It's time for the third AP Top 25 poll of the 2025-26 men's college basketball season!
Entering Feast Week, Purdue remains No. 1, although Arizona jumps up to No. 2. No. 3 Houston, No. 4 Duke and No. 5 UConn round out the top-5.
The biggest riser from Week 2 was No. 11 Michigan State (six spots). No. 19 Kentucky (seven spots), No. 20 Texas Tech (five spots) and No. 13 Illinois (five spots) fell the most. Wisconsin and Kansas dropped out of the rankings entirely, making way for Vanderbilt and Indiana.
Let's take a look at the top 25 teams, how they got there and what's coming up next for each team this week.
All times Eastern. Unless otherwise noted, all stats courtesy of ESPN Research.
Previous polls: Preseason | Week 1 | Week 2
1. Purdue Boilermakers
Previous ranking: 1
2025-26 record: 6-0
Stat to know: Purdue won the Baha Mar Championship game against Texas Tech by 30 points, its largest win in program history over an AP top-15 team.
What's next: Friday vs. Eastern Illinois, 12 p.m., BTN
2. Arizona Wildcats
Previous ranking: 4
2025-26 record: 5-0
Stat to know: Arizona is the third team in AP Poll history to have multiple wins over Top-3 opponents within its first five games of a season (then-No. 3 UConn last week, then-No. 3 Florida in Week 1). The others? Kansas defeated No. 2 LSU and No. 1 UNLV in 1989-90; Duke defeated No. 1 UCLA on consecutive days in 1965-66.
What's next: Monday vs. Denver (Wildcat Classic), 10:30 p.m., CBSSN
3. Houston Cougars
Previous ranking: 2
2025-26 record: 5-0
Stat to know: The Cougars start 5-0 for the sixth time in 12 seasons under Kelvin Sampson.
What's next: Monday vs. Syracuse in Las Vegas (Players Era Festival), 6 p.m., TNT
4. Duke Blue Devils
Previous ranking: 5
2025-26 record: 7-0
Stat to know: Cameron Boozer now has two games with 25 points and 10 rebounds on 80% shooting from the field, tied for second-most among DI freshman in the last 20 seasons, behind Zion Williamson (three). The other players with multiple such games are Anthony Davis, Julius Randle, DeAndre Ayton, Alexis Yetna, Onyeka Okongwu and JT Toppin. This also makes two 25-point double-doubles for Boozer in seven career college games. His father, Duke legend Carlos Boozer, had two 25-point double-doubles in his 101-game Duke career.
What's next: Thursday vs. Arkansas in Chicago (CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic), 8 p.m., CBS
5. UConn Huskies
Previous ranking: 3
2025-26 record: 5-1
Stat to know: Silas Demary Jr. recorded his first career triple-double on Sunday against Bryant. It is the sixth triple-double in Division I this season. It also makes Demary Jr. the second UConn player with a triple-double in the last 10 seasons (Tristan Newton had four while at Storrs).
What's next: Friday vs. Illinois in New York, 12:30 p.m., FOX
6. Louisville Cardinals
Previous ranking: 6
2025-26 record: 5-0
Stat to know: Mikel Brown Jr. has now had five straight games with 5 or more assists -- that's the longest streak by an ACC freshman since Duke's Tre Jones in Dec. 2018-Jan. 2019 (five).
What's next: Monday vs. Eastern Washington, 7 p.m., ACCN
7. Michigan Wolverines
Previous ranking: 7
2025-26 record: 4-0
Stat to know: Yaxel Lendeborg is up to 47 double-doubles since the beginning of the 2023-24 season, the most in D-I. No other player has 40 double-doubles.
What's next: Monday vs. San Diego State in Las Vegas (Players Era Festival), 10:30 p.m., truTV
8. Alabama Crimson Tide
Previous ranking: 11
2025-26 record: 3-1
Stat to know: Alabama is the fourth SEC team in AP Poll history to have multiple Top-10 wins within its first four games of a season. The Crimson Tide join 1992-93 Arkansas (defeated No. 8 Memphis and No. 9 Arizona), 1980-81 Kentucky (defeated No. 9 Ohio State and No. 5 Indiana) and 1967-68 Vanderbilt (defeated No. 5 North Carolina and No. 8 Davidson). Alabama is the first of these teams to have both wins come away from home.
What's next: Monday vs. Gonzaga in Las Vegas (Players Era Festival), 9:30 p.m., TNT
9. BYU Cougars
Previous ranking: 9
2025-26 record: 4-1
Stat to know: BYU's 98 points in Friday's win against Wisconsin are its most points against an AP-ranked team since 39 years ago to the day: a 119-110 loss to No. 7 Oklahoma on Nov. 21, 1986. This is also the Cougars' most points in a win against a ranked team since Dec. 29, 1970 against No. 11 Villanova (BYU won 102-93).
What's next: Thursday vs. Miami in Kissimmee, Fla. (Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational), 5 p.m., ESPN
10. Florida Gators
Previous ranking: 10
2025-26 record: 4-1
Stat to know: Rueben Chinyelu (14 points, 21 rebounds) and Alec Condon (20 points, 11 rebounds) are the first SEC teammates over the past 30 seasons with a 20-rebound double-double (Chinyelu) and a 20-point double-double (Condon) in the same game. Chinyelu's 21 rebounds are also the most in a game by a Florida player since Eugene McDowell in Jan. 1982 (also 21 against Georgia).
