The fifth AP Top 25 poll of the 2025-26 season released Monday, and for the third time this season, a new No. 1 team emerged. After Iowa State upset Purdue, it opened the door for one of the remaining unbeatens (Duke, Arizona and Michigan) to jump to No. 1.
Arizona jumped to No. 1 in the latest poll and received 33 first-place votes. Michigan (19), Duke (seven) and Iowa State (one) also received first-place votes in the poll. The Wildcats own wins over UCLA, UConn, Auburn and Florida.
Michigan received the second-most first-place votes last week (15) and jumped one spot to No. 2 in the poll this week. The Wolverines are off to an 8-0 start and have wins on their résumé over San Diego State, Auburn and Gonzaga. The Wolverines opened Big Ten play with a 101-60 blowout win over Rutgers. The Wolverines won five consecutive games by at least 30 points after surviving an upset scare against TCU last month.
Duke jumped one spot to No. 3 after recording wins over reigning national champion Florida and Michigan State on the road. Duke faces Michigan Feb. 21 in one of the biggest nonconference games of the season.
After falling to 5-4 with losses to North Carolina and Gonzaga, Kentucky dropped out of the poll for the first time during Mark Pope era. Kentucky is off to its worst start since the shortened 2020-21 season, when former coach John Calipari had his team 1-6 before SEC play began. Before that, the last time Kentucky lost at least four games before SEC play started, you have to go back to the 2007-08 campaign, when the program started 6-7.
AP Top 25
1. Arizona (33)2. Michigan (19)3. Duke (7)4. Iowa State (1)5. UConn6. Purdue7. Houston8. Gonzaga9. Michigan State10. BYU11. Louisville12. Alabama13. Illinois14. North Carolina15. Vanderbilt16. Texas Tech17. Arkansas18. Florida19. Kansas20. Tennessee21. Auburn22. St. John’s23. Nebraska24. Virginia25. UCLA
Others receiving votes: Iowa 60, Oklahoma State 54, USC 50, Georgia 49, Saint Mary’s 38, Seton Hall 31, Kentucky 29, Wisconsin 24, Indiana 18, Clemson 14, LSU 14, Villanova 9, California 6, Notre Dame 4, Miami 4, SMU 3, TCU 2, Arizona State 2, Miami (Ohio) 2, St. Bonaventure 1.
Let the debate for No. 1 begin
Four different teams received at least one first-place vote after Purdue lost to Iowa State. Voters couldn’t go wrong with Arizona, Michigan or Duke. Arizona has one of the country’s best résumés. Duke just picked up two big wins over Florida and Michigan State. And you can’t forget about Michigan, a team that won five consecutive games by at least 30 points. The results will play out over the next several weeks.
Kentucky is in the midst of a freefall
There hasn’t been a more disappointing team than Kentucky. The Wildcats entered this season with a tremendous amount of hype under Pope, and the early results haven’t been kind. Kentucky is 0-4 against ranked opponents this season and its best win came against Valparaiso, a team ranked in the 200s of the NET Rankings. Kentucky, truthfully, has a very expensive problem. This is the first time during Pope’s tenure that his team fell out of the rankings. The good news for him and his team is that there is plenty of time to get back on track. Kentucky has two big nonconference games upcoming against Indiana and St. John’s.
