yahoo - 1/19/2026 8:21:11 PM - GMT (+2 )
While college football is set to crown its national championship on Monday, Jan. 19 after Indiana's game against Miami, the race for men's college basketball's ultimate prize is heating up about two months before the start of the NCAA Tournament.
In a week, the number of undefeated teams in the sport dwindled from five to three, with No. 2 Iowa State and No. 8 Vanderbilt both suffering two losses. The Cyclones were blown out 84-63 on the road by Kansas before following that up with a 79-70 setback at Cincinnati four days later. The Commodores, meanwhile, lost by 16 on the road against Texas and fell 98-94 at home to reigning national champion Florida.
No. 1 Arizona continued its perfect start to the season, moving to 18-0 with wins against rival Arizona State and at UCF. No. 10 Nebraska, the only other unbeaten team from a power conference, also kept its unblemished record intact, drubbing Oregon and Northwestern by a combined 54 points.
REQUIRED READING: NCAA tournament bracketology: Race for No. 1 seed leads March Madness projection
Then there's the nation's unlikeliest undefeated squad, Miami (Ohio), which moved to 19-0 thanks to a 105-102 overtime thriller over Buffalo.
Will it be enough to get the RedHawks ranked? And how will results elsewhere in the country affect the newest batch of national rankings?
Here's a look at the updated USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 for men's college basketball:
Men's college basketball rankings on Jan. 19First-place votes are in parentheses.
USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll- Arizona (31)
- Michigan
- UConn
- Purdue
- Duke
- Houston
- Nebraska
- Gonzaga
- Iowa State
- Michigan State
- Illinois
- Texas Tech
- BYU
- Vanderbilt
- Virginia
- Florida
- Alabama
- Clemson
- Kansas
- Arkansas
- Louisville
- Georgia
- Saint Louis
- North Carolina
- St. John's
Others receiving votes: Iowa 52; Wisconsin 20; Miami (Ohio) 19; Utah State 14; Villanova 10; Tennessee 10; Saint Mary's 9; Miami (FL) 8; Texas A&M 5; Kentucky 5; SMU 4; Seton Hall 2; UCF 1; George Mason 1
AP Top 25 poll- Arizona (61)
- UConn
- Michigan
- Purdue
- Duke
- Houston
- Nebraska
- Gonzaga
- Iowa State
- Michigan State
- Illinois
- Texas Tech
- BYU
- Virginia
- Vanderbilt
- Florida
- Alabama
- Clemson
- Kansas
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- North Carolina
- Louisville
- Saint Louis
- Miami (Ohio)
Others receiving votes: Wisconsin 64; St. John's 64; Iowa 30; Kentucky 27; Tennessee 20; Utah State 15; UCF 14; Miami 10; George Mason 10; Saint Mary's 5; SMU 3; Villanova 3; Texas A&M 2; NC State 1
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Men's college basketball rankings: Updated Coaches Poll, AP Top 25
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