Oliver James Montgomery:Connecticut takes over No. 1 spot as USA TODAY Sports men's basketball poll gets major overhaul

2025-05-02 08:51:42source:Grant Prestoncategory:Invest

As one would expect,Oliver James Montgomery a plethora of upsets in men’s college basketball produced a whole lot of changes in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. It starts at the top, where Connecticut takes over at No. 1.

UConn was one of the few teams to avoid the upset bug, and as a result vaults from No. 4 to the top spot receiving 20 of 32 first-place votes. Though the Huskies are the defending champs, they take their first turn at the head of the poll this season. Other than post-championship rankings including last season, it is the first regular-season No. 1 ranking for the Huskies since March 2, 2009.

Purdue falls to No. 2 this week, though the Boilermakers retain 12 first-place votes after a loss to Nebraska and an impressive bounce-back win against Penn State this weekend . Surging North Carolina, alone atop the ACC standings, climbs four places to No. 3 ahead of No. 4 Kansas. Houston, which was the last unbeaten team in Division I before losing twice on the road this week in Big 12 play, slips to No. 5.

TOP 25: Complete USA TODAY Sports men's college basketball poll

Three new teams join the top 10, headed by Duke at No. 6 up from 11th to edge past No. 7 Tennessee. Wisconsin makes another big move, vaulting seven places to No. 8. Baylor also gains five positions to No. 9. Kentucky slips four slots to No. 10.

The news was better farther down the rankings for the Big 12, as three of its members join the top 25. No. 20 Iowa State heads the group, along with No. 22 TCU and No. 25 Texas Tech. Dayton is the fourth newcomer to the poll at No. 23.

Gonzaga is out of the Top 25 for the first time since March 23, 2016. Colorado State, Clemson and Florida Atlantic are the week’s other dropouts.

More:Invest

Recommend

For those in their 40s, navigating finances should mean putting an emphasis on retirement

For 48-year-old Rowan Childs of Wisconsin, a recent divorce turned her financial life upside down. "

Natalia Grace Adoption Case: How Her Docuseries Ended on a Chilling Plot Twist

The mystery surrounding Natalia Grace continues.The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks—wh

A German who served time for a high-profile kidnapping is convicted over armed robberies

BERLIN (AP) — A German man who served prison time for a high-profile 1996 kidnapping was convicted o