A week of holiday tournaments produced a slew of changes in the USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll, including a new No. 1 team.
Purdue’s impressive showing in the Maui Invitational helped them move into the top spot. With three top-10 wins, the Boilermakers are the unanimous choice heading all 32 ballots.
Arizona moves into the No. 2 spot, followed by Marquette at No. 3. The Golden Eagles lost to Purdue in the title game in Hawaii but move up two spots in the poll thanks to upsetting previous No. 1 Kansas in the same event. Connecticut stays put at No. 4 and Houston moves up a spot to No. 5. The Jayhawks slip to No. 6. Duke, Miami (Fla.), Baylor and Gonzaga round out the top 10 as Tennessee falls to No. 11 after two losses in the same Maui tournament.
TOP 25: Complete USA TODAY Sports men's basketball poll
Villanova surges back into the poll at No. 15 after winning the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. Colorado State joins the rankings at No. 21 after a big week that included a blowout win over Creighton, knocking the Bluejays down seven spots to No. 14. Other newcomers to the poll this week are No. 19 BYU and No. 23 James Madison.
Virginia, Colorado, Memphis and UCLA fall out.
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