AP men’s basketball Top 25: Arizona loses again while Purdue, Kansas hold strong
Conference play is right around the corner. And if it starts anything like how Big East play kicked off last week, we’ll be in for a fun start to 2024.
Here’s everything you missed in Week 7 of the season, and the latest Associated Press men’s basketball poll.
Arizona falls again, this time to FAU in 2OT
Arizona dropped another game on Saturday.
The Wildcats, after starting out the season 8-0 and climbing briefly to the No. 1 ranking, fell to Florida Atlantic in a double overtime thriller at the Desert Classic in Las Vegas. The Owls, thanks to a huge 35-point outing from Johnell Davis, grabbed a 96-95 win after Caleb Love missed a buzzer-beater in the second overtime.
Caleb Love’s 3 pointer rolls out at the buzzer and #14 FAU pulls off the upset in an INSTANT CLASSIC 96-95 in 2OT over #4 Arizona in the Desert Holiday Classic pic.twitter.com/ezrix1LnLp
— NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) December 23, 2023
The Owls have now won three straight since they lost to Illinois earlier this month. The win Saturday jumped them up seven spots to No. 7 in this week’s poll. Arizona, which has now lost twice in its last three games, stayed at No. 4.
Outside of Arizona, there weren’t many major upsets this week (outside of the Big East) in the poll. Purdue and Kansas held strong in the top two spots, and Houston is still undefeated at No. 3. North Carolina flew past Oklahoma to hand the Sooners their first loss of the season in what was another quality win for the Tar Heels. That jumped them up to No. 9 this week, while Oklahoma tumbled to No. 12.
Donovan Clingan out for UConn
UConn lost to Seton Hall to kick off Big East play Wednesday, and the Huskies will be without Donovan Clingan for the near future.
Clingan will miss 3-4 weeks due to a foot injury, the program announced Saturday. Clingan went down in the second half of UConn’s 75-60 loss to unranked Seton Hall and did not return. He missed most of the preseason after sustaining a foot sprain, too.
"He didn't have a ton of swelling, but he did have some pain," UConn head coach Dan Hurley said Friday, via ESPN. "He obviously wanted to go back in [on Wednesday] and then it tightened up on him. We'll see how he feels in the morning and then get the MRI scans."
The 7-foot-2 center has averaged 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game this season. He had 14 points and seven rebounds before he went down Wednesday.
UConn’s 15-point loss to the Pirates marked its second loss this season — though the first one was a four-point loss at Kansas. The Huskies beat St. John’s on Saturday, though, and they stayed at No. 5. Marquette dropped its first game in Big East play, too, and fell to unranked Providence by 15 points on Tuesday. That dropped the Golden Eagles to No. 10, while Providence entered the poll at No. 25. Creighton, after losing to Villanova in its Big East opener, fell 10 spots to No. 22.
Games to watch this week
Saturday, Dec. 30
No. 22 Creighton at No. 10 Marquette | 2 p.m. ET | CBS
AP Top 25
The full AP Top 25 poll from Dec. 25, 2023
1. Purdue (11-1)
2. Kansas (11-1)
3. Houston (12-0)
4. Arizona (9-2)
5. UConn (11-2)
6. Tennessee (9-3)
7. FAU (10-2)
8. Kentucky (9-2)
9. North Carolina (8-3)
10. Marquette (10-3)
11. Illinois (9-2)
12. Oklahoma (10-1)
13. Gonzaga (9-3)
14. BYU (11-1)
15. Colorado State (11-1)
16. Duke (8-3)
17. Baylor (10-2)
18. Clemson (10-1)
19. Memphis (10-2)
20. JMU (12-0)
21. Texas (9-2)
22. Creighton (9-3)
23. Wisconsin (9-3)
24. Ole Miss (12-0)
25. Providence (11-2)
Others Receiving Votes: Auburn 121, Colorado 64, Miami 51, Utah 45, Virginia 40, Iowa St. 21, Nevada 13, Ohio St. 10, Texas A&M 9, San Diego St. 8, Michigan St. 8, Villanova 6, New Mexico 6, Northwestern 5, Dayton 4, Grand Canyon 3, South Carolina 2, Mississippi St. 2, Alabama 2, Princeton 1.
