The Big 12's fast start to the 2022-23 college basketball season has its top dogs among the biggest risers in the latest AP Top 25 released Monday, with Kansas moving up three spots to No. 3 and Texas jumping from outside the top 10 to No. 4 in the updated rankings. Soon-to-be Big 12 program Houston also jumped one spot from No. 3 to No. 2.
North Carolina struggled in a close-shave win vs. Gardner-Webb and didn't completely dominate James Madison this week in two home games, but the preseason No. 1 Tar Heels did enough in the eyes of AP voters to retain their No. 1 spot with relative ease and fend off Big 12 hopefuls aiming for the top perch. UNC brought in 47 first-place votes, three more than last week and back to the same number as it had to open the season.
Kansas' move into the top three, propelled by its 4-0 start to the season, was supercharged this week after it took down top-10 Duke last Tuesday 69-64 in the Champions Classic. Big 12 counterpart Texas also rose big after its own marquee victory in which it downed No. 2 Gonzaga, 93-74, at home on Wednesday.
Playing with heavy-hearts after last week's shooting on campus, Virginia was the biggest riser of the week after its big wins over ranked Baylor and ranked Illinois to rise 11 spots from No. 16 to No. 5, one spot ahead of Gonzaga. Meanwhile, both Kentucky and UCLA both fell as many spots after rough weeks. UK dropped to No. 15 on the heels of its loss to Gonzaga on Sunday and UCLA moved from just inside the top 10 to No. 19 after stumbling against both Illinois and Baylor on Friday and Sunday.
AP Top 25
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week's ranking:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina (47) | 4-0 | 1,541 | 1 |
| 2 | Houston (9) | 4-0 | 1,499 | 3 |
| 3 | Kansas (1) | 4-0 | 1,396 | 6 |
| 4 | Texas (5) | 3-0 | 1,377 | 11 |
| 5 | Virginia (1) | 4-0 | 1,279 | 16 |
| 6 | Gonzaga | 3-1 | 1,273 | 2 |
| 7 | Baylor | 4-1 | 1,102 | 5 |
| 8 | Duke | 3-1 | 1,057 | 7 |
| 9 | Arkansas | 3-0 | 1,038 | 9 |
| 10 | Creighton | 4-0 | 1,004 | 10 |
| 11 | Indiana | 4-0 | 932 | 12 |
| 12 | Michigan State | 3-1 | 825 | NR |
| 13 | Auburn | 4-0 | 737 | 13 |
| 14 | Arizona | 3-0 | 725 | 14 |
| 15 | Kentucky | 3-2 | 685 | 4 |
| 16 | Illinois | 4-1 | 673 | 19 |
| 17 | San Diego State | 3-0 | 601 | 17 |
| 18 | Alabama | 4-0 | 510 | 18 |
| 19 | UCLA | 3-2 | 506 | 8 |
| 20 | UConn | 5-0 | 298 | 25 |
| 21 | Texas Tech | 3-0 | 275 | 23 |
| 22 | Tennessee | 2-1 | 238 | 22 |
| 23 | Maryland | 5-0 | 223 | NR |
| 24 | Purdue | 3-0 | 215 | NR |
| 25 | Iowa | 3-0 | 132 | NR |
Others receiving votes: TCU 82, Saint Mary's 59, Ohio State 56, Michigan 24, Xavier 22, Charleston 17, Toledo 16, Miami (FL) 10, Dayton 9, Villanova 7, Arizona State 5, Virginia Tech 5, Saint Louis 5, UNLV 5, Oregon 4, West Virginia 3, Texas A&M 2, Utah State 1, Penn State 1, Mississippi State 1
