By DAVE SKRETTA, AP Basketball Writer

Purdue maintained its position as the top team in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball rankings for the third consecutive week on Monday. Despite a defeat to San Diego State, Gonzaga held onto its spot at No. 24 and extended its impressive streak of 142 consecutive weeks in the rankings.

The Boilermakers received an additional three votes for first place and a total of 49 out of 63 from the national media panel, surpassing second-place Kansas who received five first-place votes. Houston maintained its spot in third place despite winning against Penn and earning all nine remaining first-place votes.

After Arizona’s defeat to Stanford on Sunday, UConn and Tennessee both rose by one rank, completing the top five.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Tar Heels in the 9-3 position have advanced to No. 8. As of the start of 2024, Duke also holds a record of 9-3 and is ranked at 14.

The Bulldogs dropped 11 places from their previous ranking of No. 13 following their defeat of 84-74 against San Diego State. Since January 11, 2016, Gonzaga has consistently held a spot in the rankings, but this may change as their coach Mark Few’s team has a record of 9-4 with no wins in the Quad 1 category this season.

“I am impressed by the determination and resilience of this team,” Few stated. “However, we should have already made progress in correcting our mental mistakes at this stage, but unfortunately we haven’t quite reached that point yet.”

The Bulldogs started off 11th in the preseason poll, but have since risen to seventh before experiencing three losses in their last five games.

“We must maintain that determination,” Few stated, “and we need to address any missed tasks.”

Tommy Lloyd, the coach of Arizona, has firsthand experience with defensive lapses. His team, the Wildcats, were ranked No. 1 for two weeks earlier in the season but dropped to 10th place after losing 100-82 to Stanford in their Pac-12 game.

The Wildcats suffered their second defeat in three games, causing several teams to surpass them: Kentucky rose to sixth place, Marquette climbed three spots to seventh, North Carolina advanced to eighth, and Illinois moved up two spots to ninth.

The next 10 started with Oklahoma, followed closely by Big 12 newcomer BYU. Colorado State regained the No. 13 spot, tying their highest ranking ever achieved earlier this season. Duke, Memphis, and Clemson were also close behind the Rams.

The Owls of FAU have recently experienced a drop in rankings from their highest placement at seventh to No. 17. This is due to the perplexing record they have accumulated this season. While they achieved a notable victory against Texas A&M and a marquee win in double-overtime against Arizona, they also suffered losses to Bryant and an upset by Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday evening.

After the game, Owls coach Dusty May admitted, “They were better than us in every aspect.” May also acknowledged that his team has not dealt with success effectively. As the 2023 preconference schedule comes to an end, May is satisfied with the team’s performance but recognizes that they have extreme highs and lows.

Baylor ranked 18th, followed by James Madison and Texas in the top 20. The bottom five in the initial 2024 poll consisted of Wisconsin, undefeated Mississippi, Providence, struggling Gonzaga, and Auburn, who received their first ranking of the season.

The Memphis team rose to No. 15 after defeating Austin Peay, making the biggest upward movement of four spots. Similarly, Marquette climbed three spots to seventh place after defeating No. 22 Creighton on Saturday. However, Gonzaga fell 11 spots, FAU dropped 10 spots, and Arizona dropped six spots due to their losses during the holiday season, which featured a less busy schedule of games.

Auburn has entered the rankings for the first time since January 30, 2023, following their win against Chattanooga to bring their record to 10-2. The Tigers replaced the Bluejays in the Top 25, as the latter suffered their third loss in four games with a score of 72-67 against Marquette.

This week’s poll included 10 different conferences, with the Big 12 having the most representation at six. The Big 12 also had four teams ranked in the top 12 nationally. The SEC came in second with four representatives, followed by the Big Ten, Big East, and ACC with three each.

Source: wralsportsfan.com