Men's Basketball AP Poll: UCLA Reaches New Heights After Sweep

With the regular season over, the Bruins are riding higher than they have in years.

UCLA men's basketball (27-4, 18-2 Pac-12) moved up from No. 4 to No. 2 in the latest edition of the AP Poll on Monday. The Bruins earned 1,452 points – up from 1,391 points from a week ago – plus three first-place votes, and remained inside the top 10 for the 10th-straight week in the process.

This marks the first time UCLA has cracked the top-two since Nov. 22, 2021, and the first time they've made it that high during conference play since Feb. 26, 2007. The Bruins hadn't earned a first-place vote since early last season either, and they hadn't picked one up during conference play since Feb. 27, 2017.

All 62 voters had the UCLA ranked inside the top four, with the vast majority putting them at No. 2.

The bump in votes came after UCLA defeated Arizona State on Thursday and Arizona on Saturday. The latter win helped the Bruins avenge one of their four losses all season, although it did come at a cost with guard Jaylen Clark appearing to suffer a major injury in the second half.

UCLA currently ranks No. 4 in the NET, No. 2 in the KenPom, No. 3 in the T-Rank and No. 4 in the BPI.

In accordance with the Bruins winning the Pac-12 regular season title by four games, they are once again the top-ranked team in the conference. The Wildcats remained at No. 8 even after their loss, while no other Pac-12 teams received a vote.

UCLA was partially able to climb up a few spots because of all the chaos across the rest of the country, as Alabama fell from No. 2 to No. 4 and Kansas stayed put at No. 3 despite a loss of their own. Last week's No. 7, No. 8, No. 9, No. 11, No. 12, No. 15, No. 18, No. 22 and No. 23 teams all lost one game, while No. 20, No. 21 and No. 25 each lost twice.

Even No. 1 Houston needed a buzzer-beater – with a possible push-off – to fend off unranked Memphis on Sunday. Had the Cougars lost that game, the Bruins may have had a chance to take over as the top team in the nation.

There is one AP poll remaining, with the country's top programs all set to take part in conference tournament week before the voting occurs. UCLA only has one ranked team in the Pac-12 that it can face in Arizona, and they can only meet if both teams beat two unranked opponents in the quarterfinals and semifinals.

The full AP Poll is listed below:

1. Houston (29-2), 1522 points (58 first-place votes)
2. UCLA (27-4), 1452 (3)
3. Kansas (25-6), 1368
4. Alabama (26-5), 1343
5. Purdue (26-5), 1274
6. Marquette (25-6), 1218
7. Texas (23-8), 1100
8. Arizona (25-6), 1042
9. Gonzaga (26-5), 1031
10. Baylor (22-9), 961
11. UConn (24-7), 847
12. Kansas State (23-8), 838
13. Virginia (23-6), 791
14. Miami (FL) (24-6), 761
15. Xavier (23-8), 641
16. Saint Mary's (25-6), 587
17. Tennessee (22-9), 573
18. Texas A&M (23-8), 507
19. Indiana (21-10), 481
20. San Diego State (24-6), 370
21. Duke (23-8), 293
22. TCU (20-11), 193
23. Kentucky (21-10), 138
24. Creighton (20-11), 133
25. Missouri (23-8), 66

Others Receiving Votes: Oral Roberts 54, Florida Atlantic 53, Utah State 32, Providence 26, Iowa State 23, Northwestern 16, West Virginia 15, Toledo 10, Pittsburgh 10, Charleston 9, Michigan State 9, VCU 8, Boise State 7, Iowa 5, USC 5, Vanderbilt 3, Maryland 3, Memphis 3, Arkansas 2, North Texas 1, Drake 1

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