Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) penetrates into the lane against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Though much of the college sports world's collective attention is still fixated on football as the final weeks of the 2025 regular season loom, men's college basketball is now two full weeks into its 2025-26 season.

And thus far, fans haven't had to wait until March for gripping matchups and exciting games.

A November slate unusually jam-packed with compelling contests delivered last week with several meetings between top-25 opponents. Purdue, the No. 1 team in last week's USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, knocked off No. 9 Alabama 87-80 on the road last Thursday behind 29 points from preseason All-American Braden Smith. In their annual rivalry matchup, No. 12 Louisville sprinted past No. 8 Kentucky 96-88 on Nov. 11 thanks to a combined 53 points from guards Mikel Brown Jr. and Ryan Conwell.

Elsewhere, No. 3 UConn held off a late charge from AJ Dybantsa and No. 7 BYU in an 86-84 victory in Boston last Saturday, No. 14 Illinois beat No. 11 Texas Tech 81-77, No. 6 Arizona defeated No. 15 UCLA 69-65 in a renewal of their former conference rivalry and No. 2 Houston edged No. 25 Auburn 73-72 in Birmingham, Alabama.

With those results in hand, here is an updated look at the updated USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 after Week 2:

Men's college basketball rankings after Week 2

First-place votes in parentheses

USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

  • 1. Purdue (20)
  • 2. Houston (9)
  • 3. UConn
  • 4. Duke (2)
  • 5. Arizona
  • T-6. Louisville
  • T-6. Michigan
  • 8. Illinois
  • 9. Florida
  • 10. BYU
  • 11. Alabama
  • 12. Gonzaga
  • 13. Kentucky
  • 14. Iowa State
  • 15. Texas Tech
  • 16. St. John's
  • 17. Tennessee
  • 18. Michigan State
  • 19. North Carolina
  • 20. UCLA
  • 21. Wisconsin
  • 22. Arkansas
  • 23. Kansas
  • 24. Vanderbilt
  • 25. Indiana

Others receiving votes: North Carolina State 42; Auburn 37; Saint Mary's 27; Ole Miss 22; USC 20; San Diego State 20; Oregon 19; Baylor 16; Creighton 15; Virginia 14; Missouri 7; Georgetown 6; Iowa 5; Ohio State 4; Saint Louis 1.

AP Top 25

  • 1. Purdue (44)
  • 2. Houston (12)
  • 3. UConn (2)
  • 4. Arizona (2)
  • 5. Duke (1)
  • 6. Louisville
  • 7. Michigan
  • 8. Illinois
  • 9. BYU
  • 10. Florida
  • 11. Alabama
  • 12. Kentucky
  • 13. Gonzaga
  • 14. St. John's
  • 15. Texas Tech
  • 16. Iowa State
  • 17. Michigan State
  • 18. North Carolina
  • 19. UCLA
  • 20. Tennessee
  • 21. Arkansas
  • 22. Auburn
  • 23. Wisconsin
  • 24. Kansas
  • 25. NC State

Others receiving votes: San Diego State 71; Indiana 65; Vanderbilt 57; Oregon 28; Ohio State 21; USC 16; Georgetown 16; Creighton 12; Baylor 11; Saint Mary's 8; Missouri 7; Ole Miss 5; Iowa 3; Utah State 2; Georgia 2; Virginia 1; Virginia Tech 1; Stanford 1; Kansas State 1

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Men's college basketball rankings after Week 2: Updated USA TODAY Coaches Poll, AP Top 25

Reporting by Craig Meyer, USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY

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