College basketball is weird right now. Honestly, if you told me back in November that we’d be sitting here in mid-January 2026 talking about Nebraska matching its highest ranking since the LBJ administration, I’d have asked to see your bracket. But that’s where the men's basketball ap poll has landed us this week. It’s a chaotic mix of blue bloods stumbling and historic underdogs basically refusing to lose.
Arizona has officially separated itself from the pack. For a while there, it was a legitimate coin flip between the Wildcats and Michigan. They were separated by a single point last week. One. Single. Point. But then Wisconsin went into Ann Arbor and handed the Wolverines their first loss of the season, and suddenly, the debate ended. Tommy Lloyd’s squad grabbed 60 of the 61 first-place votes this Monday. They look like a machine.
The New Hierarchy in the Men's Basketball AP Poll
It’s not just about who’s number one, though. The shakeup at the top has created some fascinating movement throughout the Top 25. Michigan didn't just lose the top spot; they slid down to No. 4. Taking their place at No. 2 is Iowa State, a team that has quietly built a 16-0 resume and earned the only other first-place vote.
UConn is right there at No. 3. Dan Hurley has the Huskies playing that brand of "we’re going to out-muscle you for 40 minutes" basketball that’s become their trademark. It’s terrifying for the rest of the Big East.
Check out the current state of the top tier:
Arizona sits at the summit (16-0), followed by Iowa State (16-0) and UConn (17-1). Michigan (15-1) and Purdue (16-1) round out the top five. Duke and Houston are holding steady at six and seven. Then things get really interesting. Nebraska is at No. 8. Yes, the Cornhuskers. They haven't been this high in the men's basketball ap poll since 1966. It's a surreal moment for a program that has historically struggled to find its footing in the postseason.
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The Rise of the Unbeatens and the SEC Surge
Vanderbilt is the other massive story. They just cracked the top 10 for the first time in nearly fifteen years. Mark Byington has them at 16-0, and they’re playing with a level of confidence that has Nashville buzzing. They just took down Alabama, which contributed to the Crimson Tide’s five-spot slide down to No. 18.
Speaking of the SEC, the conference is absolutely loaded. They have a national-best six teams in the rankings this week.
- Vanderbilt (No. 10)
- Arkansas (No. 17)
- Alabama (No. 18)
- Florida (No. 19)
- Georgia (No. 21)
- Tennessee (No. 24)
Florida is the big "welcome back" story. The reigning national champions were unranked for a bit but exploded back into the poll at No. 19 after a dominant week. It’s a reminder that you can never really count out a team with that kind of championship pedigree, even if they stumble early in conference play.
What People Get Wrong About the Rankings
People tend to treat the men's basketball ap poll like it's a predictive model for March. It isn't. It’s a snapshot of what you’ve done lately. Look at Kansas. They fell out of the poll entirely this week after losing at West Virginia. This is the second time the Jayhawks have dropped out this season.
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There's a lot of talk about the "NET" rankings versus the AP Poll. While the NET is what the committee uses to seed the tournament, the AP Poll reflects the "eye test" of 61 sportswriters. Sometimes those two things don't align. For example, Virginia jumped seven spots to No. 16 this week. Their defense is statistically stifling, but because they play so slow, the computers sometimes underrate them while the human voters see the wins piling up and reward the consistency.
Newcomers and Notable Drops
We saw four new teams enter the chat this week.
Seton Hall at No. 25 is a feel-good story. It’s their first time being ranked since early 2022. They’ve survived three straight double-digit second-half comebacks. That’s not a typo. Adam “Budd” Clark and Tajuan Simpkins are playing some of the gutsiest basketball in the country right now.
Clemson (No. 22) and Utah State (No. 23) also made their season debuts. On the flip side, we had to say goodbye to Iowa, SMU, and UCF, at least for now. The margin for error is so slim once you get into January. One bad road loss in the Big 12 or the Big Ten and you’re basically toast in the eyes of the voters.
Why This Week Matters
If you're a fan of high-stakes matchups, the next few days are basically Christmas. BYU, currently at No. 11, has a gauntlet coming up. They just dropped out of the top 10 despite a 12-game winning streak because other teams simply had more "impressive" wins. They’ll face Texas Tech and then No. 1 Arizona. That's how you prove the voters wrong.
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The men's basketball ap poll is going to keep shifting because the parity in the college game is at an all-time high. There are no "easy" nights in the power conferences anymore. When a team like Nebraska or Vanderbilt can sustain an unbeaten streak into the middle of January, it changes the entire landscape of how we view "traditional" basketball powers.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Bettors
If you’re following these rankings to get an edge on the tournament or just to win your office pool, keep these three things in mind:
- Watch the "Others Receiving Votes" list. Saint Louis is sitting right on the edge with 92 votes. They only have one loss, and it was on a buzzer-beater against Stanford. They are a "Top 25" team in everything but name.
- Don't overreact to a one-spot drop. BYU falling to No. 11 wasn't a punishment; it was a result of Vanderbilt and Nebraska having higher-quality wins in the same window.
- Focus on road performance. The teams climbing the fastest—like Virginia and Illinois—are the ones winning in hostile environments. Winning at home is expected; winning at the Kohl Center or Allen Fieldhouse is what moves the needle for voters.
Monitor the Saturday slate closely. With No. 1 Arizona heading to UCF and No. 11 BYU visiting No. 15 Texas Tech, the top of the board could look entirely different by Monday morning. Stay locked into the box scores and look for those second-half adjustments that define the elite teams this time of year.