Arizona moved into the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll Monday for the first time in two years.
The Wildcats (8-0) received 33 of 60 first-place votes to move up from the No. 2 spot, while second-ranked Michigan (8-0) picked up 19 and third-ranked Duke (10-0) received seven.
Arizona's Big 12 counterpart, Iowa State (9-0), opened the door for the Wildcats to take the top spot after winning at then-top-ranked Purdue 81-58. The Cyclones also jumped six spots to No. 4 and picked up one first-place vote in this week's poll as a result.
The AP Poll is made up of 61 media voters from across the country, though one ballot did not appear to be submitted this week.
In overall voting, Arizona had a 21-point edge over Michigan, and was 55 points above Duke. First-place votes are worth 25 points, with one fewer point given to each slot down the Top 25.
The Wildcats are coming off a 97-68 win over then 20th-ranked Auburn on Saturday, while also having beaten Florida, UCLA and UConn last month.
Arizona forward Ivan Kharchenkov (8) and Arizona forward Koa Peat (10) celebrate in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against UConn, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, in Storrs, Conn.
After Iowa State beat Purdue and the Wildcats beat Auburn on Saturday, Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said being No. 1 was “nothing you shy away from,” though he said the focus remains on facing Alabama on Saturday in Birmingham, Ala.
"We know we have a really tough game against Alabama, who's obviously going to be battle tested," Lloyd said.
The Crimson Tide (7-2) remained ranked No. 12 Monday, having lost only to Purdue and 8th-ranked Gonzaga so far this season. Auburn (7-3) dropped from No. 20 to No. 21 after losing at McKale Center on Saturday.
Also in the AP poll, UConn (8-1) finished fifth in voting while Purdue (8-1) dropped to the No. 6 spot. Among other UA opponents this season, Houston (8-1) moved up from No. 8 to No. 67, BYU (7-1) remained at No. 10, Texas Tech (7-2) moved from No. 19 to No. 16, Kansas (7-3) jumped two spots to No. 19, and UCLA (7-2) jumped back into the poll at No. 25.
The Wildcats were last atop the AP Top 25 poll on Dec. 11, 2023, spending two weeks there while beating Duke, Michigan State and Wisconsin en route to an 8-0 start. Arizona dropped to No. 4 on Dec. 16 after losing at Purdue in Indianapolis, then won the Pac-12 regular-season title at 15-5 and finished that season in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with a loss to Clemson.
In the NCAA’s computerized NET ratings through games played Sunday, Michigan is No. 1, followed by Duke, Iowa State, Gonzaga and Vanderbilt before Arizona at No. 6.
The Wildcats are 3-0 in Quad 1 games – the wins over Florida, UCLA and UConn – while their win over Auburn qualified as a Quad 2 game because the Tigers are ranked 34 in the NET, below the 1-25 range needed for an opponent to become a Quad 1 opportunity for a team hosting it.
FWIW, here's the ballot I submitted to the AP. I had Arizona ranked No. 2 on Nov. 24 after its three big early wins, but moved the Wildcats to No. 3 behind Michigan last week after the Wolverines dominated San Diego State, Auburn and Gonzaga in Las Vegas. I did not change that order this week, putting Michigan in the top spot, followed by Arizona, Duke and Iowa State.
