Arizona stays No. 1 while Illinois leaps into top five

Field Level Media|published: Mon 2nd February, 14:02 2026

NCAA Basketball: Arizona at Arizona State

Jan 31, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Koa Peat (10) screams as he slam dunks the ball against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the second half at Desert Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Arizona remained the No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25 men's basketball poll this week, while Illinois vaulted into the top five.

Arizona (22-0) continued its undefeated run by pulling off a pair of massive victories last week, earning an 86-83 win over then-No. 13 BYU on Monday and taking down rival Arizona State 87-74 on Saturday.

The Wildcats, who set a program record for consecutive wins to start a season, were followed by No. 2 Michigan (20-1), which moves up a spot, No. 3 UConn (21-1), which fell one spot, No. 4 Duke (20-1) and Illinois (19-3).

The Big Ten Conference had four teams in the top 10, while the Big 12 led all conferences with six teams in the Top 25.

Illinois was the biggest upward mover in this week's poll, jumping four spots after a 78-69 victory at then-No. 5 Nebraska on Sunday.

Rounding out the top-10 were Gonzaga (22-1), Iowa State (20-2), Houston (19-2), Nebraska (20-2) and Michigan State (19-3), which dropped three spots after an 83-71 home loss to rival Michigan.

Three teams moved up three spots in the poll with Kansas (16-5) jumping to No. 11, Vanderbilt (19-3) rising to No. 15 and St. John's (16-5) moving to No. 22.

Arizona and No. 23 Miami (Ohio) (22-0), are the only undefeated teams in Division I.

Associated Press Top 25

1. Arizona (22-0)

2. Michigan (20-1)

3. UConn (21-1)

4. Duke (21-1)

5. Illinois (19-3)

6. Gonzaga (21-1)

7. Iowa State (20-2)

8. Houston (19-2)

9. Nebraska (20-2)

10. Michigan State (19-3)