Sportsnaut
Houston returned to No. 1 while Northwestern entered the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time in two years in the latest rankings released Monday.
The Cougars (25-2) received 48 first-place votes to supplant Alabama at No. 1. The Crimson Tide (23-4) spent just one week at the top after losing to Tennessee. Kansas (22-5) received seven first-place votes – as did Alabama – to jump two spots to No. 3.
UCLA (23-4) and Purdue (24-4) round out the top five.
Northwestern (20-7) debuts at No. 21 with wins over then-No. 14 Indiana and Iowa last week. The Wildcats have won five in a row, including one over then-No. 1 Purdue on Feb. 12.
Texas A&M (20-7) rejoined at No. 25 just in time for a home date with Tennessee. The Vols are up to No. 11 this week. The Aggies were first ranked in November.
North Carolina State and Florida Atlantic fell out of the rankings.
Virginia (21-4), Arizona (24-4), Texas (21-6), Baylor (20-7) and Marquette (21-6) round out the top 10.
The rest of the poll:
No. 11 Tennessee
No. 12 Gonzaga
No. 13 Miami (FL)
No. 14 Kansas State
No. 15 Saint Mary’s
No. 16 Xavier
No. 17 Indiana
No. 18 UConn
No. 19 Creighton
No. 20 Providence
No. 21 Northwestern
No. 22 San Diego State
No. 23 Iowa State
No. 24 TCU
No. 25 Texas A&M
–Field Level Media
