Kansas is still a perfect 4-0, but there was plenty of movement beneath them in the college basketball world this past week.
Here’s everything you missed in Week 2 of the college basketball season, and the latest Associated Press men’s basketball poll.
Purdue knocks off Alabama as Cooper Flagg, Duke fall
They may not have Zach Edey around anymore, but Matt Painter’s group at Purdue has two of the longest winning streaks in college basketball for a reason.
The Boilermakers upset Alabama 87-78 on Friday night on their home court to pick up what should easily be their biggest win before Big Ten play kicks off. That pushed Purdue’s non-conference regular season win streak to 39 games, which is the fourth-longest of all-time. They’ve also won their last 21 games at Mackey Arena, which is the fourth-longest active streak in the country.
Trey Kaufman-Renn dropped 26 points and both Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer added 17 each in the win. They ended the game on a 28-13 run that spanned nearly 11 minutes, too.
As a result, Purdue jumped up seven spots to No. 6 in this week’s poll. They are the highest-ranked team in the Big Ten, and seem poised to run the table in the conference if their win over the Crimson Tide is any indication — though Purdue will have to turn around right away and back that win up against No. 15 Marquette on Tuesday night.
Alabama, on the other hand, fell to No. 8 in this week’s poll. That reshaped the top five, as UConn, Gonzaga and Auburn each moved up a spot to fill in behind No. 1 Kansas. Iowa State then came in at No. 5.
Elsewhere in the top 10, Kentucky rallied late to knock off Cooper Flagg and Duke on Tuesday night in Atlanta. The 17-year-old star committed two costly turnovers in the final 20 seconds of that game and failed to box out at the free throw line late, too. Duke dropped six spots to No. 12, while Kentucky climbed to No. 9.
Flagg and the Blue Devils will go up against Arizona next on Friday, and then take on Kansas next week.
John Tonje erupts at Wisconsin
John Tonje went off on Friday night in what was a historic performance in Madison, and he led the Badgers to a stunning upset in the process.
Tonje dropped 41 points in Wisconsin’s dominant 103-88 win over Arizona. That was just two points shy of Wisconsin’s single-game scoring record. The Missouri transfer also went a near-perfect 21-of-22 from the free throw line, and Wisconsin’s 103 points were the most it’s ever scored against a ranked opponent. Tonje shot 8-of-14 from the field and hit four three pointers while getting to his 41 points, more than half of which came from the free throw line.
Wisconsin led the entire way, and it survived a huge opening push in the second half that nearly brought Arizona back into the game. But the Badgers rallied with a 21-9 run of their own to secure the win. The game had 63 total fouls called, though it was remarkably consistent both ways, and a total 87 free throws attempted.
Tonje appeared in just eight games last season at Missouri while dealing with a foot injury. That was his first season in Columbia after he transferred there from Colorado State. He’s averaging 23.5 points and shooting 55.8% from the field so far this season.
The loss dropped Arizona eight spots to No. 17 in this week’s poll. The Wildcats will take on Duke next on Friday. Wisconsin entered the rankings for the first time after its win. The Badgers are now at No. 19.
Ace Bailey finally playing at Rutgers
The Ace Bailey era is finally underway at Rutgers.
After missing the Scarlet Knights’ first two games of the season with a “basketball injury,” Bailey made his season debut in their 98-81 win over Monmouth on Friday. Bailey finished with 17 points and six rebounds in the win. Rutgers held at No. 24 in the poll this week.
Bailey was the highest-ranked recruit in Rutgers basketball history when he first committed to join the program. He was a five-star Rivals.com recruit and the No. 2 overall prospect behind only Duke freshman Cooper Flagg.
He was joined by five-star guard Dylan Harper, who was the No. 3 overall recruit in the 2024 class. Harper had 20 points, six assists and five rebounds in the win over Monmouth. Harper has scored at least 20 points in all three of Rutgers’ wins this season, which is the third-longest streak by a Big Ten player to start his career in the last 25 years, per The Associated Press.
Rutgers basketball has been, well, bad in recent decades. The Knights have made the NCAA tournament just twice in the last 33 years, and they didn’t make it at all during their run in the Big East. But now that both Bailey and Harper are on the court together, Steve Pikiell has a chance to lead the Knights on a run they haven’t seen in what feels like forever.
Games to watch this week
*Neutral Site Game
Tuesday, Nov. 19
No. 6 Purdue at No. 15 Marquette | 9 p.m. ET | FS1
Thursday, Nov. 21
No. 13 Baylor vs. No. 22 St. John’s | 7 p.m. ET | CBSSN*
Friday, Nov. 22
No. 12 Duke at No. 17 Arizona | 10:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2
AP Top 25
The full Associated Press men’s basketball poll from Nov. 18, 2024.
1. Kansas (4-0)
2. UConn (3-0)
3. Gonzaga (3-0)
4. Auburn (3-0)
5. Iowa State (2-0)
6. Purdue (4-0)
7. Houston (2-1)
8. Alabama (3-1)
9. Kentucky (3-0)
10. North Carolina (2-1)
11. Tennessee (4-0)
12. Duke (3-1)
13. Baylor (3-1)
14. Creighton (4-0)
15. Marquette (4-0)
16. Indiana (3-0)
17. Arizona (2-1)
18. Cincinnati (3-0)
19. Wisconsin (4-0)
20. Arkansas (2-1)
21. Florida (4-0)
22. St. John’s (4-0)
23. Texas A&M (3-1)
24. Rutgers (3-0)
25. Illinois (3-0)
Others Receiving Votes: Texas Tech 109, Mississippi 103, Xavier 89, BYU 27, UCF 21, Texas 17, VCU 17, Michigan State 16, Mississippi State 15, Ohio St. 13, Miami 10, Pittsburgh 9, Oregon 7, Memphis 6, Penn State 4, Providence 4, Utah State 3, Kansas State 3, Clemson 2, Furman 2, Arizona State 2, Michigan 1, Hofstra 1, Maryland 1.
