AP men’s basketball Top 25: Purdue returns to No. 1 after knocking off Arizona
The Boilermakers are back at No. 1 after their big 92-84 upset win over Arizona on Saturday
Let’s see if Purdue can hang around the No. 1 spot a bit longer this time around.
Here’s everything you missed in Week 6 of the season, and the latest Associated Press men’s basketball poll.
Purdue returns to No. 1 after beating Arizona
This one was easy.
The Boilermakers fended off Arizona, last week's top-ranked team, on Saturday afternoon and took a huge 92-84 win in Indianapolis. It marked the Boilermakers' third-ever win over a No. 1 team in the country, and their first since beating Arizona in 2000.
As a result, Purdue jumped back to No. 1 in the polls this week, marking its second appearance there so far this year. Arizona, which has now lost just once this year, slipped to No. 4.
Purdue guards Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith combined for 53 points and hit nine 3-pointers in that win. That gave the Boilermakers a perfect way to complement reigning National Player of the Year Zach Edey inside — who still had 22 points and nine rebounds against the Wildcats. Purdue led the entire second half and, despite giving up a long 11-0 run midway through the period, held on to grab the eight-point win.
"I think just both our desires to win has just really sparked [the team]," Loyer said of his connection with Smith, via ESPN. "That's all we want to do when we go out there. Whether Braden has 26 points, whether he has 10, whether he has two, he just wants to win the game. Same with me. Same with the other guys. ... Especially with the loss last year, it's something you don't want to feel again, something you had to sit with all summer. It's just something we want to push along."
The last time Purdue hit No. 1 in the rankings, however, it fell to unranked Northwestern immediately — something that's now happened two seasons in a row. Thankfully for the Boilermakers, Northwestern won't be making the trek to Mackey Arena until the end of January.
Big week for basketball in Michigan
It took them long enough, but Tom Izzo’s Spartans finally look like the team everyone thought they’d be.
Michigan State, which tumbled out of the rankings after opening the year at No. 4, flew past Baylor 88-64 on Saturday. That marked the Bears’ first loss of the season, which knocked them down four spots to No. 10 in this week’s poll. But more importantly, it marked Michigan State’s biggest and most needed win so far this year.
The Spartans, behind 18 first-half points from Tyson Walker, took a 30-point lead at one point in the first half on Saturday. They never trailed throughout the game and ultimately won by 24. That, after early losses to James Madison, Duke, Arizona, Wisconsin and Nebraska, brought Michigan State back to 5-5 on the year.
"We knew coming in, Michigan State's a lot better than their record indicated," Baylor coach Scott Drew said, via The Associated Press. "Coach Izzo is a Hall of Fame coach. They showed who they are, and who they're going to be the rest of the year."
After a very rough start to the season, especially considering where they started, the Spartans may be back.
At the other Big Ten school in the state, Juwan Howard finally made his return to the Wolverines bench on Saturday.
Howard coached for the first time this season in Michigan’s 83-66 win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday, marking his return after undergoing heart surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm and his aortic valve. He missed a little more than 13 weeks recovering after initially receiving a 6-to-12 week recovery window.
“I’m healthy enough,” Howard said after the win, via The Associated Press.
Howard’s return, however, comes amid another incident. Howard was reportedly involved in an altercation with strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson at practice last week, according to multiple reports. No punches were thrown, but the two coaches were separated after the disagreement — which reportedly started after a disagreement between a trainer and Howard’s son, senior Jace Howard.
Though the incident seems relatively minor, Michigan reportedly has a zero-tolerance policy with Howard after he punched a Wisconsin assistant after a game in 2022.
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said that after a “thorough internal review,” the school opted not to discipline either coach after this latest incident. Sanderson has not been seen with the team on the sidelines since.
The Wolverines, now 6-5, will take on Florida next on Tuesday at the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte. Howard is in his fifth season with the program.
No. 3 Houston loses Terrance Arceneaux to Achilles injury
Houston guard Terrance Arceneaux will miss the rest of the season.
Arceneaux sustained a torn Achilles in the Cougars’ 70-66 win over Texas A&M on Saturday. The sophomore played just six minutes in the win at the Toyota Center, and will end his year averaging 5.5 points and 4.5 rebounds. Arceneaux has proven himself as one of Houston’s best defenders, and he had 19 rebounds in their last two games before Saturday’s win.
“I just feel really bad for that young man,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said, via Paper City Mag’s Chris Baldwin. “He was starting to play good … He was doing so many good things for us as a sophomore. And the next thing you know he’s torn his Achilles and is out for the year. I think I was more — I felt worse about that than I felt good about the game.”
Despite losing Arceneaux, the Cougars improved to 11-0 on the season with their win over the Aggies — which moved them up a spot to No. 3. They’ll take on Texas State and Penn before opening Big 12 play next month.
Games to watch this week
*Neutral-site game
Wednesday, Dec. 20
No. 10 Baylor at No. 21 Duke | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN *
No. 11 North Carolina at No. 7 Oklahoma | 9 p.m. ET | ESPN *
Saturday, Dec. 23
No. 4 Arizona at No. 14 FAU | 3 p.m. ET | Fox *
AP Top 25
The full AP Top 25 poll from Dec. 18, 2023
1. Purdue (10-1)
2. Kansas (10-1)
3. Houston (11-0)
4. Arizona (8-1)
5. UConn (10-1)
6. Marquette (9-2)
7. Oklahoma (10-0)
8. Tennessee (8-3)
9. Kentucky (8-2)
10. Baylor (9-1)
11. North Carolina (7-3)
12. Creighton (9-2)
13. Illinois (8-2)
14. FAU (9-2)
15. Gonzaga (8-3)
16. Colorado State (10-1)
17. BYU (10-1)
18. Clemson (9-1)
19. Texas (8-2)
20. JMU (10-0)
21. Duke (7-3)
22. Virginia (9-1)
23. Memphis (8-2)
24. Wisconsin (8-3)
25. Ole Miss (10-0)
Others Receiving Votes: Miami 97, Auburn 87, Colorado 84, Utah 37, Iowa State 24, Ohio State 12, Michigan State 10, TCU 10, Texas A&M 9, San Diego St. 8, Northwestern 5, Providence 5, Alabama 3, Dayton 3, Nevada 3, New Mexico 2, Grand Canyon 2, Washington 2, Saint Joseph's 2, South Carolina 1, Mississippi State 1
