’s rankings over the weekend, fell to No. 3.
Arizona (20-5) and Tennessee (19-6) rounded out the top five.
As for Clemson (17-8 overall), the Tigers remained outside the top 25 for the sixth consecutive week after losing 78-77 to NC State on Saturday night.
The Tigers were ranked as high as No. 13 at one point earlier this season before ACC play began in full. Clemson received three votes for top 25 consideration from the various sportswriters and broadcasters who make up the AP poll. The Tigers will return to action Wednesday at 7 p.m. EST when they travel to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech.
Tony Bennett’s Virginia team received the most votes for any school that just missed the top 25. The Cavaliers (20-6) garnered 103 votes for consideration.
Elsewhere in the ACC, Duke moved past North Carolina to become the league’s highest ranked team. The Blue Devils (20-5) moved up one spot to No. 8 while Carolina (20-6) fell three more spots to No. 10.
The Tar Heels were ranked No. 3 only two weeks ago but are just 3-3 over their last six contests. By contrast, Duke has won four straight and seven of its last eight.
Iowa State (20-5) climbed four spots to move to No. 6 while Marquette (19-6) fell three spots to land at No. 7. Kansas (20-6) fell three spots in this week’s poll but still cracked the top 10 at No. 9.
South Carolina (21-5) fell nine spots to No. 20 after suffering a 40-point blowout loss on the road to Auburn on Wednesday night.
The SEC and Big 12 tied for the most ranked teams of any conference in Monday’s poll with six apiece.