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AP College Basketball Poll 2023: Complete Week 12 Men's Rankings Released
January 23, 2023
Purdue is the new No. 1 team in the men's college basketball Associated Press poll after another upset-filled week.
Last week's top two teams, Houston and Kansas, both suffered surprising home upsets, while six of the top eight teams overall lost at least once this week.
It leaves Purdue and Alabama at the top of the rankings with a lot of movement beyond that. Here is the latest Top 25 heading into Week 12.
AP Poll
1. Purdue
2. Alabama
3. Houston
4. Tennessee
5. Kansas State
6. Arizona
7. Virginia
8. UCLA
9. Kansas
10. Texas
11. TCU
12. Iowa State
13. Xavier
14. Gonzaga
15. Auburn
16. Marquette
17. Baylor
18. Charleston
19. Connecticut
20. Miami (FL)
21. Florida Atlantic
22. Saint Mary's
23. Providence
24. Clemson
25. New Mexico
Upsets happen all the time in college basketball, but it reached a historic level this weekend:
Houston had won nine straight games before its home matchup against Temple, which entered with an 11-9 record. The Cougars still fell short of expectations while shooting just 33.9 percent from the field and 6-of-17 from three-point range.
It was an ugly game throughout, and Temple came up with key plays defensively to seal the upset:
Houston dropped to No. 3 in the latest poll, while Kansas fell to No. 9 after suffering two losses during the week.
The Jayhawks had an understandable road loss to rival Kansas State, which is up to fifth in the poll and proved itself as a legitimate contender with a thrilling 83-82 overtime victory. Kansas' second loss was more embarrassing, falling 83-60 to TCU for the second-largest home defeat under head coach Bill Self.
Jalen Wilson scored 68 points across the two games, but the rest of the team struggled, and there are major question marks after it had a 16-1 record through 17 contests.
Purdue nearly continued the home struggles among top teams with Sunday's game against Maryland, but the Boilermakers edged out a 58-55 win. Player of the Year candidate Zach Edey had 24 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks as the team improved to 19-1.
Alabama also moved up in the poll after dominating Missouri and Vanderbilt on the road this week. The Crimson Tide are now 7-0 in the SEC, with each win coming by double digits.
Tennessee bounced back this week and moved up to No. 4 with its own pair of SEC road victories.
Several teams weren't as fortunate, as UCLA, Gonzaga, Texas and Xavier all dropped games this week.
Gonzaga's stumble was the most surprising as the team snapped a 75-game home winning streak with its 68-67 loss to Loyola Marymount.
Gonzaga fell eight spots in the latest poll to No. 14 overall.
UCLA had its 14-game winning streak snapped by Arizona with a 58-52 defeat, although both Pac-12 teams remain Final Four contenders.
These teams and others will look to get back on track this week, including Kansas with an important road game against Baylor on Monday. The fast-rising Kansas State travels to face Iowa State later in the week, while Purdue could have a tough test against Michigan.
The SEC/Big 12 Challenge also features several intriguing battles, highlighted by Texas against Tennessee.