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Associated Press Top 25 men's basketball poll: Jerry Carino's ballot

jerry carino, asbury park press
·2 min read
6

  1. Purdue (11-0)

  2. UConn (12-0)

  3. Houston (11-1)

  4. Virginia (8-1)

  5. Arizona (10-1)

  6. Kansas (10-1)

  7. Arkansas (10-1)

  8. Tennessee (9-2)

  9. Texas (9-1)

  10. Baylor (8-2)

  11. UCLA (10-2)

  12. Gonzaga (9-3)

  13. Alabama (9-2)

  14. Duke (10-2)

  15. Mississippi St. (11-0)

  16. Illinois (8-3)

  17. TCU (9-1)

  18. Wisconsin (9-2)

  19. Marquette (9-3)

  20. Kentucky (7-3)

  21. Virginia Tech (11-1)

  22. Miami (11-1)

  23. New Mexico (11-0)

  24. North Carolina (8-4)

  25. Charleston (11-1)

Connecticut Huskies head coach Dan Hurley talks to a referee during the first half against the Butler Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Connecticut Huskies head coach Dan Hurley talks to a referee during the first half against the Butler Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Also considered: West Virginia (9-2), Memphis (9-3), Xavier (9-3).

Dropped out: No. 14 Indiana (8-3) after a 22-point loss to Kansas; No. 19 Auburn (9-2) after a loss to USC; No. 20 Maryland (8-3) after a 27-point loss to UCLA; No. 23 Ohio State (7-3) after a loss to North Carolina.

Entered: Marquette at No. 19 after a win over Creighton; New Mexico at No. 23 after a win over Iona; North Carolina at No. 25 after a neutral-court win over No. 23 Ohio State; Charleston at No. 25 (four Kenpom top-100 wins, including one over Virginia Tech; lone loss at North Carolina).

Analysis: Either Purdue or UConn could easily be No. 1. Tough call. I’m going with Purdue because the Boilers own three top-20 Kenpom wins (all away from home) compared to one for UConn, and to leapfrog an unbeaten No. 1 should require a huge win in a given week…Going to throw New Mexico a bone after Sunday’s win over Iona; Lobos are one of four remaining unbeatens and own a high-quality road win at Saint Mary’s...this week’s big riser is UCLA, climbing five spots after beating Maryland and Kentucky by double figures.

By conference: SEC (5), ACC (5), Big 12 (4), Big Ten (3), Big East (2), Pac-12 (2), American (1), Colonial (1), West Coast (1), Mountain West (1).

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: AP Top 25 basketball poll: Jerry Carino's ballot