Purdue jumps to No. 1 in latest AP Poll following dominant Maui Invitational
Purdue is riding high coming out of the Maui Invitational, and the Boilermakers now hold the top spot in the country per the AP Poll! Previous No. 1 Kansas lost during the tournament while the Boilermakers beat 3 top-15 teams in Hawaii.
Matt Painter’s squad captured the Maui Invitational with wins over Gonzaga (73-63), Tennessee (71-67) and Marquette (78-75). Those teams are ranked No. 11, No. 10 and No. 3, respectively, in the latest AP Poll.
Kansas dropped to No. 5 after a loss to Marquette.
POLL ALERT: Purdue is back at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 men’s poll; Arizona, Marquette, UConn and Kansas round out top five.
Full poll: https://t.co/ZJG5mgWrsa pic.twitter.com/drwwIH13Xp
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) November 27, 2023
Purdue is certainly worthy of the top spot at this point in the young season. The Boilermakers are 6-0 with 3 ranked wins and another quality victory over Xavier. Purdue must still face Alabama and Arizona (currently No. 23 and No. 2, respectively) before the end of 2023.
Reigning National Player of the Year Zach Edey is back in dominant fashion and is averaging 23 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks early on.
Moving forward, the bigger key for Purdue will be to prove this team is not just a regular-season monster. A season ago, the Boilermakers dominated in B1G play but was bounced from the NCAA Tournament by 16-seed FDU.