College basketball rankings: Marquette makes big jump in AP Top 25, surging Kentucky back in poll

The Golden Eagles are No. 6, their highest ranking since they were No. 1 in 1977-78

By Kyle Boone

Feb 27, 2023 at 12:17 pm ET • 1 min read

USATSI

The top five of Monday's AP Top 25 poll remained the same as last week with Houston retaining its spot at No. 1 and Alabama, Kansas, UCLA and Purdue -- in that order -- coming in at the Nos. 2-5 spots. But after a wild week in the sport much of the top 10 got an overhaul, with Marquette bouncing all the way up from No. 10 to No. 6, Baylor climbing to No. 7, Gonzaga moving into the top 10 and both Arizona and Texas falling one spot.

The top-ranked Cougars earned 49 first-place votes in the poll this week, up from 48 last week and 22 in each of the two weeks prior, but voters remained split this week about which team is deserving of the No. 1 spot. Kansas received the second-most first-place votes with eight but ranked No. 3 this week. Alabama received the third-most first-place votes with five but ranked No. 2, edging the Jayhawks by 11 total points in the poll.

Marquette, tied for the biggest riser in the poll this week, moved up four spots to No. 6, marking its highest ranking in the poll since 1978. UConn and San Diego State also moved up four spots No. 14 and No. 18, respectively. The Golden Eagles have won nine of their last 10 games and clinched at least a share of the Big East already with two regular-season games left on the docket.

There was plenty of other movement throughout the poll this week as well with some new names including Kentucky re-entering the rankings after exiting it in Week 9. The preseason No. 4 Wildcats moved to No. 23 this week after extending its winning streak to four games with wins over Florida and Auburn.