College Basketball: Coaches Poll Top 25 updated after upset-filled week

by:Steve Samra•01/15/24•

SamraSource

The latest version of the USA Today College Basketball Coaches Poll Top 25 rankings have been updated after a week filled with upsets.

With the college football season coming to a close over the last week, a renewed focus on the college basketball season didn’t disappointment. It was borderline impossible to predict the winners in some of the biggest contests, as underdogs galore found their way to victory, shaking up the rankings.

Let’s dive into the latest coaches poll rankings from USA Today after the tenth week of the season. Here’s where each team stands at the moment, as we move forward through the first month of a new year.

1. UConn (+3)

UConn was the only team ranked inside the Top 6 of last week’s AP Poll to avoid a loss, taking down Xavier and Georgetown to boost them up the board and into the No. 1 overall spot

The Huskies will play games against Creighton before heading on the road to play Villanova.

2. Purdue (-1)

Purdue's Zach Edey — Purdue’s Zach Edey (Chad Krockover)

Despite dropping another game against Nebraska last week, a win against Penn State over the weekend is just enough to keep Purdue near the top of the rankings thanks to multiple missteps from the competition.

The Boilermakers will head on the road twice this week against in-state rival Indiana and against Iowa.

3. North Carolina (+4)

Hubert Davis North Carolina — Jan 10, 2024; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis looks during the first half against North Carolina State Wolfpack at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-USA TODAY Sports

North Carolina looks the part of a highly-ranked team and managed to avoid a disaster when other teams around them dropped. They took care of business against NC State and Syracuse.

The Tar Heels continue the ACC schedule this week against Louisville before heading on the road to play Boston College.

4. Kansas (-1)

Kansas Jayhawks — © Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas suffered one of the worst losses of the week against UCF, but rebounded over the weekend with a win over Top 10 Oklahoma, making the resume of the past week a difficult one to evaluate.

The Jayhawks will go on the road twice over the next week, first against Oklahoma State and then West Virginia.

5. Houston (-3)

Jan 9, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Keisei Tominaga (30) celebrates after a 3-pointer against the Purdue Boilermakers during the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Houston had risen up the rankings and looked to have a great shot at the No. 1 ranking before dropping two Big 12 games against Iowa State and TCU. Once the last undefeated team in college basketball, they now have two losses on the resume.

The Cougars look to rebound this week by facing Texas Tech and UCF, both games at home.

6. Duke (+5)

Notre Dame Duke — Duke defeated Notre Dame on Saturday at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend. (Matt Cashore, USA TODAY Sports)

Duke continues to rise through the rankings with wins over Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech to bring the win streak up to eight games in a row.

The Blue Devils will get a full week to prepare for a second matchup against Pittsburgh on Saturday.

7. Tennessee (-2)

(Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports) Jan 13, 2024; Athens, Georgia, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Dalton Knecht (3) reacts with forward Jonas Aidoo (0) after defeating the Georgia Bulldogs at Stegeman Coliseum.

Tennessee stumbled on the road against Mississippi State, but was able to bounce back over the weekend by taking down a better-than-thought Georgia team.

The Volunteers play Florida and Alabama over the next week, giving them a chance to assert their place near the top of the SEC.

8. Wisconsin (+7)

bruce thornton-ohio state-ohio state basketball-buckeyes — Ohio State point guard Bruce Thornton attempts a shot during a 71-60 loss to No. 15 Wisconsin. (Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Wisconsin jumped up a bunch of spots over the last week due to their winning ways. The Badgers defeated Ohio State and Northwestern, bringing their record to 13-3 on the season.

This week, the Badgers will have two tough clashes, with Penn State and Indiana. There’s an opportunity for Wisconsin to continue climbing if they’re victorious.

9. Baylor (+5)

Baylor Bears — © Chris Jones-USA TODAY Sports

Baylor boats one of the best results this weekend of any Top 25 team after beating BYU and Cincinnati to move back into the Top 10 projection.

The conference schedule continues next week with road tests against Kansas State and Texas.

10. Kentucky (-4)

Kentucky men's basketball freshman point guard DJ Wagner — Photo by Aaron Perkins | Kentucky Sports Radio

Kentucky picked up a win over Missouri but could not find a way to win on the road against Texas A&M, causing them to drop slightly in this week’s AP Poll along with the rest.

The Wildcats host two home games this week, first against Mississippi State and then against Georgia.

Coaches Poll — 11-25:

11. Auburn (+5)
12. Memphis (+1)
13. Arizona (-5)
14. Illinois (-4)
15. Creighton (+5)
16. Oklahoma (-7)
17. Utah State (+6)
18. Marquette (-6)
19. BYU (-2)
20. Iowa State (+9)
21. Ole Miss (+2)
22. TCU (+12)
23. Dayton (+6)
24. SDSU (-5)
25. Texas Tech (+11)

Others receiving votes: Colorado State 81; Florida Atlantic 67; Alabama 60; Seton Hall 40; Clemson 39; Grand Canyon 34; Texas 20; Nevada 14; Gonzaga 11; Oregon 10; North Carolina State 9; Villanova 8; James Madison 8; Princeton 7; St. John’s 6; Florida State 4; Wake Forest 2; Nebraska 2; Florida 2; New Mexico 1; Indiana State 1

As you can see, the USA Today Coaches Poll Top 25 reflects the gigantic upsets we saw take place in the sport over the last seven days. It’s bound to change over the next week, but we’ll be hard-pressed to see a repeat of the action we witnessed last week. Time will tell.

On3’s James Fletcher III contributed to this article.