Houston rises to No. 1 in AP men's college basketball poll - ESPN

Now it is Houston's turn at the top of The Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll.

The Cougars moved to No. 1 for the first time this season in Monday's latest poll, climbing one spot to end the six-week stay of reigning national champion UConn.

Houston (24-3) became the fifth team to hold the top spot this season.

Purdue rose one spot to No. 2, while the Huskies' loss to Creighton dropped them to third in a poll that included South Florida cracking the rankings for the first time in program history.

Kelvin Sampson's Cougars spent seven weeks at No. 1 last year, their first stint at the top since the «Phi Slama Jama» days during the 1982-83 season with a team featuring future NBA greats such as Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. Now they're back, playing in a new conference home (the Big 12) with the same defense-first formula that has Houston leading the country in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency (87.1 points allowed per 100 possessions).

«Our guys are tough,» Sampson said after an overtime win at Baylor. «We're not always pretty. But last time I checked, this is not a beauty contest.»

First-place votes in parentheses

THE TOP TIER

The top 10 featured the same universe of teams, though in reshuffled order.

Tennessee moved up a spot to No. 4 for its highest ranking of the season, followed by Marquette. Arizona, Kansas, Iowa State, and North Carolina. Duke rounded out the top 10.

RISING AND FALLING

While there was plenty of movement, there were no major leaps among the week's 12 rising teams. No. 11 Auburn and No. 12 Creighton had the biggest jumps of a modest three spots, while four others teams rose two positions.

No. 21 Dayton took the biggest tumble of the nine teams that dropped, falling five