Baylor Stays No. 1 in Men’s AP Poll; Iowa State Enters Top 10

Baylor, now 10–0 on the season, retained its position at No. 1 in the AP men’s college basketball poll Monday.

The Bears are at the top for the second straight week after beating Oregon on the road Saturday. Duke and Purdue join them in the top three again, while Gonzaga (No. 4) and UCLA (No. 5) switched spots but still round out the top five. The Bruins are one of several teams currently on a COVID-19 pause.

Villanova tumbled hard after being blown out on the road at Creighton. The Wildcats went from No. 9 to No. 23 and are now 7–4 on the season, though three of their losses were to teams in the current AP top five. Iowa State took Villanova’s place in the top 10, moving up to ninth after a surprising 11–0 start to 2021–22.

Iowa State guard Izaiah Brockington.

Reese Strickland/USA TODAY Sports

Unbeaten Pac-12 teams Arizona and USC both rose a couple of spots in the top 10, with the former sitting at No. 6 and the latter at No. 8.

Providence and Wisconsin were new additions to the poll this week. The 9–2 Badgers return to the top 25 after previously appearing earlier this season.

Full top 25 (as of Dec. 20):

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

Others receiving votes: Oklahoma 65, West Virginia 57, Connecticut 55, Illinois 49, Loyola Chicago 42, Arkansas 9, Michigan 9, BYU 8, North Carolina 7, San Francisco 6, Wake Forest 5, Oklahoma State 4, Virginia Tech 4, Iowa 3, Minnesota 3, Creighton 2, Memphis 1