Purdue’s impressive start received unanimous validation, as the Boilermakers became the nation’s No. 1 men’s college basketball team for the first time in program history.
Coach Matt Painter’s Boilermakers (8-0) captured all 61 first-place votes, moving up from No. 2 last week. It’s the second week in a row a new team took over the top spot after Gonzaga occupied the perch from more than one year.
Defending national champion Baylor (8-0) moved from No. 4 to No. 2, while last week’s No. 1, Duke (7-1), fell to No. 3 after a loss to Ohio State.
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— Purdue Mens Basketball (@BoilerBall) December 6, 2021
UCLA (8-1) and Gonzaga (7-2) rounded out the top five.
Purdue, the all-time leader in Big Ten championships with 24, reached No. 2 in both the 1986-87 and 1987-88 seasons under legendary coach Gene Keady but never had reached the top spot.
Filling out the Top 10 were No. 6 Villanova (6-2), followed by Texas (6-1), Kansas (6-1), Alabama (7-1) and Kentucky (6-1).
Alabama, with a 91-82 win over Gonzaga on Saturday, was the big mover of the week, rising seven spots from No. 16.
Southern California (8-0) moved up four spots to No. 16 with wins over Pac-12 foes Utah and Washington State, while BYU (7-1) plummeted from No. 12 to 24 after an overtime loss to Utah State and a narrow win over Missouri State. Florida (6-1) tumbled six places to No. 20.
Re-entering the top 25 was Ohio State (6-2) at No. 21 after its 71-66 victory over Duke, while LSU (8-0) joined in at No. 25. Falling out of the Top 25 were Memphis and Michigan.
The Wolverines were ranked No. 4 earlier this season.
–Field Level Media
