Here are your Week 3 AP Top 25 and Coaches Polls with the Cincinnati Bearcats finally breaking the Top 25 to the No. 24 spot, tucked behind No. 23 Xavier and in front of Texas A&M and AAC foe SMU. The college basketball season remains in it's infancy as coaches, teams, and fans get a feel for what the season is to bring, but it is still nice to see the Bearcats break into the top 25, especially considering the way Cincinnati has been playing on both ends of the floor in the early parts of the season.
Kentucky reclaims the No. 1 spot as North Carolina drops to No. 9 in the AP Top 25 and No. 8 in the Coaches Poll. Maryland earned a couple first-place votes in both polls, but the Wildcats are the overwhelming selection as the top team this week. Michigan State, Iowa State, Kansas, Duke, Oklahoma, Villanova, North Carolina and Gonzaga round out the top 10 in the AP poll and Arizona is ranked No. 10 over Gonzaga in the Coaches Poll.
Cincinnati will play the No. 4/5 (AP/Coaches) Iowa State Cyclones this December. Xavier is ranked No. 23 in the AP poll. AAC opponent Connecticut is No. 18 and No. 21 in the AP and Coaches polls, respectively. SMU is No. 25 in both polls.
AP Poll
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky Wildcats (59) | 4-0 | 1,619 |
| 2 | Maryland Terrapins (6) | 3-0 | 1,518 |
| 3 | Michigan State Spartans | 3-0 | 1,448 |
| 4 | Iowa State Cyclones | 2-0 | 1,297 |
| 5 | Kansas Jayhawks | 1-1 | 1,243 |
| 6 | Duke Blue Devils | 4-1 | 1,238 |
| 7 | Oklahoma Sooners | 2-0 | 1,210 |
| 8 | Villanova Wildcats | 4-0 | 1,153 |
| 9 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 3-1 | 1,141 |
| 10 | Gonzaga Bulldogs | 2-0 | 1,138 |
| 11 | Arizona Wildcats | 4-0 | 970 |
| 12 | Virginia Cavaliers | 4-1 | 872 |
| 13 | Indiana Hoosiers | 3-0 | 846 |
| 14 | California Golden Bears | 3-0 | 746 |
| 15 | Miami-Florida Hurricanes | 5-0 | 724 |
| 16 | Purdue Boilermakers | 5-0 | 550 |
| 17 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 3-0 | 480 |
| 18 | Connecticut Huskies | 3-0 | 432 |
| 19 | Vanderbilt Commodores | 3-0 | 431 |
| 20 | Wichita State Shockers | 2-1 | 423 |
| 21 | Oregon Ducks | 4-0 | 369 |
| 22 | LSU Tigers | 3-0 | 285 |
| 23 | Xavier Musketeers | 3-0 | 143 |
| 24 | Cincinnati Bearcats | 4-0 | 110 |
| 25 | Texas A&M Aggies | 4-0 | 100 |
| 25 | SMU Mustangs | 3-0 | 100 |
| Also Receiving Votes: Utah 95, George Washington 85, Baylor 81, West Virginia 69, Butler 59, Louisville 40, Northern Iowa 23, Iowa 20, Dayton 18, Tulsa 17, Colorado State 13, Providence 8, Georgetown 4, Michigan 3, Valparaiso 2, Washington 1, Chattanooga 1 | |||
| Dropped: Utah 16, Baylor 20, Butler 22, Michigan 24 | |||
Coaches' Poll
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky (28) | 4-0 | 772 |
| 2 | Maryland (3) | 3-0 | 736 |
| 3 | Duke | 4-1 | 623 |
| 4 | Michigan State | 3-0 | 614 |
| 5 | Iowa State | 2-0 | 610 |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 2-0 | 561 |
| 7 | Kansas | 1-1 | 555 |
| 8 | North Carolina | 3-1 | 554 |
| 9 | Villanova | 4-0 | 552 |
| 10 | Arizona | 4-0 | 530 |
| 11 | Gonzaga | 2-0 | 492 |
| 12 | Virginia | 4-1 | 488 |
| 13 | California | 3-0 | 377 |
| 14 | Indiana | 3-0 | 327 |
| 15 | Purdue | 5-0 | 262 |
| 16 | Vanderbilt | 3-0 | 260 |
| 17 | LSU | 3-0 | 220 |
| 18 | Notre Dame | 3-0 | 218 |
| 19 | Miami (FL) | 5-0 | 216 |
| 20 | Wichita St | 2-1 | 200 |
| 21 | Connecticut | 3-0 | 164 |
| 22 | West Virginia | 3-0 | 145 |
| 23 | Oregon | 4-0 | 124 |
| 24 | Cincinnati | 4-0 | 82 |
| 25 | Baylor | 2-1 | 77 |
| 25 | SMU | 3-0 | 100 |
| Also Receiving Votes: Utah 73, Louisville 51, Butler 47, Xavier 44, Texas A&M 41, Michigan 15, George Washington 12, Dayton 10, Tulsa 6, Washington 3, New Mexico 3, Iowa 3, Northern Iowa 3, Davidson 3, Georgetown 1, Colorado State 1 | |||
| Dropped: Utah 16, Butler 20, Michigan 25 | |||
