The 2025-26 college basketball season is now in full swing, and Feast Week is right around the corner. But, for the second straight week, we have a new team at No. 1.
Here’s everything you missed in the second week of the regular season, and the latest Associated Press poll.
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Purdue jumps Houston after close call
The Cougars cut it close on Sunday, and it’s cost them in the rankings.
Houston held on late and survived a wild finish to beat Auburn 73-72 on Sunday afternoon. Though they didn’t score in the final two minutes of the game and let the Tigers hang around throughout the entire second half, Houston came up with a pair of huge blocks and then stopped a late lob attempt at the buzzer to pull off the win.
It marked the Cougars’ first marquee win of the season after three blowouts to open the year. They now sit at 4-0, though they ended up dropping back a single spot in the national rankings — which is back to where they started in the preseason poll. Auburn didn’t move in the poll after just missing out on the upset win, and remained at No. 22.
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The Boilermakers overtook Houston for the top spot after a dominant win over Akron on Sunday, which kept them a perfect 4-0. That was coach Matt Painter’s 500th of his career. It also came just days after they beat Alabama 87-80 down in Tuscaloosa. Braden Smith dropped 29 points in that contest, 21 of which came in the first half, to down the Crimson Tide. Alabama, which will take on No. 8 Illinois this week in Chicago, fell three spots to No. 11 in this week’s poll as a result.
UConn held at No. 3, and Arizona jumped Duke to come in at No. 4. The Wildcats held on late to beat No. 19 UCLA on Friday night in Southern California, despite a very off outing from star freshman Koa Peat. Duke rolled over Indiana State on Friday behind 35 points and 12 rebounds from Cameron Boozer. It tied the second-most points from a Duke freshman in a game behind only Cooper Flagg.
While Houston and Purdue keep bouncing back and forth, they’ve clearly solidified themselves as the top two teams in the country — at least, they have in the eyes of the voters.
UConn fends off BYU, which may be in trouble
Though they almost let it slip away in the second half, UConn picked up a big 86-84 win over BYU and potential top pick AJ Dybantsa on Saturday night.
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The Huskies, after leading by as many as 20 in the second half, held on late to secure the two-point win at TD Garden thanks to 21 points from both Tarris Reed Jr. and Alex Karaban. It pushed them to 4-0 on the season, and kept them at No. 3 this week. BYU dropped two spots to No. 9.
Dybantsa, who is widely projected to be a top pick in the NBA Draft in June, had 25 points and six rebounds in the loss, which was the first for BYU. Though an early season loss isn’t the end of the world by any means, BYU may be without some key players for the foreseeable future — which could make things for Dybantsa pretty difficult over this next stretch.
Starter Kennard Davis Jr. was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of DUI after a crash in Utah. BYU follows a strict honor code that prohibits alcohol use as part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which could put Davis’ future with the program in doubt. Davis missed Tuesday’s win over Delaware due to a leg injury. He did not play in Boston on Saturday, though he was with the team, and was suspended indefinitely.
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The Cougars also lost starting center Keba Keita after he took a hard hit to the head and shoulder midway through the first half against UConn. He did not return, which left a pretty big hole in their defense. The 6-foot-8 senior, who entered Saturday averaging 6.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, is undoubtedly someone the Cougars do not want to be without down low.
Thankfully, the Cougars have some time to recover. They’ll take on No. 23 Wisconsin next on Friday, almost a full week after their loss to UConn. They’ve got five days off after that before they take on Miami on Nov. 27, too. If all goes well, they should be able to enter Big 12 play in a great position to challenge Houston.
UConn, meanwhile, has a ridiculous stretch of basketball ahead. The Huskies will host No. 4 Arizona next on Wednesday for a second-straight top-10 matchup, and then have both No. 8 Illinois and No. 24 Kansas next after a game against Bryant on Sunday. They also have No. 10 Florida and Texas ahead of them before Big East play kicks off. In total, it’ll be five ranked opponents over a seven-game span for the Huskies.
Games to watch this week
All times ET | * denotes neutral site game
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Tuesday, Nov. 18
No. 17 Michigan State at No. 12 Kentucky | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN *
No. 24 Kansas at No. 5 Duke | 9 p.m. | ESPN *
Wednesday, Nov. 19
No. 4 Arizona at No. 3 UConn | 7 p.m. | FS1
No. 11 Alabama at No. 8 Illinois | 9 p.m. | FS1 *
Friday, Nov. 21
No. 23 Wisconsin at No. 9 BYU | 4 p.m. | Peacock *
AP Top 25
The full Associated Press men’s basketball poll from November 17, 2025.
1. Purdue (4-0)
2. Houston (4-0)
3. UConn (4-0)
4. Arizona (4-0)
5. Duke (4-0)
6. Louisville (4-0)
7. Michigan (3-0)
8. Illinois (4-0)
9. BYU (3-1)
10. Florida (3-1)
11. Alabama (2-1)
12. Kentucky (3-1)
13. Gonzaga (4-0)
14. St. John’s (2-1)
15. Texas Tech (3-1)
16. Iowa State (3-0)
17. Michigan State (3-0)
18. North Carolina (4-0)
19. UCLA (3-1)
20. Tennessee (3-0)
21. Arkansas (3-1)
22. Auburn (3-1)
23. Wisconsin (3-0)
24. Kansas (3-1)
25. NC State (3-0)
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Others receiving votes: San Diego State 71, Indiana 65, Vanderbilt 57, Oregon 28, Ohio State 21, USC 16, Georgetown 16, Creighton 12, Baylor 11, Saint Mary’s 8, Missouri 7, Mississippi 5, Iowa 3, Utah State 2, Georgia 2, Virginia 1, Virginia Tech 1, Stanford 1, Kansas State 1
