The first regular-season AP poll is out, and the top of it looks familiar. Florida is still No. 1, the top four did not move, and UCLA made the biggest jump of the week. If you missed it, my opening night recap covers how the season started.
The New AP Top 10
| Rank | Team | Record | Last week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | 2-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Duke | 2-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Illinois | 2-0 | 3 |
| 4 | UConn | 2-0 | 4 |
| 5 | Michigan State | 2-0 | 6 |
| 6 | Virginia | 3-0 | 9 |
| 7 | Texas | 2-0 | 7 |
| 8 | Houston | 2-0 | 10 |
| 9 | UCLA | 2-0 | 22 |
| 10 | Louisville | 2-0 | 11 |
Florida received 53 of 60 first-place votes, and Duke got the other seven. Nebraska (2-0) entered the poll at No. 25, and Iowa State fell out from No. 18 after losing to Memphis 80-76 on opening night. Arizona dropped from No. 5 to No. 12, Arkansas slid from No. 12 to No. 19, and Michigan fell from No. 16 to No. 20.
UCLA Climbs 13 Spots
UCLA went from No. 22 to No. 9 on the strength of its opening-night win over Arizona, 84-75 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Trent Perry scored 21 points, and the Bruins led by 16 at halftime. Arizona’s Ivan Kharchenkov scored a career-high 38 in the loss. The Wildcats bounced back with a 20-point win over Cal Poly.
UConn Wins the Title Game Rematch
UConn beat then-No. 16 Michigan on Friday in a rematch of last season’s national championship game. Braylon Mullins scored 23 points for the Huskies, who stayed at No. 4. UConn is the program I watched win the 2023 national title in Houston.
Florida Holds Serve at No. 1
Florida opened with a 77-67 win over then-No. 14 Miami and followed it with a win over Jacksonville. I was in San Antonio when this program won the 2025 national championship.
Elsewhere, Virginia went 3-0, including a win over then-No. 12 Arkansas, and Illinois won its first two games by an average of 58.5 points.
Player of the Week (My Pick): Thomas Haugh, Florida
Haugh led the No. 1 team in the country past a ranked opponent on opening night, with 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists against Miami. He made four 3-pointers in that game.
HBCU Watch
Alabama State: The Hornets opened on Nov. 3 with a 97-66 loss at Texas A&M’s Reed Arena. They trailed 44-29 at halftime, then used a 12-2 run in the second half to cut it to 58-46 before the Aggies pulled away. Alabama State plays its home opener tonight against Georgia Gwinnett, hosts Oklahoma Panhandle State on Wednesday and visits San Jose State on Sunday.
- Grambling State 89, Northern Illinois 87: Isaiah Miranda had 29 points on 10-of-12 shooting with eight rebounds and three blocks in a 3 a.m. ET opener.
- Prairie View A&M 86, Paul Quinn 65: Michael Eley scored 27 points with four steals.
- Morgan State 103, Cheyney 52: Alfred Worrell Jr. scored 27 points.
- Maryland Eastern Shore: B. Gardner scored 30 points in an 83-62 loss to Wake Forest.
- Tennessee State: The Tigers lost 94-64 to Murray State in Sioux Falls.
- Division II: SIAC and CIAA play is just getting started. I will have D2 notes as their results come in.
Looking Ahead
- Florida at Florida State (Tuesday): The No. 1 team goes on the road in-state.
- Kentucky vs. Kansas (Tuesday): Two ranked blue bloods, No. 24 and No. 15.
- Alabama State at San Jose State (Sunday): The Hornets head west.
My next men’s weekly post comes next Monday, right after the new AP poll.
Featured photo: UCLA Bruins basketball at Pauley Pavilion, 2018 by Steve Cheng, Bruin Report Online, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Leave a Reply