Arizona a unanimous No. 1 for first
time, Saint Louis and Miami of Ohio join AP Top 25
[January 20, 2026]
By JOHN MARSHALL
Arizona is the unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 men's
college basketball poll for the first time.
The Wildcats received all 61 votes from a media panel in Monday's
poll, a week after picking up all but one first-place vote.
Arizona (18-0) won both of its games last week to remain among the
three undefeated Division I teams and earn the program's first
unanimous No. 1 ranking — according to Sportradar — after Iowa State
lost twice. The Cyclones, who received one first-place vote last
week, dropped seven spots to No. 9 after their undefeated season
ended.
Arizona has been ranked No. 1 for six straight weeks, its longest
run since eight straight in 2013-14 when the Wildcats opened 21-0.
UConn, Michigan, Purdue and Duke rounded out the top five.
No. 7 Nebraska (18-0) won both its games last week to remain
undefeated and moved up a spot this week to notch its highest
ranking ever.
No. 24 Saint Louis (17-1) is ranked for the first time since
reaching No. 22 in 2021 after stretching its winning streak to 11
straight.
No. 25 Miami (Ohio) is ranked for the first time since a three-week
stint in the AP Top 25 in 1998-99. The RedHawks blew out Central
Michigan on Tuesday, but needed overtime to beat Buffalo 105-102 on
Saturday, pulling it out on Pete Suder's 3-pointer with just over a
second remaining.
Rising/falling
No. 18 Clemson made the biggest move among teams already in the
poll, climbing four places with wins over Boston College and Miami.
Texas Tech moved up three places to No. 12 following wins over Utah
and then-No. 11 BYU.
[to top of second column] |
Arizona forward Tobe Awaka, right, shoots as Central Florida forward
Devan Cambridge (35) defends during the first half of an NCAA
college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Orlando, Fla.
(AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
No. 22 North Carolina had the week's biggest drop,
losing eight places after being swept by the ACC's Bay Area schools.
No. 9 Iowa State lost seven spots following losses to two unranked
teams, Kansas and Cincinnati. No. 15 Vanderbilt dropped five places
after seeing its undefeated season come to an end with losses to
Texas and No. 16 Florida.
In and out
No. 19 Kansas returned to the poll after being left out last week
after handing Iowa State its first loss and beating Baylor by 18.
Saint Louis and Miami (Ohio) were the only other teams to join this
week's poll.
Tennessee dropped out from No. 24 after blowing a 17-point lead in
an 80-78 loss to Kentucky. Utah State's road loss to Grand Canyon
knocked the Aggies out of the poll from No. 23.
Seton Hall didn't receive a single vote and dropped out of the poll
from No. 25 after losses to UConn and Butler.
Conference watch
Kansas' return to the poll gives the Big 12 Conference a nation's
best six ranked teams. The Southeastern Conference, Big Ten and ACC
each have five ranked teams.
The Big East, West Coast, Atlantic-10 and Mid-American conferences
have one each.
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