College Basketball AP Top 25: There’s Already a New No. 1 in NCAA Hoops

Kelvin Sampson’s Houston Cougars top this week’s rankings, while Rick Pitino’s St. John’s Red Storm plummet.

The Houston Cougars are 2-0 to start the 2025 season. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Lost in the sauce of the NFL's Week 10 and college football's Week 11 was the fact that NCAA basketball officially kicked off this past Monday.

The week that was in college hoops brought plenty of action, drama, and unique storylines as the road to March Madness got underway. AJ Dybantsa made his much-anticipated debut with the BYU Cougars, the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers drilled a buzzer-beater to win their first game since the passing of longtime team chaplain Sister Jean, and freshman forward Caleb Wilson has the UNC Tar Heels off to a 2–0 start—and soaring in the first in-season AP Top 25 Poll.

Speaking of the new rankings, the Houston Cougars—led by veteran coach Kelvin Sampson—made a one-spot jump to enter Week 2 as the nation’s No. 1 team, while Rick Pitino’s St. John’s Red Storm plummeted eight spots after falling to No. 8 Alabama on Saturday. The Arizona Wildcats, meanwhile, made the biggest leap of the week, climbing into the Top 5 following wins over now–No. 10 Florida and Utah Tech.

Here’s a full look at the AP’s Week 2 Top 25 Poll:

AP Top 25 Rankings, Week 2

Rank	Team	Change From Last Week
1.	Houston Cougars	+1
2.	Purdue Boilermakers	-1
3.	UConn Huskies	+1
4.	Duke Blue Devils	+2
5.	Arizona Wildcats	+8
6.	Michigan Wolverines	+1
7.	BYU Cougars	+1
8.	Alabama Crimson Tide	None
9.	Kentucky Wildcats	None
10.	Florida Gators	-7
11.	Texas Tech Red Raiders	-1
12.	Louisville Cardinals	-1
13.	St. Johns Red Storm	-8
14.	Illinois Fighting Illini	+3
15.	UCLA Bruins	-3
16.	Iowa State Cyclones	None
17.	Michigan State Spartans	+5
18.	North Carolina Tar Heels	+7
19.	Gonzaga Bulldogs	+2
20.	Tennessee Volunteers	-2
21.	Arkansas Razorbacks	-7
22.	Auburn Tigers	-2
23.	Creighton Jays	None
24.	Wisconsin Badgers	None
25.	Kansas Jayhawks	-6

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