HOUSTON — Houston opened the season at No. 3, its highest preseason ranking since 1983. The Cougars hit another high mark since the Phi Slama Jama era, moving up a spot to No. 2 this week.
Houston opened the season with four straight blowouts and made a statement in its first big test of the season, winning 66-56 at Oregon on Sunday night.
The Cougars are holding teams to 46 points per game and have four players averaging double-figures scoring, led by preseason All-American Marcus Sasser's 16.8 points per game.
The big picture
A slate of marquee games in the second full week of the college basketball season led to the tumult in the AP Top 25.
North Carolina remained atop the poll, receiving 47 first-place votes from a 63-person media panel. Houston moved up a spot to No. 2 and had nine first-place votes. No. 3 Kansas had one first-place vote, No. 4 Texas received five and Virginia one.
The Cavaliers (4-0) had the week's biggest jump, climbing to its highest ranking since reaching No. 4 in 2020-21.
Virginia opted to cancel its game against Northern Iowa last week after Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry were fatally shot after a field trip to Washington.
The Cavaliers wore sweatshirts honoring the victims during warmups before playing Baylor and pulled away in the second half for an 86-79 win. The Cavaliers used another second-half run to beat Illinois 70-61, claiming a therapeutic title to take back with them to Charlottesville.
A 10-year-old boy who lives with Lupus and kidney disorders got to join the UH Cougars basketball team.