Overview
- Arizona remained No. 1 in the men’s AP poll for a third straight week with 38 first-place votes, as unbeaten No. 2 Michigan closed to within 20 points after gaining 19 first-place votes.
- Iowa State rose to No. 3 with one first-place vote, followed by UConn at No. 4 and Purdue at No. 5 in the final poll of the calendar year.
- Duke fell from No. 3 to No. 6 after an 82–81 loss to Texas Tech, which rallied from 17 down for the largest comeback against an AP top‑three team since 2017‑18 and climbed to No. 15.
- USC and Iowa re-entered the men’s Top 25 at Nos. 24 and 25, respectively, while Auburn and St. John’s dropped out; the Big Ten now leads with seven ranked teams.
- On the women’s side, UConn held No. 1 with the top seven unchanged, and Texas Tech debuted at No. 21 after a 61–60 win at Baylor, the program’s first AP ranking since 2012 and first victory over Baylor since 2011; 12 teams remain unbeaten.