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Clayton Collier's AP Top 25 NCAA men's basketball ballot: Week Three

Arizona, Purdue and UConn are the big winners of feast week
Credit: AP
Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley celebrates after winning the championship against Iowa State in the Phil Knight invitational Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

MEMPHIS, Tenn — Feast Week was stuffed with exciting Top 25 showdowns. My top four courses of MTEs from Thanksgiving week: The Phil Knight Invitational and Phil Knight Legacy brackets, The Maui Invitational and The Battle 4 Atlantis.

There were terrific championship games and surprising upsets, the latter headlined by Alabama's quadruple overtime win over No. 1 North Carolina. It was the Tarheels second-straight loss after falling to then-unranked Iowa State on Saturday night. Even before this week, UNC has not looked like the preseason No. 1 team we anticipated. They fall to No. 23 in my ballot, with a chance to regain ground Wednesday in Bloomington, Ind. 

Arizona emerged with the Jim Maui Invitational title, but I saw three teams capable of reaching the Final Four. Creighton's semifinal win over Arkansas may have been the most competitive regulation game of Thanksgiving Week. That's why both teams are on the rise in my ballot despite taking losses.

Also new to my Top 10: Purdue and UConn. After losing four of their top seven scorers, the Boilermakers did not have the preseason hype they have become accustomed to. But with an 18-point win over Gonzaga and a 19-point win over Duke, Matt Painter's team showed why they belong among the nation's best. 

UConn defeated Oregon, Alabama and Iowa State by a combined margin of 57 points to win the Phil Knight Invitational title. The Huskies are the deepest and most talent squad of Dan Hurley's Connecticut tenure, and their record reflects that. Connecticut is 8-0, their best start since their national championship season in 2013-14.

MY AP TOP 25 BALLOT:

1.Houston

2.Texas

3.Arizona

4.Virginia

5.Purdue

6.Creighton

7.UConn

8.Arkansas

9.Baylor

10.Kansas

11.Indiana

12.Gonzaga

13.Alabama

14.Auburn

15.Illinois

16.Michigan State

17.Kentucky

18.Tennessee

19.Duke

20.UCLA

21.Maryland

22.Iowa State

23.UNC

24.San Diego State

25.TCU

IN THE MIX: Iowa, Texas Tech, Saint Mary’s, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, St. John’s, Wisconsin, Michigan

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