Indiana Basketball Climbs to No. 15 in Associated Press Poll; Purdue Remains No. 1
Coach Mike Woodson and the Indiana Hoosiers are in the midst of a lengthy break, spanning nearly two weeks until a road trip to Iowa on Jan. 5
Despite not taking the floor since its 69-55 win over Kennesaw State on Dec. 23, Indiana moved up one spot in the Associated Press top-25 poll. The Hoosiers check in at No. 15 this week thanks to Baylor's 77-62 loss at Iowa State, which saw the Bears drop from No. 12 to No. 19 this week. Indiana joins Purdue, Wisconsin and Ohio State as one of four ranked teams from the Big Ten. Indiana has been ranked in every poll this season, starting at No. 13 in the preseason and peaking at No. 10 in Week 4.
The Hoosiers are 10-3 to begin the new year, and two of their losses are against potential No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. After a 69-67 win over Oklahoma State, Kansas moved up one spot to No. 3 in this week's poll, behind No. 1 Purdue and No. 2 Houston. Arizona stood pat at No. 5 following a 69-60 win at Arizona State this week.
Indiana's NCAA Tournament résumé received a boost on Saturday when Xavier took down UConn, who was undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the nation at the time. With this 83-73 win at home, Xavier climbed four spots to No. 18 and UConn dropped two spots to No. 4.
Coach Matt Painter and the Boilermakers hold the No. 1 ranking for the fourth consecutive week with a crucial home game against Rutgers on Monday at 6 p.m. ET. In this matchup during the 2021-22 season, Rutgers' Ron Harper Jr. hit a half-court buzzer beater to take down No. 1 Purdue. At 13-0, Purdue and No. 21 New Mexico are the only undefeated teams remaining.
Wisconsin checks in a No. 14 in this week's poll with a 10-2 record. The Badgers secured a 10-point win at home against Western Michigan to remain the Big Ten's second-highest ranked team.
Ohio State jumped back into the top 25 this week after blowout wins over Alabama A&M and Northwestern. The Buckeyes moved to 2-0 in Big Ten play and 10-3 overall with this 16-point win at Northwestern.
In the Big Ten, Illinois and Michigan State received votes but remain outside the top 25. The Illinois cruised to an easy win over Bethune-Cookman this week, but hold an 0-2 record in conference play with losses to Maryland and Penn State. Michigan State peaked at No. 12 on Nov. 21 after wins over Villanova and Kentucky, but dropped out of the poll with losses to Alabama, Notre Dame and Northwestern.
Here's this week's top 25:
1. Purdue (13-0)
2. Houston (14-1)
3. Kansas (12-1)
4. UConn (14-1)
5. Arizona (13-1)
6. Texas (12-1)
7. Alabama (12-2)
8. Tennessee (12-2)
9. Gonzaga (12-3)
10. UCLA (13-2)
11. Virginia (10-2)
12. Miami (FL) (13-1)
13. Arkansas (11-2)
14. Wisconsin (10-2)
15. Indiana (10-3)
16. Duke (11-3)
17. TCU (12-1)
18. Xavier (12-3)
19. Baylor (10-3)
20. Missouri (12-1)
21. New Mexico (14-0)
22. Auburn (11-2)
23. Charleston (14-1)
24. Ohio State (10-3)
25. Iowa State (10-2)
Others receiving votes: LSU 83, San Diego State 72, Mississippi State 62, Kentucky 53, Kansas State 41, Illinois 21, Marquette 20, Providence 14, Virginia Tech 7, Memphis 6, West Virginia 5, Michigan State 5, Florida Atlantic 3, Creighton 1
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