AP Top 25 Poll: Arizona, Texas Tech make big jumps in rankings
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Saturday's Texas Tech vs. Arizona showdown inTucson just got much more interesting.
In the latest AP Top 25 Poll, released Monday, the Wildcats and Red Raiders moved way up the rankings, officially making their second Big 12 matchup a top-20 showdown. Texas Tech won the first game 70-54.
Arizona (15-6, 9-1) moved into the poll at No. 20 — its first ranking since Week 4. After upsetting Houston on Saturday, Texas Tech (17-4, 8-2) moved up nine spots to No. 13.
The Big 12 has two teams in the top 10 — No. 5 Houston and No. 8 Iowa State. No. 16 Kansas is the other Big 12 team in the poll.
Arizona received 308 votes, which put them one spot ahead of No. 21 Wisconsin (17-5). The Badgers hammered the Wildcats 103-88 in November. Arizona has won 11 of its past 12 games and is in a tie for first place in the Big 12 with Houston.
The Wildcats have a big week in front of them: at BYU (15-6, 6-4) on Tuesday and at home vs. Texas Tech on Saturday. Both matchups are Quadrant 1 games, which means they'll have a significant impact on Arizona's NCAA tournament seed. A Quad 1 game is a home matchup against a top 30 team in the NCAA NET Rankings, or a road game against a top 50 team in the NET.
Arizona is currently ranked No. 11 in the NET. Texas Tech is ranked No. 8 and BYU is ranked No. 33.
Here's the latest AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll:
AP Top 25 Poll
Feb. 3, 2025
- Auburn (62)
- Duke
- Alabama
- Tennessee
- Houston
- Florida
- Purdue
- Iowa State
- Michigan State
- Texas A&M
- Marquette
- St. John's
- Texas Tech
- Kentucky
- Missouri
- Kansas
- Memphis
- Maryland
- UConn
- Arizona
- Wisconsin
- Mississippi State
- Illinois
- Michigan
- Ole Miss
Also receiving votes: Clemson 182, Saint Mary's 136, Louisville 86, Creighton 50, Oregon 39, UCLA 26, New Mexico 23, Drake 18, Gonzaga 11, Utah State 8, Vanderbilt 4, Baylor 3, George Mason 3, Texas 1, Oklahoma 1.
More Arizona & Big 12 Analysis
-029877d49238355bd3388a94f90e3c72.jpg "Ben Sherman")
Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his 27-year journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. A basketball junkie, March Madness is his favorite time of the year.