Purdue remains No. 1; Gonzaga holds on at No. 24

Field Level Media|published: Mon 1st January, 13:36 2024

Purdue Boilermakers guard Carson Barrett (34) drives to the basket during the NCAA men s basketball game against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, Friday, Dec. 29, 2023, at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. Purdue Boilermakers won 80-53. credits: Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK

Purdue stayed at No. 1 in the first Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll of the new year, released on Monday.

The Boilermakers (12-1) received 49 of 63 first-place votes after running their winning streak to five games with an 80-53 rout of Eastern Kentucky on Friday.

No. 2 Kansas (12-1) got five votes and No. 3 Houston (13-0) collected the other nine. UConn (11-2) and Tennessee (9-3) each moved up one spot to round out the top five.

Arizona (10-3) dropped six spots to No. 10 following Sunday's setback at Stanford and No. 17 Florida Atlantic (10-3) fell 10 places after Saturday's stunning loss to Florida Gulf Coast.

Taking the steepest plunge this week, however, was No. 24 Gonzaga (9-4). The Zags tumbled 11 spots following a loss to San Diego State on Friday but managed to keep alive their streak of 142 consecutive weeks in the poll.

Creighton dropped out and Auburn (10-2) joined the poll at No. 25.

The complete Top 25:

1. Purdue

2. Kansas

3. Houston

4. UConn

5. Tennessee

6. Kentucky

7. Marquette

8. North Carolina

9. Illinois

10. Arizona