After clobbering No. 23 Wisconsin 98-73 on Saturday at McKale Center, Arizona picked up all but one of 63 first-place votes while staying atop the Associated Press Top 25 poll Monday.
Houston (10-0) earned the only other first-place vote, though the Cougars fell overall from the No. 3 to the No. 4 spot.Β
Purdue (9-1) leapfrogged Houston, going from 4 to 3 afterΒ beating Iowa and Alabama last week entering what will now be a No. 1-vs.-No. 3 showdown on Saturday in Indianapolis. The game is set for 2:30 p.m. and will be streamed on Peacock.
The Boilermakers had gained the No. 1 spot on Nov. 27 but lost later that week at Northwestern, opening the door for Arizona to take over. The Wildcats picked up 59 of 63 first-place votes on Dec. 4, with one going to Kansas and the other three to Houston, but gained 62 votes on Monday.
Kansas remained at No. 2 overall and UConn stayed at No. 5.
Among other UA opponents this season, Florida Atlantic dropped from No. 11 to No. 15, while Duke rose from No. 22 to No. 21, Wisconsin remained at No. 23 and Colorado picked up the 26th most points in voting. Utah and Washington also received votes.
In the NCAA's NET ratings, Arizona is No. 1 while the Wildcats are No. 2 behind Houston in Kenpom.
FWIW, this was the ballot I sent to the AP:
Colorado's Tristan da Silva was named Pac-12 Player of the Week after posting nearly a triple-double in the Buffaloes' 90-63 win over Miami in New York, beating out Arizona's Pelle Larsson and six other nominees.
Da Silva had 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists with only two turnovers against Miami in the Buffaloes' only game of the week. Arizona nominated Larsson after he posted 21 points, four rebounds and four assists while going 6-for-6 from the field in the Wildcats' 98-73 win over Wisconsin.
Other top candidates included Washington center Franck Kepnang, who averaged 15.0 points and 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks in Washington's wins over Montana State and Gonzaga. Kepnang had five blocks in the Huskies' 78-73 win over the Zags on Saturday.
Washington State's Myles Rice was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week after averaging 11 points in two Cougar wins. UA had nominated KJ Lewis.
Arizona Basketball Press Conference | Tommy Lloyd | postgame after win over Wisconsin | Dec. 9, 2023 (Arizona Wildcats YouTube)
