In what has been a rarity early in the 2023-24 season, the No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25 poll managed to remain there after a week.
Fresh off a 98-73 victory over Wisconsin, Arizona leads the way again after moving into the top spot in the Week 5 poll.
Associated Press Top 25 Poll
- Arizona
- Kansas
- Purdue
- Houston
- UConn
- Baylor
- Marquette
- Creighton
- North Carolina
- Gonzaga
- Oklahoma
- Tennessee
- Clemson
- Kentucky
- Florida Atlantic
- Illinois
- Colorado State
- BYU
- Texas
- James Madison
- Duke
- Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Miami
- Northwestern
The Wildcats shredded the Badgers last Saturday in Tucson. They led by as many as 31 points and shot 58.3 percent from the field, with all five starters scoring in double figures. Pelle Larsson and Caleb Love finished with 21 and 20 points, respectively.
With so many top teams either getting upset or falling short in big games through the first few weeks, it looked like this season would be another in which a clear championship favorite failed to emerge. Arizona may be one such team considering it now has non-conference wins over Duke, Michigan State and Wisconsin.
Elsewhere around the country, Houston and Baylor maintained their perfect starts.
The Cougars cruised past Rice and Jackson State by 30-plus points in both contests. They only have one game this week, but it's one that allows them to make a major statement. Houston welcomes Texas A&M to Toyota Center on Saturday.
The Bears made easy work of Northwestern State and Seton Hall ahead of a two-game stretch that will help to set their ceiling. Baylor heads to Detroit to face off with the Spartans on Saturday and has another neutral-site game against Duke on Dec. 20.
UConn fans eagerly awaited Monday's poll release to see whether the Huskies overtook Purdue for the No. 4 spot.
Purdue won both of its games this past week, but UConn registered the single biggest victory by beating North Carolina 87-76 in the Jimmy V Classic.
Cam Spencer rebounded from his poor performance in the 69-65 loss to Kansas to put up a team-high 23 points along with seven rebounds and six assists.
"I definitely came in with a lot of motivation and anger to just help the team in any way that I could," he said after the game. "I thought we just raised our intensity level from that Kansas game with a lot of little things. So I'm just really proud of the team, and everybody showed up today."
UConn followed up with a comfortable 38-point win over Arkansas Pine-Bluff, but the national champion could have its hands full when it returns to the court.
Gonzaga will be smarting from last Saturday's 78-73 loss to Washington, a result that sent the Zags from seventh to 10th in the AP poll. Beating the Huskies would be a way to rebuild their stock, and it could come in handy come NCAA tournament time when the selection committee shapes the 68-team field.
