Houston retains No. 1 spot, while UCLA, Purdue move up in USA TODAY Sports men's basketball poll

Houston retains the No. 1 ranking in the USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll heading into conference tournament week.

The Cougars preserved their spot in the poll thanks to Sunday’s buzzer-beater at Memphis, and with a couple of other top-five squads losing over the weekend Houston grabbed 29 of 31 first-place votes.

UCLA moves up a couple of positions to No. 2, closing the regular season strong with a home sweep of the Pac-12’s Arizona schools. Purdue also climbs two spots to No. 3 after finishing atop the Big Ten.

Kansas slips a spot to No. 4 but still received a pair of first-place votes with the Big 12 regular season title in hand. Alabama falls three places to No. 5 after a loss at No. 18 Texas A&M.

TOP 25:Complete USA TODAY Sports men's basketball poll

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No. 6 Marquette, No. 7 Texas and No. 9 Arizona hold steady, while No. 8 Gonzaga swaps places with Baylor to round out the top 10.

Some familiar names rejoin the Top 25, headed by No. 21 Duke following their season-ending win at North Carolina. Kentucky also returns to the rankings at No. 24 as the Wildcats enter the SEC tournament. Northwestern regains the No. 25 spot by a single poll point ahead of Providence.

The Friars are joined with Pittsburgh and Maryland as the week’s dropouts.