houston-usatsi.jpg
USATSI

Houston took over the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 poll Monday morning and did the same Monday afternoon in the USA Today Coaches Poll, jumping one spot from No. 2 just one week after it had moved from No. 3 — where it began in the preseason — to No. 2. The Cougars supplanted preseason No. 1 North Carolina after UNC took two losses in three days participating in the PK85. 

UNC fell 14 spots this week to No. 15.Twenty-three of a possible 32 first-place votes cast by coaches went to Houston on the week to spur its charge to the top. There was far from a consensus, though, with four teams in total earning at least one first-place vote including Texas, Virginia and Purdue.

Texas, which ranks No. 2 in the Coaches Poll this week, up two spots from last week, earned the second-most first-place votes with five. Purdue, which jumped 18 spots to No. 5, earned the third-most with three while No. 3 Virginia earned one vote. 

Coaches poll

  1. Houston (23)
  2. Texas (5)
  3. Virginia (1)
  4. Arizona
  5. Purdue (3)
  6. UConn
  7. Creighton
  8. Indiana
  9. Kansas
  10. Baylor
  11. Arkansas
  12. Gonzaga
  13. Tennessee
  14. Alabama
  15. North Carolina
  16. Duke
  17. Illinois
  18. Kentucky
  19. Auburn
  20. Michigan State
  21. UCLA
  22. Maryland
  23. Iowa State
  24. San Diego State
  25. Ohio State

Others receiving votes: TCU 40; Iowa 28; Texas Tech 16; Wisconsin 15; West Virginia 11; Mississippi State 11; Michigan 9; Xavier 8; Saint Mary's 8; Oklahoma 7; St. John's 5; Miami 5; Kansas State 5; Charleston 5; UNLV 4; Drake 2.

Dropped out: No. 20 Texas Tech; No. 24 Iowa.