AP College Basketball Poll 2023: Complete Week 15 Men's Rankings Released

Alabama is the No. 1 team in the men's college basketball Associated Press poll for the first time since the 2002-03 season.

Purdue had survived a loss to remain on top of the rankings last week, but an upset against Northwestern dropped the team two spots as Alabama climbed into the top spot.

The Crimson Tide received 38 first-place votes to jump Houston (22), the only two teams in the top six without a loss this week.

Here is the latest Top 25 heading into Week 15.

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1. Alabama

2. Houston

3. Purdue

4. UCLA

5. Kansas

6. Texas

7. Virginia

8. Arizona

9. Baylor

10. Tennessee

11. Marquette

12. Kansas State

13. Gonzaga

14. Indiana

15. Miami (FL)

16. Xavier

17. Saint Mary's

18. Creighton

19. Iowa State

20. Connecticut

21. San Diego State

22. TCU

23. North Carolina State

24. Providence

25. Florida Atlantic

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Houston only has two losses this year, and the squad has a habit of blowing out opponents in wins. The Cougars' only game this week was an 80-42 win over Tulsa, helping them move to No. 1 in the KenPom rankings as the only team ranked in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency.

Voters still felt Alabama had the better claim at No. 1, especially with a win over Houston earlier this season.

The Crimson Tide are 12-0 in SEC play, including Saturday's 77-69 road win over Auburn. Alabama's only loss in 2023 was a shocking blowout against Oklahoma on Jan. 28, but this is clearly one of the top teams in the country and continues to prove it each week.

Not bad for a football school.

Other teams are heading in the opposite direction, including Purdue after a 64-58 loss to Northwestern. Last week's loss to Indiana was forgivable, but the Boilermakers have struggled to get production outside Zach Edey and finished 5-of-22 from three-point range in the latest loss, dropping them to No. 3.

Tennessee dropped from No. 6 to No. 10 after losing two games at the buzzer this week, first to Vanderbilt and then at home against Missouri:

The Volunteers will hope their luck can turn around soon, but they were also a double-digit favorite in each game and shouldn't have let things get so close. The squad has just one ugly three-point win over Auburn in its last four games since moving up to No. 2, and it faces significant questions.

A home game against Alabama on Wednesday will be a major test for Tennessee.

The Big 12 also has its share of challenges each week, and Kansas stepped up with its 88-80 win over Texas before blowing out Oklahoma on the road. Despite some up-and-down play over the last month, the Jayhawks are now No. 5 while Texas sits at No. 6.

Virginia climbed to No. 7 after an impressive week with wins over North Carolina State and Duke, although the latter came in controversial fashion. The ACC said in a statement that officials missed a call at the end of regulation and the Blue Devils should've been granted free throws after the final play:

The Cavaliers instead won in overtime, while Duke fell to 17-8 with a pair of losses this week, remaining far outside the Top 25.

The poll has chances for movement this week beyond the Alabama vs. Tennessee battle. Marquette and Xavier have a key Big East matchup, while Iowa State will try to bounce back from its tough week with games against TCU and Kansas State. Houston has its first of two remaining games against Memphis, the second-best team in the AAC.