College basketball rankings: Kentucky makes biggest jump in updated Coaches Poll; FAU falls out of top 10

The first Coaches Poll of 2024 that was released Tuesday, offered some movement near the top of the rankings after a pair of upsets occurred late last weekend. The top three teams — Purdue, Kansas and Houston — held firm with their respective rankings, but previous No. 4 Arizona dropped six spots to No. 10 after losing to Stanford.

Kentucky was the biggest riser in the poll and jumped four spots to No. 6, its highest ranking this season, after beating Illinois State. UConn (No. 4), Tennessee (No. 5), Marquette (No. 7) and Illinois (No. 8) all moved up within the top 10 and North Carolina jumped two spots to No. 9.

Arizona wasn’t the only team to stumble out of their spot. FAU was the biggest faller in the poll and dropped 11 spots to No. 17 after losing this past weekend to in-state foe Florida Gulf Coast. Gonzaga also had a free fall — falling nine nine spots to No. 25.

For the first time this season, Auburn entered the top-25. The Tigers are now ranked No. 24 and took Creighton’s spot in the rankings after the Bluejays fell on the road last weekend to Marquette.

Coaches Poll

1. Purdue (23)
2. Kansas (1)
3. Houston (8)
4. UConn
5. Tennessee
6. Kentucky
7. Marquette
8. Illinois
9. North Carolina
10. Arizona
11. Oklahoma
12. BYU
13. Duke
14. Colorado State
15. Memphis
16. Clemson
17. FAU
18. Baylor
19. Ole Miss
20. James Madison
21. Wisconsin
22. Texas
23. Providence
24. Auburn
25. Gonzaga

Others receiving votes: Creighton 45; San Diego State 37; Michigan State 26; Utah 25; Colorado 24; Ohio State 19; Iowa State 19; Nevada 15; TCU 14; Grand Canyon 9; Miami (FL) 8; Villanova 5; New Mexico 5; Princeton 2; Nebraska 2; Texas A&M 1; Indiana State 1;