Ap Poll Basketball: Duke Back at No. 1 After Upset of Michigan, Arizona Climbs in Katz Power 37

The latest shake-up in college hoops left Duke atop Andy Katz's Power 37 after the Blue Devils downed No. 1 Michigan on Saturday, a result that immediately altered the national pecking order. Poll Basketball discussion has been refreshed as Arizona also vaulted near the top following statement victories over BYU and Houston.

Development details Poll Basketball movement

Andy Katz placed Duke at No. 1 in his current Power 37, listing the Blue Devils as 1 on the rankings board. Arizona sits at No. 2 after consecutive quality wins: a home victory over BYU and a road win at Houston that handed the Cougars their first home loss of the season. Michigan, which entered the slate at No. 1, slid to No. 3 but remained inside the top three in Katz's view. The full ranking snapshot includes St. John's at No. 4 and Houston at No. 5.

The weekend produced several other concrete movements: UConn held at No. 6 after a bounce-back road win at Villanova; Gonzaga rose to No. 8 as it began to regain form; and Miami (Ohio) appears at No. 21 with an unbeaten 27-0 record. The list also notes individual setbacks and season-altering developments — Texas Tech lost JT Toppin for the season and slipped to No. 16 following an upset loss to Arizona State.

Context and escalation

Saturday's slate forced a recalibration because it combined upsets, comebacks and statement wins across conferences. Arizona's win at Houston was particularly impactful: it not only ended the Cougars' perfect home record but also reinforced Arizona's case for top-tier placement without the services of Koa Peat in that game. Duke's victory over Michigan, staged in Washington, D. C., was decisive enough to vault the Blue Devils over the Wolverines in Katz's ordering.

Several streaks and trends factored into the rankings. St. John's had not lost since the first week of January and had been unbeaten on the road since December, meriting its top-five slot. Alabama's six-game winning streak earned the Tide a rise to No. 14, while Virginia had strung together eight straight wins ahead of a scheduled showdown with Duke. The momentum swings and injury developments combined to change perceptions about seeding and bracket positioning.

Immediate impact

The most immediate effect is on seeding narratives and the national conversation. Duke's leap to the top reshapes how selection committees and pundits evaluate the elite tier: Michigan's fall to No. 3 signals its loss of unanimity at the summit, while Arizona's climb to No. 2 underscores its résumé, which now includes a road win over a previously unbeaten-in-conference Houston.

Concrete ramifications extend down the list: teams vying for bubble positions saw their profiles altered — SMU, Villanova and Saint Louis occupy mid-20s placements with varying security, and programs like Kansas dropped after surprising losses. For programs dealing with injuries, such as Texas Tech with JT Toppin out for the season, the ranking movement highlights vulnerability in both rotation depth and tournament outlook.

Forward outlook

Key near-term milestones are already in view inside the rankings snapshot: Virginia's upcoming meeting with Duke and continued conference play for teams on streaks or slumps will provide additional data points for subsequent Power 37 revisions. The list names several squads that remain in contention for high seeds, including Houston as a possible No. 1 seed despite its recent home loss.

The timing matters because these results landed during a busy Saturday slate, compressing multiple high-stakes outcomes into a single ranking update and intensifying seeding debates as March approaches. Katz's Power 37 will likely evolve again after the next series of conference matchups and injury reports, with teams such as Michigan and Arizona positioned to reclaim or reinforce status depending on upcoming performances.

For now, the rankings reflect a landscape rearranged by a handful of decisive games: Duke is elevated to No. 1, Arizona has surged to No. 2, and a mix of streaks, injuries and statement wins has reshuffled the bubble and top-tier picture.