Arizona unanimous No. 1 in AP Top 25, North Carolina falls in college basketball rankings

The 11th AP Top 25 poll of the 2025-26 college basketball season was released Monday, and for the first time, there is a unanimous No. 1 team. Arizona (18-0) received all 61 first-place votes this week after picking up wins over Arizona State and UCF and remained in the top spot for the sixth consecutive week. 

Iowa State was one of five teams in Division I basketball that entered last week without a loss. That number reduced to three after ISU and Vanderbilt went 0-2 last week. Iowa State, the only other team that received a first-place vote in last week's poll outside of Arizona, dropped seven spots to No. 9. Vanderbilt fell from No. 10 to No. 15. 

Nebraska made history in this week's poll by moving up to No. 7, which marked its highest ranking in program history. The Cornhuskers improved to 18-0 with wins over Oregon and Northwestern. Nebraska, Arizona and Miami (Ohio) are the final teams in the sport that haven't suffered a loss. The Redhawks, now No. 25, are ranked for the first time since a three-week stint in the AP Top 25 during the 1998-99 season. 

One of the biggest losers of last week was North Carolina. The Tar Heels went 0-2 on their West Coast road trip with losses to Cal and Stanford. North Carolina dropped eight spots to No. 22 after falling to 2-3 in ACC play.

AP Top 25

1. Arizona (61)
2. UConn
3. Michigan
4. Purdue
5. Duke
6. Houston
7. Nebraska
8. Gonzaga
9. Iowa State
10. Michigan State
11. Illinois
12. Texas Tech
13. BYU
14. Virginia
15. Vanderbilt
16. Florida
17. Alabama
18. Clemson
19. Kansas
20. Arkansas
21. Georgia
22. North Carolina
23. Louisville
24. Saint Louis
25. Miami (OH)

Others receiving votes: Wisconsin 64, St. John's 64, Iowa 30, Kentucky 27, Tennessee 20, Utah State 15, UCF 14, Miami 10, George Mason 10, Saint Mary's 5, SMU 3, Villanova 3, Texas A&M 2, NC State 1.

Arizona leaves no doubt

Arizona has held the No. 1 spot in the AP poll for six consecutive weeks. Over time, the Wildcats have earned more first-place votes, culminating in a unanimous No. 1 team this week. Here is how many first-place votes Arizona has received since taking over the top spot back on Dec. 8.

• Week 6: 33
  
• Week 7: 42
• Week 8: 38
• Week 9: 32
• Week 10: 60
• Week 11: 61

Michigan suffering its first loss against Wisconsin earlier this month and Iowa State going 0-2 last week opened the door for the Wildcats to earn the top spot unanimously. Until (or if) the Wildcats suffer a loss, they should comfortably remain No. 1 in the poll.

Welcome Miami (OH) to the rankings

For the first time since the 1998-99 season, Miami (Ohio) has entered the rankings. The RedHawks improved to 19-0 with a thrilling win over Buffalo and now sit at 7-0 against MAC competition. Miami is one of three remaining unbeatens in the sport entering a showdown against Kent State later this week.