Coaches Poll Top 25 basketball rankings: Arizona makes big jump
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With just over three weeks left in the regular season, the Arizona Wildcats are back among the college basketball elite.
After starting the season ranked No. 9 in the country in the Coaches Poll, the Wildcats tumbled from the rankings. They lost five of their first nine games and looked like they were headed for a down season. But Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd never wavered.
"I didn't expect to be (4-5), but I didn't panic," Lloyd said after Arizona's win over Texas Tech on Saturday. "That doesn't mean there wasn't a sense of urgency. We rolled up our sleeves and figured it out. ... We've never acted like we're perfect or we're above losses. We're just like anybody else. We've got a bunch of great dudes. We've got a great coaching staff that's all in and we rolled up our sleeves and we fought."
Arizona (17-6, 11-1) has won 13 of its last 14 games and is one of the hottest college basketball teams in the country. The Wildcats have risen to No. 7 in the country in the NCAA NET Rankings, and in the latest Coaches Poll, released Monday, they're ranked No. 13.
The Wildcats have a big week ahead in the Big 12. They travel to Manhattan, Kansas on Tuesday for a game with Kansas State before returning home on Saturday for a first-place showdown with Houston. The Cougars are ranked No. 6 in the Coaches Poll.
The SEC occupies the top four spots in the Coaches Poll, with Alabama moving into the top spot after Auburn's loss to Florida. The Big 12 has five ranked teams: No. 6 Houston, No. 10 Iowa State, No. 12 Texas Tech, No. 13 Arizona, No. 20 Kansas.
Here's the latest men's college basketball Coaches Poll for Week 16 of the 2024-25 season.
Coaches Poll Top 25
Feb. 10, 2025
- Alabama (15)
- Auburn (16)
- Florida
- Tennessee
- Duke
- Houston
- Purdue
- St. John's
- Texas A&M
- Iowa State
- Michigan State
- Texas Tech
- Arizona
- Memphis
- Wisconsin
- Marquette
- Michigan
- Kentucky
- Clemson
- Kansas
- Creighton
- Missouri
- Ole Miss
- UConn
- Maryland
Also receiving votes: Mississippi State 72; Louisville 57; Saint Mary's 51; UCLA 42; Illinois 19; New Mexico 16; Gonzaga 7; Oregon 5; VCU 2; Utah State 2; UC San Diego 1; Drake 1; Baylor 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.