AP College Basketball Poll 2022: Complete Week 7 Men's Rankings Released
December 19, 2022
Purdue remains the No. 1 team in the men's college basketball Associated Press poll, but a busy weekend led to a major shake-up in the Top 10.
There were five games between Top 25 teams on Saturday alone, leading to losses for three of the Top Six teams in the previous rankings.
It leaves Purdue and Connecticut leading the pack heading into Week 7 of the 2022-23 season.
AP Poll
1. Purdue
2. Connecticut
3. Houston
4. Kansas
5. Arizona
6. Virginia
7. Texas
8. Tennessee
9. Alabama
10. Arkansas
11. Gonzaga
12. Baylor
13. UCLA
14. Duke
15. Mississippi State
16. Illinois
17. Wisconsin
18. Indiana
19. Kentucky
20. TCU
21. Virginia Tech
22. Miami (Fla.)
23. Auburn
24. Marquette
25. Arizona State
A week after Houston dropped out of the No. 1 spot with its first loss, it earned its biggest win with a 69-61 road victory over Virginia.
It was a balanced effort for the Cougars, with all five starters hitting double figures and the team often just outworking the Cavaliers on the court.
Houston Men's Hoops 🏀 🐾 @UHCougarMBKCULTURE.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ForTheCity?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ForTheCity</a> x <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoCoogs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoCoogs</a> <a href="https://t.co/LflLb7KrlU">pic.twitter.com/LflLb7KrlU</a>
It was enough to help Houston climb back up to No. 3 in the poll, while Virginia fell from second to sixth with its first loss of the season.
Alabama dropped from No. 4 to No. 9 after a 100-90 defeat to Gonzaga despite getting 36 points from freshman Brandon Miller. The Crimson Tide have still tested themselves throughout the nonconference schedule, earning two wins over No. 1 teams, and remain in good shape with a 9-2 record.
Gonzaga has been up-and-down this year, but the latest win helped the Bulldogs climb four spots to No. 11 after the final test before conference play.
Arizona is another team on the rise after a 75-70 victory over Tennessee. The Wildcats shot just 5-of-24 from three-point range and didn't get a single bench point, yet they did enough to take down a Top 10 team and end Tennessee's eight-game winning streak.
UCLA also represented the Pac-12 well this week, with ranked wins over Maryland and Kentucky, moving up three spots to No. 13 in the country.
Purdue remains at the top of the poll after cruising to a win over Davidson thanks another strong showing by Zach Edey:
UConn earned 21 first-place votes (out of 61) after a 22-point road win over Butler, improving to 12-0 on the season.
The schedule quiets down for some teams heading into the holiday season, but conference matchups in the ACC and Big East could still lead to some drama in the coming week.