Men's basketball AP poll: Michigan jumps to No. 3 following dominant week in Las Vegas as Purdue holds No. 1

Feast Week is over, and one team came out of Vegas easily ahead of the rest.

Here’s everything you missed in the fourth week of the regular season, and the latest Associated Press poll.

It’s time to talk about Michigan

Michigan was the big winner in Las Vegas this past week.

The Wolverines, who entered the Players Era Festival undefeated with several solid wins, absolutely dominated. They rolled to a 40-point win over San Diego State in their first game, and then turned around and blew out then-No. 21 Auburn by 30 points the next night.

While the format of the event has been (perhaps rightfully) called into question by fans, the Wolverines made the championship game, and absolutely nothing changed. They cruised to a 40-point win over Gonzaga to claim the expanded event’s title and the $1 million NIL prize that came with it. That two-game stretch made Michigan just the second school in history to mount back-to-back 30-point wins over ranked opponents in the Associated Press’ pool, according to ESPN. Kentucky is the only other team in history that’s pulled that off, first in 1951 and again in 1996.

While the Players Era Festival field was easily the best among the Thanksgiving week tournaments, nobody else stood a chance.

As a result, Michigan jumped four spots in this week’s poll to No. 3. Auburn, which bounced back with a win over St. John’s after losing to Michigan, moved up to No. 20. Gonzaga, which had looked very solid up until this point, also moved up a single spot to No. 11.

Purdue is still a perfect 7-0, and held onto its top spot in the rankings. Arizona is undefeated still, too, and remained at No. 2.

Duke, which beat Arkansas behind a 35-point night from Cameron Boozer on Thanksgiving, remained at No. 4 and UConn rounded out the top five. Houston dropped its first game of the season in Las Vegas in a battle with Tennessee, which launched it up to No. 13 in this week’s poll. The Cougars now sit at No. 8.

Michigan, clearly, is making itself known as a very real threat to Purdue in the Big Ten. The Wolverines’ non-conference schedule is basically over, with just a marquee matchup remaining against Villanova among a few other easier games. Duke awaits in late February, but that’s a topic for a few months from now.

While it’s early, the matchup between the Wolverines and the Boilermakers on Feb. 17 is looking better and better.

Games to watch this week

All times ET | * denotes neutral site

Tuesday, Dec. 2

No. 15 Florida at No. 4 Duke | 7:30 p.m. | ESPNNo. 5 UConn at No. 21 Kansas | 9 p.m. | ESPN 2No. 16 North Carolina at No. 18 Kentucky | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN

Wednesday, Dec. 3

No. 6 Louisville at No. 25 Arkansas | 7:15 p.m. | ESPN

Friday, Dec. 5

No. 11 Gonzaga at No. 18 Kentucky | 7 p.m. | ESPN2

Saturday, Dec. 6

No. 20 Iowa State at No. 1 Purdue | 12 p.m. | CBSNo. 4 Duke at No. 7 Michigan State | 12 p.m. | FoxNo. 6 Louisville at No. 22 Indiana | 2 p.m. | CBSNo. 14 Illinois at No. 13 Tennessee | 8 p.m. | ESPN *

AP Top 25

The full Associated Press men’s basketball poll from December 1, 2025.

1. Purdue (7-0)2. Arizona (7-0)3. Michigan (7-0)4. Duke (8-0)5. UConn (6-1)6. Louisville (7-0)7. Michigan State (7-0)8. Houston (7-1)9. BYU (6-1)10. Iowa State (7-0)11. Gonzaga (7-1)12. Alabama (5-2)13. Tennessee (7-1)14. Illinois (6-2)15. Florida (5-2)16. North Carolina (6-1)17. Vanderbilt (8-0)18. Kentucky (5-2)19. Texas Tech (6-2)20. Auburn (6-2)21. Kansas (6-2)22. Indiana (7-0)23. St. John's (4-3)24. USC (7-0)25. Arkansas (5-2)

Others receiving votes: Iowa 100, UCLA 59, Nebraska 53, TCU 36, Missouri 28, Utah State 16, Saint Mary's 15, Baylor 13, Oklahoma State 12, SMU 12, Clemson 11, LSU 7, Seton Hall 6, Wisconsin 6, NC State 5, Wake Forest 3, California 2, Colorado 1, George Mason 1, Buffalo 1