Arizona strengthens hold atop AP Top 25 ahead of Purdue showdown - ESPN

Arizona strengthened its place atop the Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll Monday, setting up a showdown this weekend against Purdue, the former No. 1 team in the nation.

The Wildcats earned all but one first-place vote from a panel of 63 voters, no doubt impressing them with their 98-73 win over the No. 23 Badgers. They picked up three more first-place votes as they topped the poll for the second straight week, while Kansas remained at No. 2 and Purdue — which Arizona had supplanted at No. 1 — moved up one spot to third after wins over Iowa and Alabama.

The Wildcats (8-0) play the Boilermakers (9-1) on Saturday in Indianapolis.

First-place votes in parenthesis:

«We spend a lot of time talking about Arizona basketball legacy,» Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said over the weekend, «and this group right now, we're in the sun. The sun is shining on us right now.»

Houston received the only No. 1 vote that didn't go to the Wildcats but still dropped one spot to fourth. UConn remained at No. 5 after beating ninth-ranked North Carolina and Arkansas-Pine Bluff last week.

Baylor again gave the Big 12 half of the top six teams in the country. The Bears at No. 6 were followed by Marquette, then Creighton, the Tar Heels and Gonzaga, which fell three spots to No. 10 after its 78-73 loss to Washington.

«We've got a long season. Big games coming up,» said Bulldogs forward Anton Watson, whose team will play fifth-ranked UConn on Friday night in Seattle. «I don't think one loss, two losses, is going to determine a season. We all have that mindset.»

While there was little movement within the top 10 this week, there were some wild swings within the rest of the Top 25.

Oklahoma made one of the biggest jumps, climbing eight