What's next: Thursday vs. TCU in San Diego (Rady Children's Invitational), 3 p.m., FS1
11. Michigan State Spartans
Previous ranking: 17
2025-26 record: 5-0
Stat to know: The Spartans got their first win in a Champions Classic game played at Madison Square Garden (after going 0-4), and got their second win against an AP-ranked opponent at MSG over the past 15 seasons after going 1-8.
What's next: Tuesday vs. East Carolina in Fort Myers, Fla. (Fort Meyers Tip-Off), 1 p.m., FS2
12. Gonzaga Bulldogs
Previous ranking: 13
2025-26 record: 5-0
Stat to know: Last Monday, the Zags beat Southern Utah 122-50. The 72-point win is the program's largest against a D-I opponent all time, and those 122 points are the team's most in a game since Feb. 1989 at Loyola Marymount, when they scored 136 in a loss.
What's next: Monday vs. Alabama in Las Vegas (Players Era Festival), 9:30 p.m., TNT
13. Illinois Fighting Illini
Previous ranking: 8
2025-26 record: 5-1
Stat to know: The Illini have now lost 5 of their last 6 games played at United Center in Chicago, after losing on Thursday to Alabama -- their only win came March 2019 against Northwestern in the Big Ten tournament.
What's next: Monday vs. UT Rio Grande Valley, 8 p.m., BTN
14. St. John's Red Storm
Previous ranking: 14
2025-26 record: 3-1
Stat to know: St. John's has scored at least 93 points in all four games this season. The Red Storm are averaging 98.5 PPG this season (after averaging 78.7 PPG in Rick Pitino's first two seasons at the helm).
What's next: Monday vs. Iowa State in Las Vegas (Players Era Festival), 4:30 p.m., truTV
15. Iowa State Cyclones
Previous ranking: 16
2025-26 record: 4-0
Stat to know: The Cyclones currently have an average winning margin of 33.3 PPG. -- The Associated Press
What's next: Monday vs. St. John's in Las Vegas (Players Era Festival), 4:30 p.m., truTV
16. North Carolina Tar Heels
Previous ranking: 18
2025-26 record: 5-0
Stat to know: North Carolina recorded its 2,400th win after beating Navy last week. The Tar Heels join Kentucky (2,425) and Kansas (2,417) as the only men's Division I programs with 2,400 total wins.
What's next: Tuesday vs. St. Bonaventure in Fort Myers, Fla. (Fort Meyers Tip-Off), 6 p.m., FS1
17. Tennessee Volunteers
Previous ranking: 20
2025-26 record: 5-0
Stat to know: Ja'Kobi Gillespie scored 17 points to lead five players in double figures in the win against Tennessee State. -- The Associated Press
What's next: Monday vs. Rutgers in Las Vegas (Players Era Festival), 1 p.m., TNT
18. UCLA Bruins
Previous ranking: 19
2025-26 record: 5-1
Stat to know: UCLA shot 62.7% from the floor in the win against Presbyterian on Friday, its best mark in seven seasons under coach Mick Cronin. -- The Associated Press
What's next: Tuesday vs. Cal in San Francisco (Mizzen+Main Empire Classic), 10 p.m., ESPN
19. Kentucky Wildcats
Previous ranking: 12
2025-26 record: 4-2
Stat to know: Kentucky has now won three games by at least 40 points. No other D-I team has more such wins this season.
What's next: Wednesday vs. Tennessee Tech, 7 p.m., SEC Network
20. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Previous ranking: 15
2025-26 record: 4-2
Stat to know: Texas Tech suffered its first 30-point loss as an AP-ranked team in program history, when it fell to Purdue in the Baha Mar Championship game. The Red Raiders' previous largest loss while ranked was by 29 points to Oklahoma State on Jan. 9, 2010.
What's next: Wednesday vs. New Orleans, 1 p.m., ESPN+
21. Auburn Tigers
Previous ranking: 22
2025-26 record: 4-1
Stat to know: Auburn's 56-point win against Jackson State is its largest since a 57-point win over University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez on Dec. 20, 1999. The 56-point win is tied for Auburn's largest win against a D-I opponent in the last 60 years (100-44 win vs Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 21, 1999).
What's next: Monday vs. Oregon in Las Vegas (Players Era Festival), 8 p.m., truTV
22. Arkansas Razorbacks
Previous ranking: 21
2025-26 record: 5-1
Stat to know: In the win against Jackson State, Arkansas shot 39-for-61 from the field (63.9%) -- its second-highest field-goal percentage in a game in the past 30 seasons (The Razorbacks were 27-for-41 from the field on 65.9% shooting on Dec. 7, 2009 against Delaware State).
What's next: Thursday vs. Duke in Chicago (CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic), 8 p.m., CBS
23. NC State Wolfpack
Previous ranking: 25
2025-26 record: 4-0
Stat to know: The Wolfpack are 4-0 for the fourth consecutive season after winning for the 70th time in their last 74 nonconference home games.
What's next: Monday vs. Seton Hall in Maui (Maui Invitational), 2:30 p.m., ESPN2
24. Vanderbilt Commodores
Previous ranking: Unranked
2025-26 record: 5-0
Stat to know: The Commodores are No. 1 in the country in offense, averaging 103 PPG. Four of their five wins to start this season have come after scoring 100 or more points.
What's next: Wednesday vs. Western Kentucky in Nassau (Battle 4 Atlantis), 12 p.m., ESPN
25. Indiana Hoosiers
Previous ranking: Unranked
2025-26 record: 5-0
Stat to know: Indiana has started a season 5-0 for the first time since 2022-23. -- The Associated Press
What's next: Tuesday vs. Kansas State, 8 p.m., FS1
