North Carolina holds off Gonzaga for No. 1 spot in men’s basketball poll

The first week of the college basketball season produced few upsets at the top off the rankings. So it follows there are only minor changes in the USA TODAY Sports men’s coaches poll in the first release of the regular season.

The top 10 teams remain the same, headed by No. 1 North Carolina and No. 2 Gonzaga. The Tar Heels received 22 of 32 first-place votes, while the Zags picked up seven. The 28-point difference between the schools is a slight increase from last month’s poll. North Carolina won it’s first two games, albeit in unimpressive fashion, while Gonzaga narrowly rallied past Michigan State.

Houston holds on at No. 3, claiming a pair of No. 1 nods, and No. 4 Kentucky got the other first. The rest of the top 10 also stayed the same with No. 5 Kansas being followed by Baylor, UCLA, Duke, Creighton and Arkansas.

Tennessee, the highest ranked team to take a loss during the opening week of the season, falls from 11th to 17th. There was little room for upward mobility, but Virginia managed to gain four positions to check in at No. 14.

No. 24 Purdue moves into the poll. Michigan State also enters at No. 25 despite that close loss to Gonzaga.

Villanova and Oregon drop out after upset losses.