UConn men are No. 1 in the AP poll for the 1st time since 2009, while Illinois falls 4 spots to No. 14

Connecticut has followed last year’s run to the NCAA championship with its first No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll in nearly 15 years, while Gonzaga has fallen out of the AP Top 25 for the first time in eight years. The Huskies moved to the top of Monday’s latest poll after a tumultuous and upset filled week across the sport, which included five new teams jumping into the poll.

UConn claimed 39 of 63 first place votes to climb three spots and replace Purdue at the top after the Boilermakers’ loss at Nebraska dropped them to No. 2. Advertisement This marks the first time UConn has hit No. 1 in the AP Top 25 since spending four weeks there in the second half of the 2008 09 season, which ended with the Huskies reaching the Final Four.

The Huskies have won three national titles (2011, 2014 and 2023) since they last were No. 1. Advertisement “Some people don’t want the target,” coach Dan Hurley said Sunday about the potential of reaching No. 1. “We embrace the target at UConn.” Purdue claimed 20 first place votes, followed by Kansas — the only team to stay in place from last week — which got three first place votes despite a loss at UCF.

North Carolina jumped three spots to No. 4 after beating rival North Carolina State for its third Atlantic Coast Conference road win in as many tries and blowing out Syracuse at home. The Tar Heels picked up one first place vote. Zags’ fall Gonzaga fell out from No. 23 after a loss at Santa Clara, marking the first time Mark Few’s team has been unranked since the final two months of the 2015 16 season.

That ended a stretch of 143 consecutive weeks in the poll, with 39 of those coming at No. 1 — notably with a wire to wire run in the 2020 21 season that ended with Gonzaga suffering its only loss in the NCAA title game to Baylor. Chaotic The past week turned into a trap filled slate for the AP Top 25 teams.

Eight of the top 10 teams lost at least once, with No. 5 Houston losing two games by a combined five points for its first setbacks of the year. But with 15 ranked teams losing last week, that insulated some teams from falling as much with everyone around them also stumbling. The Cougars dropped just three spots to No.

5, while Purdue, No. 6 Tennessee and No. 8 Kentucky fell just one or two spots after losses to unranked teams. The top tier Duke rose four spots to No. 7 to return to the top 10 after starting the season at No. 2, followed by Kentucky, No. 9 Baylor and No. 10 Memphis. Advertisement Rising and sliding Ten teams moved up in this week’s poll, with Baylor’s jump of five spots the biggest of the week.

No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 16 Utah State and No. 18 Creighton joined Duke with a four spot jump. Chicago Tribune Sports Weekdays A daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy .

> Oklahoma and Marquette had the week’s biggest tumble, each falling six spots. The 15th ranked Sooners fell after road losses to TCU and Kansas, while the 17th ranked Golden Eagles lost at home to Butler. No. 12 Arizona and No. 14 Illinois each fell four spots , while a total of nine teams slid from last week’s poll.

Welcome and so long No. 19 TCU made the biggest debut to lead the five newcomers to the poll after wins against Oklahoma and Houston. No. 21 Dayton, No. 22 Mississippi, No. 24 Iowa State and No. 25 Texas Tech were the other additions, with all but the Rebels making their first appearance this season.

Colorado State (No. 17), San Diego State (No. 19), Clemson (No. 21) and Texas (No. 25) joined Gonzaga in falling out of the poll. Advertisement Conference watch The Big 12 represented almost a third of the Top 25 with a national best eight teams. The Southeastern Conference was next with four teams, followed by the Big Ten and Big East with three, the ACC and American Athletic Conference with two and one each for the Pac 12, Atlantic 10 and Mountain West..