AP College Basketball Poll 2025 Week 3 Rankings Released with Top Risers and Fallers

Houston's stay as the No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25 poll lasted just one week despite beating Auburn 73-72 on Sunday.

Purdue moved into the top spot, with the Cougars dropping back to No. 2.

The second week of the season featured multiple clashes between ranked teams, and AP voters had the difficult task of wading through the results and figuring out a sensible order.

Week 3 AP Top 25

1. Purdue

2. Houston

3. UConn

4. Arizona

5. Duke

6. Louisville

7. Michigan

8. Illinois

9. BYU

10. Florida

11. Alabama

12. Kentucky

13. Gonzaga

14. St. John's

15. Texas Tech

16. Iowa State

17. Michigan State

18. North Carolina

19. UCLA

20. Tennessee

21. Arkansas

22. Auburn

23. Wisconsin

24. Kansas

25. North Carolina State

The week kicked into gear last Tuesday, when Louisville beat Kentucky 96-88 and Illinois edged past Texas Tech 81-77.

Mikel Brown Jr. and Ryan Conwell combined to score 53 points for the Cardinals as they got the better of their in-state rival for the first time since 2020.

Louisville Downs Kentucky ♨️

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"We work really stinking hard," Louisville coach Pat Kelsey told reporters. "… You've got to enjoy the wins. You just have to. You can't be relieved that you didn't lose. You have to enjoy the wins. Be honest with you — that one was a little bit better and bigger than most of them."

Andrej Stojaković's big performance off the bench helped to cancel out JT Toppin's double-double (35 points and 11 rebounds) as Illinois notched a signature win. The son of three-time NBA All-Star Peja Stojaković had 23 points in 26 minutes on the floor.

"I was harassing this dude over the summer to come play with me," teammate Kylan Boswell said, per the Chicago Tribune's Colleen Kane. "I'm so excited he's here. It's nice to see him continue to be confident, be himself. All the work he puts in showed up today."

The Big Ten came out on top again in the week's biggest matchup.

Purdue traveled to Tuscaloosa and left with an 87-80 victory over Alabama in a battle of Top-10 squads. Boilermakers seniors Trey Kaufman-Renn and Braden Smith played starring roles in the outcome. Kaufman-Renn posted a double-double (19 points and 15 rebounds) as Smith dropped a game-high 29 points.

Matt Painter's squad had a major advantage on the glass. Purdue out-rebounded Alabama 52-28 and had 12 more offensive boards. That translated into 16 second-chance points.

UConn also earned a Top-10 win but nearly squandered a 20-point lead in the process. The Huskies were cruising against BYU and led by 16 points inside the final nine minutes before the Cougars chipped away at the deficit.

A three-pointer by AJ Dybantsa made it an 82-79 game with 30.8 seconds on the clock and then the gap was only two points after teammate Dawson Baker connected on a long-range jumper. UConn managed to seal the win from the charity stripe.

Even in a losing effort, Dybantsa delivered a strong showing as he tries to leap to the top of 2026 NBA draft boards.

Dybantsa Drops 25 on UConn

00:59

The true freshman shot 8-of-14 en route to scoring 25 points, adding six rebounds and two steals in his 34 minutes on the court.

The marquee inter-conference games aren't slowing down. Tuesday's Champions Classic offers Michigan State vs. Kentucky and Kansas vs. Duke. Wednesday night treats fans to Arizona vs. UConn and Alabama vs. Illinois. BYU will look to rebound against Wisconsin on Friday in Salt Lake City.