Men's basketball AP poll: Michigan finally slips away as Arizona regains hold on No. 1
- - Men's basketball AP poll: Michigan finally slips away as Arizona regains hold on No. 1
Ryan Young January 12, 2026 at 11:49 PM
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There are now only five undefeated teams left in the country after Michigan's loss to Wisconsin. (Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images) (Aaron J. Thornton via Getty Images)
Michigan had its chance to overtake Arizona. Now, at least for the moment, that door seems closed.
Here’s everything you missed in the 10th week of the regular season, and the latest poll.
Michigan goes down, finally
Just seven days ago, Michigan was a single point away from matching Arizona atop the college basketball world. Now, the Wildcats are once again the clear No. 1 team in the country.
Arizona improved to a perfect 16-0 this past week and remained ahead of the rest of the sport in the national poll while the Wolverines finally fell off after a historically dominant start. Michigan fell for the first time this season on Saturday when Wisconsin stunned the Wolverines 91-88 in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines blew a 14-point lead in the first half, and gave up 54 points in the second period, to drop their first game of the season. The loss also came days after Penn State just barely missed a potential buzzer-beater that would have pulled off an even bigger upset over the Wolverines.
As a result, Michigan fell two spots in this week’s poll to No. 4. That paved the way for Iowa State to jump to No. 2, which is the highest ranking in school history. The Cyclones matched Arizona at 16-0, and are one of just five undefeated teams left in the sport. Nebraska, Vanderbilt and Miami (Ohio) — which is still sitting just outside of the national rankings — are the others.
UConn survived a scare at Providence and escaped with an overtime win on Wednesday, and then picked up its 12th straight win over DePaul on Saturday. That moved the Huskies up to No. 3. Purdue, which won its seventh straight on Saturday when it beat Penn State, then rounded out the top five behind Michigan.
Michigan has already proven itself as a dominant force in the Big Ten, if not the country this season. But the past week was not a good one for the Wolverines.
How far will Vanderbilt go?
The Commodores matched their best stat in school history on Saturday when they beat LSU, which got them to a perfect 16-0 on the season. They beat Alabama last week, too, in what was easily their best test of the year so far.
And, Vanderbilt is incredibly balanced. They are ranked inside the top 11 in both offensive and defensive efficiency ratings in the Ken Pomeroy Ratings, while earning five Quad 1 wins already — all but one of which were by double digits. A lot of that credit belongs to point guard Tyler Tanner, who is averaging team-highs 17.3 points and 5.4 assists per game while shooting just shy of 41% from behind the arc.
Those wins moved the Commodores up a spot to No. 10 in this week’s poll.
Vanderbilt has several major tests in front of it, including against No. 19 Florida on Saturday, before No. 17 Arkansas awaits next week. The Commodores will have to take on Tennessee twice before the end of the season, too.
While an undefeated run almost certainly isn’t possible, Vanderbilt is suddenly a legitimate threat in the SEC. With a few more quick wins, the conference may end up running through Nashville come March. For a team that was projected to finish 11th in the standings entering the year, that is clearly something very few saw coming.
Games to watch this week
All times ET | * denotes neutral site
Tuesday, Jan. 13
No. 16 Virginia at No. 20 Louisville | 7 p.m. | ESPN2No. 2 Iowa State at Kansas | 9 p.m. | ESPN
Wednesday, Jan. 14
Iowa at No. 5 Purdue | 6:30 p.m. | BTNArizona State at No. 1 Arizona | 10:30 p.m. | FS1
Saturday, Jan. 17
No. 16 Virginia at SMU | 12 p.m. | TBDNo. 19 Florida at No. 10 Vanderbilt | 2 p.m. | TBDNo. 17 Arkansas at No. 21 Georgia | 4 p.m. | TBDNo. 11 BYU at No. 15 Texas Tech | 8 p.m. | TBD
AP Top 25
The full men’s basketball poll from January 12, 2026.
1. Arizona (16-0)2. Iowa State (16-0)3. UConn (16-1)4. Michigan (14-1)5. Purdue (15-1)6. Duke (15-1)7. Houston (15-1)8. Nebraska (16-0)9. Gonzaga (17-1)10. Vanderbilt (16-0)11. BYU (15-1)12. Michigan State (14-2)13. Illinois (13-3)14. North Carolina (14-2)15. Texas Tech (12-4)16. Virginia (14-2)17. Arkansas (12-4)18. Alabama (11-5)19. Florida (11-5)20. Louisville (12-4)21. Georgia (14-2)22. Clemson (14-3)23. Utah State (14-1)24. Tennessee (11-5)25. Seton Hall (14-2)
Others receiving votes: Saint Louis 92, Kansas 60, Iowa 58, Miami (Ohio) 49, Villanova 40, Wisconsin 37, Miami 30, Texas A&M 23, UCF 18, Saint Mary's 17, SMU 15, Auburn 14, George Mason 8, NC State 3, USC 1, St. John's 1.
Source: “AOL Sports”
