USATSI
Purdue’s grip on the No. 1 spot in the Coaches Poll rankings tightened ever so slightly on Monday as the Boilermakers earned one more first-place vote — 25 — in the latest top 25 rankings. Purdue narrowly took the No. 1 spot three weeks ago despite owning the second-most first-place votes in the poll, but it has slowly won coaches over of late with 24 first-place votes last week and 25 this week of 32 ballots cast.
While Purdue gained another first-place vote in this week’s poll, UConn also picked up a straggler. Last week, the Huskies had just seven first-place votes, but after a win over Georgetown this week to improve to 13-0 — all by double figures — they earned eight first-place votes this week. Kansas was the other team to previously earn a first-place vote, but that was not the case this week.
Kansas still held strong in the latest rankings, though, coming in once again at No. 4 for a second straight week and narrowly missing the No. 3 spot still occupied by Houston. Arizona, too, maintained its status as it did a week ago, holding steady at No. 5. The remainder of the top 10 in order this week is Texas, Arkansas, UCLA, Alabama and Tennessee, all of which moved up one spot after Virginia dropped from No. 6 to No. 12 this week.
Coaches Poll top 25
(First place votes are in parentheses.)
1. Purdue (25)
2. UConn (7)
3. Houston
4. Kansas
5. Arizona
6. Texas
7. Arkansas
8. UCLA
9. Alabama
10. Tennessee
11. Gonzaga
12. Virginia
13. Baylor
14. Duke
15. Wisconsin
16. Miami
17. Kentucky
18. Indiana
19. TCU
20. Mississippi State
21. Maryland
22. Illinois
23. Auburn
24. West Virginia
25. Xavier
Others receiving votes: Ohio St. 70; North Carolina 56; Virginia Tech 50; Memphis 27; New…
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