WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – For the third straight season, the Purdue men's basketball has ascended to the top spot of the AP Top 25, when the poll was announced Monday afternoon.
The Boilermakers received 60 of the 63 first-place votes to outdistance No. 2-ranked Arizona by 105 points. Marquette, UConn and Kansas round out the top five. Purdue and Illinois (#24) are the only Big Ten teams ranked.
Purdue received the school's first No. 1 ranking on Dec. 6, 2021, when it was ranked No. 1 for one week during the 2021-22 season. A year ago, Purdue was ranked No. 1 for seven weeks during the year.
It marks the first time in conference history that a Big Ten team has been ranked No. 1 in three consecutive seasons. Purdue is one of nine schools (UCLA, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Gonzaga, Virginia, North Carolina, Villanova) to have been ranked No. 1 in three straight seasons.
This also marks the ninth week in the last three seasons that Purdue has been ranked No. 1, tied with Gonzaga for the most in the country during that stretch. Prior to the 2021-22 season, Purdue had never been ranked No. 1.
The Boilermakers are off to a 6-0 start with four wins over teams ranked in the KenPom top-30 (Xavier, Gonzaga, Tennessee and Marquette). Purdue became the second team in the last 15 years to defeat three top-15 teams on three consecutive days when it won the Maui Invitational last week (No. 11 Gonzaga, No. 7 Tennessee, No. 4 Marquette).
During the last three seasons, Purdue has started 8-0 (2021-22), 13-0 (2022-23) and now 6-0 (2023-24).
Purdue hosts Texas Southern on Tuesday night in Mackey Arena at 8:30 p.m. ET, before traveling to Northwestern on Friday for the Big Ten opener at 9 p.m. ET, in Evanston, Ill.
The Boilermakers received 60 of the 63 first-place votes to outdistance No. 2-ranked Arizona by 105 points. Marquette, UConn and Kansas round out the top five. Purdue and Illinois (#24) are the only Big Ten teams ranked.
Purdue received the school's first No. 1 ranking on Dec. 6, 2021, when it was ranked No. 1 for one week during the 2021-22 season. A year ago, Purdue was ranked No. 1 for seven weeks during the year.
It marks the first time in conference history that a Big Ten team has been ranked No. 1 in three consecutive seasons. Purdue is one of nine schools (UCLA, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Gonzaga, Virginia, North Carolina, Villanova) to have been ranked No. 1 in three straight seasons.
This also marks the ninth week in the last three seasons that Purdue has been ranked No. 1, tied with Gonzaga for the most in the country during that stretch. Prior to the 2021-22 season, Purdue had never been ranked No. 1.
The Boilermakers are off to a 6-0 start with four wins over teams ranked in the KenPom top-30 (Xavier, Gonzaga, Tennessee and Marquette). Purdue became the second team in the last 15 years to defeat three top-15 teams on three consecutive days when it won the Maui Invitational last week (No. 11 Gonzaga, No. 7 Tennessee, No. 4 Marquette).
During the last three seasons, Purdue has started 8-0 (2021-22), 13-0 (2022-23) and now 6-0 (2023-24).
Purdue hosts Texas Southern on Tuesday night in Mackey Arena at 8:30 p.m. ET, before traveling to Northwestern on Friday for the Big Ten opener at 9 p.m. ET, in Evanston, Ill.