Houston men’s basketball is ranked No. 1 in the latest AP Top 25 poll for the first time in 39 years. Here’s what you need to know:
- Houston (6-0) received 45 of 63 first-place votes in the Week 4 poll after beating Kent State last week.
- North Carolina, now No. 18, was previously No. 1, but notched two losses in three days over the weekend — the latter in a quadruple-overtime matchup with Alabama on Sunday.
- Texas is ranked No. 2 and Virginia No. 3. Arizona is No. 4, up 10 spots, and Purdue jumped a whopping 19 spots to land at No. 5.
Backstory
The last time Houston was ranked No. 1 was in the 1982-83 season, per the AP. The Cougars ended that season with a loss to NC State in the championship game.
Houston hits another high
Chalk up another milestone for Kelvin Sampson’s Houston: the school’s first No. 1 Associated Press poll ranking since Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler were still on campus all the way back in 1983. The No. 1 spot only means so much, especially this early in the season; it’s purely symbolic, when you get right down to it. But for Houston, it is a symbol of a program’s remarkable rise under Sampson, and in particular its ability to regenerate and develop its personnel each and every year and end up being even better every single season. Sampson has this thing really rolling now. — Brennan
The difference a (feast) week makes
Last week’s huge confluence of early-season hoops events compressed dozens of highly impactful games in the matter of a few days, such that the sport already feels vastly changed from where it was even a week ago. (The Maui Invitational somehow feels like it was last month.) Big poll jumps by the best performers ensued. Purdue beat Gonzaga by 18 and Duke by 19 en route to a PK85 championship and a 19-spot rise in poll position. The drastically underrated Boilermakers, alongside previously modestly rated Arizona and UConn, suddenly look like national title contenders, with top-10 spots to match. A lot can change over Thanksgiving! — Brennan
North Carolina on its way out?
After narrowly surviving Portland, North Carolina lost twice last week, to the first two high-major teams (Iowa State, then Alabama, the latter in four overtimes) the Tar Heels have faced. They did not exactly look convincing at the PK85, particularly for such a coherent, experienced returning group. Now UNC faces the daunting prospect of a trip to play what appears to be a very good Indiana team, in front of what will undoubtedly be a totally rabid crowd. Could Carolina lose three in a row — and if they do, will the preseason favorite even be in the poll come next week? — Brennan
What they’re saying
“It’s not like we went online and applied for it and waited for a response back. We’ve been working for this,” Sampson told the AP. “But remember, it’s a rental. You don’t own it. You’re just renting it because someday somebody else is going to be No. 1.”
Full Week 4 AP Top 25
(Photo: Thomas Shea / USA Today)
