Where Houston Cougars Rank in Latest AP Poll
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After a 3-0 start to Big 12 play in 2025-26, in part from a 77-55 blowout road win over Baylor in Foster Pavilion on Saturday afternoon, the Houston Cougars had a considerable case to make another climb for the Week 10 AP Poll top 25 release.
However, Houston's program-record 16th straight road win, paired with a shakeup in the top-six of the poll from an undefeated ranked upset, still wasn't enough to garner a move from last week's poll as the Cougars stayed stagnant at No. 7.
If there was any glimmer of hope for a first-place vote, those remain out of the equation as well, as Arizona racked 60 of the 61 of those votes to remain atop the poll at a perfect 16-0, ripping away any hope for beyond the top-two. Until the Wildcats or the Iowa State Cyclones are handed their first loss, it seems like these two programs are cut for that category.
Considering the Cougars grabbed a program-record 23 offensive rebounds in a Big 12 game, which was mostly fueled by junior forward Joseph Tugler's second consecutive double-double (a feat he accomplished for the first time in his career), it's only another case as to how Houston hasn't reached its full ceiling yet continues to manage big wins in the conference's biggest season by far.
And it's only a matter of time before Houston faces the league's top competition, filled with deep rosters like that of Iowa State and coveted freshman talents like forward Koa Peat of Arizona.
While there's still a ways to go but nonetheless a chance to grab these wins to help Houston rebound back to No. 1-seed territory, the one loss that took the college basketball world by storm ahead of the Week 10 AP Poll release still poses questions as to why it didn't make a single move.
Michigan's unranked loss not enough for Houston
Heading into Saturday, Michigan, at 14-0, was and still is the top-rated team in KenPom when factoring offensive and defensive adjustments. In the 10-game stretch prior, the Wolverines' average margin of victory was a whopping 34 points.
But in naturally facing the brunt of conference play like any program would, Michigan's 91-88 loss to unranked Wisconsin at Crisler Center showed that while a team may play its best in the beginning of the season, it will almost assuredly undergo later trials.
This only insinuates a further argument that an unranked loss in a home environment should've at least given Houston an opportunity to move up, knowing the Cougars had already capitalized on games they were supposed to take care of business in. A blowout road win in a conference like the Big 12 typically tends to speak volumes.
To add on, some could argue as to why Duke remains in the top six above Houston, considering Houston came from behind in similar thrilling fashion against a Texas Tech team that beat the Blue Devils in Madison Square Garden on Dec. 20.
In the end, AP Poll positioning is not a large, indicative factor as to where a team ends up seeded at the end of the regular season, but with Houston having not reached its full offensive ceiling, yet inching to grab impressive wins toward a record conference campaign, voters may soon turn their heads back to the Cougars.
Michael Carrara is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He attends the University of Houston, where he is a journalism major and a marketing minor. He is also a sports writer and reporter for the Daily Cougar, having covered baseball as an NCBWA member. You can find Michael on all major social media channels, including X on @michaelcoalec.