AP Top 25 College Basketball Rankings Updated: Shock Rise to No. 1 and Major Power Shifts

The Week 13 AP Top 25 men’s college basketball rankings dropped Monday and the headline is familiar—Arizona is still perfect and still No. 1—but the chase pack is reshuffling fast. Below is a breakdown of the biggest takeaways, key movers and can’t-miss games that will shape next week’s ballot. Arizona’s wire-to-wire run continues Tommy Lloyd’s Wildcats (22-0) logged another rivalry win at Arizona State, extending the nation’s longest unbeaten streak and collecting 59 of 60 first-place votes. With three of their next four in Tucson, Arizona has a clear path to stay on top before a late-February gauntlet against Iowa State and Houston. Michigan leaps to No. 2 A decisive 83-71 road win at then-No. 7 Michigan State vaulted Juwan Howard’s Wolverines (20-1) past UConn and into second place. Michigan now owns five Quad-1 victories and will try to protect its new status Wednesday against surging Illinois. UConn slips to No. 3 but remains dangerous The Huskies (21-1) handled Creighton by 27 yet still dropped a spot because Michigan’s résumé improved more. Dan Hurley’s group ranks top-10 nationally in both offensive and defensive efficiency and faces Xavier next, a trap game that precedes February showdowns with St. John’s and Villanova. Biggest risers • Illinois climbed four spots to No. 5 after knocking off Nebraska in Lincoln, the Illini’s third straight Big Ten road win. • Saint Louis cracked the top 20 (No. 19) for the first time in a decade following a 102-71 rout of Dayton that pushed the Billikens to 21-1. • Vanderbilt jumped to No. 15; the Commodores’ win over Ole Miss capped a 9-1 January in SEC play. Teams sliding Nebraska fell four spots to No. 9 after its first home loss, while Arkansas tumbled six places to No. 21 following back-to-back defeats to Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Texas Tech’s upset loss at UCF sent the Red Raiders from 11th to 13th, their lowest ranking since December. Fresh faces and vote-getters Miami (OH) is the poll’s feel-good story, debuting at No. 23 behind a 22-0 start that has Mid-American teams dreaming of March. Tennessee re-enters at No. 25 after taking down Auburn, while Texas A&M and Alabama headline the “others receiving votes” column. Games to watch before Week 14 ballot • Illinois at Michigan – Wednesday, 9 p.m. ET • Houston at Iowa State – Saturday, 2 p.m. ET • Duke at North Carolina – Saturday, 6 p.m. ET • Arizona vs. Oklahoma State – Sunday, 4 p.m. ET Search interest in “AP Top 25 basketball” typically spikes after each release; expect that to soar again as conference races tighten and Selection Sunday draws closer.