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“Feast Week” is over, and this year’s holiday tournaments undoubtedly lived up to expectations.
There were plenty of upsets inside the top-10 over the past week, including two that took down the nation’s top program.
Here’s everything you missed in Week 3 of the season, and the latest Associated Press poll.
Houston overtakes North Carolina at No. 1 after consecutive Tar Heel losses
It took three weeks, but we have a new No. 1 in college basketball.
North Carolina lost twice last week at the Phil Knight Invitational, first on Friday to Iowa State and then again on Sunday to Alabama in a wild four-overtime battle in Portland.
Friday’s loss came from a huge 31-point showing from Cyclones transfer Caleb Grill, who hit seven 3-pointers to lead them past the Tar Heels and into the PKI championship game.
Sunday’s loss was much more understandable, considering North Carolina went head-to-head with Alabama in its third game in four days — and only fell at the very end of what ended up being an extra half of a normal game. Caleb Love dropped a career-high 34 points in the loss too.
The tough trip to the Pacific Northwest ended up dropping North Carolina 17 spots to No. 18 in this week’s poll. Houston, which narrowly beat Kent State in its only game of the week, is now ranked No. 1. It marks the program’s first time atop the rankings since 1983.
The Tar Heels won’t have much time to fix things, either. They’ve got a battle set with No. 10 Indiana coming up on Wednesday night.
Alabama’s win over North Carolina, and another against Michigan State earlier in Portland, jumped it up to No. 11 in this week’s poll. Iowa State, who fell to UConn on Sunday night in the tournament title game, entered the poll at No. 23.
Purdue jumps after blowout wins over Gonzaga, Duke
Though North Carolina struggled in Oregon, Purdue — and star big man Zach Edey — shined.
The 7-foot-4 center led Purdue to the Phil Knight Legacy championship with a pair of blowout wins over Gonzaga on Friday and then Duke on Sunday. He dropped 23 points and had seven rebounds in the Boilermakers’ 18-point win over Gonzaga, and then he put up 21 points and 12 rebounds against the Blue Devils in their 19-point win. Naturally, Edey earned tournament MVP honors.
Purdue jumped up 19 spots this week to No. 5 in the latest poll. The Boilermakers will go up against Florida State on Wednesday before opening Big Ten play with Minnesota on Sunday.
Gonzaga, on the other hand, fell to No. 14 in the poll. The Bulldogs beat against Xavier on Sunday night. Duke fell to No. 17 in the latest poll. The Blue Devils will match up with No. 25 Ohio State on Wednesday.
Full AP Top 25
The full AP Top 25 poll from Monday, Nov. 28:
1. Houston (6-0)
2. Texas (5-0)
3. Virginia (5-0)
4. Arizona (6-0)
5. Purdue (6-0)
6. Baylor (5-1)
7. Creighton (5-1)
8. UConn (8-0)
9. Kansas (6-1)
10. Indiana (6-0)
T11. Alabama (6-1)
T11. Arkansas (5-1)
13. Tennessee (5-1)
14. Gonzaga (5-2)
15. Auburn (7-0)
16. Illinois (5-1)
17. Duke (6-2)
18. North Carolina (5-2)
19. Kentucky (4-2)
20. Michigan State (5-2)
21. UCLA (5-2)
22. Maryland (6-0)
23. Iowa State (5-1)
24. San Diego State (4-2)
25. Ohio State (5-1)
Others receiving votes: TCU 45, Iowa 31, Charleston 20, West Virginia 14, Mississippi State 12, Texas Tech 11, Michigan 8, Wisconsin 6, Arizona State 6, UNLV 6, Miami 5, Missouri 2, Oklahoma 2, St. John’s 1, Virginia Tech 1, New Mexico 1, Kansas State 1