Arizona remains No. 1 in AP poll; Nebraska up to No. 5

Field Level Media|published: Mon 26th January, 14:32 2026

Jan 24, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Jamarques Lawrence (10) celebrates his three-point basket against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

While Arizona remained a unanimous No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 men's basketball poll this week, the Wildcats face one of their toughest tests of the season Monday when they visit No. 13 BYU.

The Wildcats (20-0) received all 60 votes on Monday following a pair of blowout wins, and have been atop the poll for seven straight weeks, their longest run since the 2013-14 season. UConn (19-1) remains at No. 2.

Nebraska (20-0), one of three remaining unbeaten Division I programs along with Arizona and No. 24 Miami (Ohio), jumped two spots to No. 5 ahead of Tuesday's massive matchup at No. 3 Michigan (18-1). It's the Cornhuskers' highest ranking in program history.

Duke (18-1), moved up one spot to No. 4 ahead of its home showdown Monday against No. 20 Louisville (14-5), which gained three spots.

Gonzaga (21-1) moved up two spots to No. 6 despite barely escaping 68-66 at home against San Francisco.

Michigan State (18-2), up three to No. 7 this week, also has a date with archrival Michigan this week, hosting the Wolverines on Friday. Iowa State (18-2) moved up one spot to No. 8.

North Carolina (16-4) was the highest riser, gaining six spots to No. 16 following a blowout of Notre Dame and an impressive 85-80 win at No. 17 Virginia on Saturday.

No. 12 Purdue (17-3) sustained the biggest drop in this week's poll, falling eight spots after a two-point loss to UCLA and a six-point defeat at Illinois (17-3), which moved into the Top 10 at No. 9.

No. 10 Houston (17-2) fell four spots following a 90-86 loss Saturday at Texas Tech (16-4), which received a boost from No. 12 to No. 11 with the victory.

A 79-73 home loss to Tennessee on Saturday saw Alabama (13-6) tumble six spots to No. 23. The Volunteers just missed re-entering the poll after falling out to end a run of 90 consecutive weeks.

St. John's (15-5) is the lone newcomer at No. 25, with Georgia (16-4) falling from No. 21 to out of the poll after a 20-point loss at Texas on Saturday. The Red Storm have won six in a row, including coach Rick Pitino's 900th on-court win on Saturday.

The rest of the Top 25:

11. Texas Tech (14-4)

12. Purdue (17-3)

13. BYU (17-2)

14. Kansas (15-5)

15. Arkansas (15-5)

16. North Carolina (15-4)

17. Virginia (16-3)

18. Vanderbilt (17-3)

19. Florida (14-6)

20. Louisville (14-5)

21. Saint Louis (19-1)