COLUMBIA, S.C. — Reigning national champion Connecticut, Purdue and North Carolina remained atop The Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll for the third consecutive week, while South Carolina cracked the rankings for the first time in nearly seven years.
The Gamecocks came in at number 15 in the ranking. It marks the program's first appearance in the poll since February 2017, the same year the team also made the Final Four. Lamont Paris’ squad has won five straight games, and its 19 wins has already surpassed its season haul for any year since that run.
The Gamecocks joined San Diego State as the week's new additions, replacing Oklahoma and TCU.
The Huskies earned 45 of 61 first-place votes to remain at No. 1 for the fourth straight week in Monday's poll, while the Boilermakers topped the ballots of 16 other voters.
The top of the poll remained set after a big week that included four top-10 matchups over the weekend, with Purdue winning at Wisconsin and UNC beating rival Duke. The week also included Kansas beating Houston, which vaulted the Jayhawks to No. 4 and dropped the Cougars one spot to No. 5.
Tennessee fell one spot to No. 6 after losing at home to the now-No. 15 Gamecocks but following with a win at Kentucky.