The Wildcats (19-0) were No. 1 on 64 of 65 votes cast Monday. They were the unanimous choice for five straight weeks before losing a pair of votes to the Cavaliers (19-0) two weeks ago.
Kentucky and Virginia have been 1-2 for three straight polls.
Gonzaga stayed at No. 3 while Duke moved up a spot to fourth after coach Mike Krzyzewski earned his 1,000th career victory. Wisconsin rounded out the top five.
No. 21 Georgetown, No. 23 Miami and No. 25 Butler were new to this week's poll, while Dayton, Seton Hall and Iowa fell out of the rankings.
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Jan. 25, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week's ranking:
| Record | Pts | Prv | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Kentucky (64) | 19-0 | 1,624 | 1 |
| 2. Virginia (1) | 19-0 | 1,561 | 2 |
| 3. Gonzaga | 20-1 | 1,476 | 3 |
| 4. Duke | 17-2 | 1,402 | 5 |
| 5. Wisconsin | 18-2 | 1,351 | 6 |
| 6. Arizona | 18-2 | 1,300 | 7 |
| 7. Villanova | 18-2 | 1,187 | 4 |
| 8. Notre Dame | 19-2 | 1,139 | 8 |
| 9. Kansas | 16-3 | 1,120 | 11 |
| 10. Louisville | 16-3 | 1,027 | 10 |
| 11. Utah | 16-3 | 996 | 12 |
| 12. Wichita St. | 18-2 | 893 | 14 |
| 13. North Carolina | 16-4 | 878 | 15 |
| 14. VCU | 16-3 | 734 | 16 |
| 15. Iowa St. | 14-4 | 719 | 9 |
| 16. Maryland | 18-3 | 715 | 13 |
| 17. West Virginia | 16-3 | 558 | 18 |
| 18. N. Iowa | 18-2 | 440 | 20 |
| 19. Texas | 14-5 | 431 | 17 |
| 20. Baylor | 15-4 | 407 | 21 |
| 21. Georgetown | 14-5 | 334 | — |
| 22. Indiana | 15-5 | 165 | 23 |
| 23. Miami | 14-5 | 164 | — |
| 24. Oklahoma | 12-7 | 90 | 19 |
| 25. Butler | 15-6 | 70 | — |
Others receiving votes: Colorado St. 57, Arkansas 54, Ohio St. 43, SMU 43, Providence 29, Dayton 28, Georgia 28, Stanford 16, Wyoming 14, LSU 10, Seton Hall 10, San Diego St. 4, Texas A&M 2, Tulsa 2, Davidson 1, Green Bay 1, Saint Mary's (Cal) 1, Stephen F. Austin 1.
