AP College Basketball Poll 2023: Complete Week 16 Men's Rankings Released

Houston is back up to No. 1 in the men's college basketball Associated Press poll for the third time this season.

Alabama grabbed the top spot last week for the first time, but immediately lost its first game in that position to Tennessee. With Purdue also losing, Houston had the chance to move into No. 1.

Here is the full Top 25 heading into Week 16.

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AP Poll

1. Houston

2. Alabama

3. Kansas

4. UCLA

5. Purdue

6. Virginia

7. Arizona

8. Texas

9. Baylor

10. Marquette

11. Tennessee

12. Gonzaga

13. Miami (FL)

14. Kansas State

15. Saint Mary's

16. Xavier

17. Indiana

18. Connecticut

19. Creighton

20. Providence

21. Northwestern

22. San Diego State

23. Iowa State

24. TCU

25. Texas A&M

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The biggest game entering the week was Alabama traveling to take on Tennessee, and it certainly lived up to expectations as the Volunteers earned the 68-59 upset.

It was the first SEC loss of the year for the Crimson Tide, who bounced back in a big way later in the week:

Voters only dropped Alabama to No. 2 in the latest poll.

Tennessee, meanwhile, is a difficult team to assess with just a 2-4 record in the last six games, including a 66-54 loss to Kentucky on Saturday. After two buzzer-beater losses last week, the squad put together its best win of the season over Alabama, but it fell apart one game later.

The Volunteers went from No. 10 in last week's poll to No. 11 this week.

Houston took care of business with wins over SMU and Memphis, improving to 25-2 on the year with a seven-game winning streak. Marcus Sasser and J'Wan Roberts each scored 20 points in the victory over Memphis, helping the Cougars climb back into the top spot in the rankings.

Purdue was the No. 1 team in the country two weeks ago but now sits at No. 5 after some more trouble on the road. After an upset loss to Northwestern last week, the squad suffered a 14-point loss to Maryland on Thursday:

The Boilermakers bounced back by thrashing Ohio State on Sunday, but they've won only two of their last five games after a 22-1 start.

UCLA and Arizona are on the rise after continuing to impress in the Pac-12. UCLA has won six in a row after its late-January stumble, and the two teams are now on a collision course for a March 4 battle that could decide the conference title.

Kansas also proved itself with two wins, including a hard-fought home victory over Baylor. After trailing by 13 at halftime, the Jayhawks woke up with a 55-26 advantage in the second half, exciting the home crowd with some huge plays:

Baylor remains in the Top 10, but games against Kansas State and Texas could make this a difficult week for the Bears.

Kansas will travel to TCU on Monday as part of another exciting week of Big 12 play, while Marquette gets a difficult test against Creighton. Rematches between Indiana and Purdue as well as Gonzaga and Saint Mary's should also play a significant role in the upcoming rankings.