UCLA, Virginia jump in AP Top 25 poll after big wins; Arizona, Arkansas drop in college basketball rankings

The top four teams in the AP Top 25 remained unchanged, but previous No. 5 Arizona dropped in the first in-season poll

Nov 9, 2026 at 1:05 pm ET • 3 min read

The first regular-season poll of the 2026-27 season, released Monday, remained unchanged at the very top with Florida No. 1. However, throughout the poll, there was movement after a handful of upsets during the opening week of the season. The team ranked inside the preseason top 10 that took the biggest hit in the rankings this week was Arizona, as the Wildcats dropped seven spots to No. 12 after losing to UCLA in the opening game in Las Vegas.

Arizona's loss was UCLA's gain. The Bruins jumped 13 spots to No. 9 after impressive wins over Arizona and North Florida to open the year. During UCLA's 114-63 win over North Florida last week, star freshman Nikola Kusturica was nearly flawless and finished with 29 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

Another team that made a statement last weekend was Virginia. The Cavaliers jumped three spots to No. 6 after defeating Arkansas last weekend behind a balanced scoring effort that included all five starters finishing with at least 13 points. With the loss, John Calipari's Razorbacks dropped seven spots to No. 19.

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The lone team to drop out of the preseason rankings was Iowa State. The Cyclones suffered a stunning loss on opening night to Memphis, despite being a double-digit favorite.  Nebraska took Iowa State's place in the rankings and checked in at No. 25 in the poll.

Here is this week's full poll, with the latest rankings.

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	Points	Record	Prev.
1	Florida (53)	1,490	2-0	1
2	Duke (7)	1,432	2-0	2
3	Illinois	1,356	2-0	3
4	UConn	1,339	2-0	4
5	Michigan State	1,222	2-0	6
6	Virginia	1,161	3-0	9
7	Texas	1,092	2-0	5
8	Houston	947	2-0	10
9	UCLA	925	2-0	12
10	Louisville	901	2-0	22
11	Tennessee	887	1-0	8
12	Arizona	814	1-1	5
13	St. John's	760	2-0	11
14	Gonzaga	745	2-0	15
15	Kansas	717	2-0	17
16	Texas Tech	480	2-0	19
17	Miami	451	1-1	14
18	Alabama	429	2-0	20
19	Arkansas	411	1-1	12
20	Michigan	350	1-1	16
21	Southern Cal	323	2-0	21
22	Vanderbilt	318	2-0	24
23	BYU	272	2-0	25
24	Kentucky	249	2-0	23
25	Nebraska	101	2-0	27

Also receiving votes: Memphis 97, Saint Louis 67, Iowa State 57, North Carolina 20, Iowa 15, Baylor 14, TCU 13, Marquette 10, Indiana 7, Nevada 5, Texas A&M 5, High Point 3, Santa Clara 2, East Texas A&M 1, Creighton 1, Utah State 1

UCLA and Virginia are the biggest winners from last week

It should come as no surprise that the two biggest risers in this week's poll were UCLA and Virginia. The Bruins own the most impressive win of any team in the sport during the first week of the season after defeating an Arizona squad that didn't suffer its first loss last season until February. UCLA jumped to No. 9 and, to be honest, the Bruins should've been ranked higher. I projected UCLA to be ranked No. 8 in our Tomorrow's Top 25 Today projection.

As for Virginia, it also got a sizable jump to No. 6 in the poll. I projected Virginia to move up to No. 7, behind Texas, in the TT25T, but the voters were impressed with its dominant win over Arkansas. Virginia's next scheduled ranked opponent is Kentucky.

Tennessee drops despite win

The team that dropped the most in the poll this week despite not suffering a loss was Tennessee. The. Vols dropped three spots to No. 11. Part of that was Tennessee looking underwhelming in the preseason, and other teams ranked behind them (such as UCLA) making big jumps. The game I'm keeping an eye on for Tennessee this month is facing Michigan State on Nov. 17. If Tennessee wins that game, it will jump back into the top 10.

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Justice for Saint Louis

The team I projected to take Iowa State's spot in the rankings this week was Saint Louis. Saint Louis received the second-most votes (behind Memphis) among teams that weren't ranked this week. Saint Louis' win over Missouri without Robbie Avila in the lineup was one of the most impressive results of the season. Nebraska's win over Providence was also good, but I would've liked to see the voters reward Saint Louis. It's a matter of when, not if, that Saint Louis will be ranked in the Top 25.