Kentucky drops again in Top 25 college basketball rankings. And there’s a new No. 1.

The new college basketball rankings were released Monday, and there’s a change at the top, while Kentucky continues to drop.

Houston is the new No. 1 team in the country, according to the latest Associated Press poll. The Cougars received 45 of 63 first-place votes.

Texas, Virginia, Arizona and Purdue round out the top five in the updated Top 25 rankings, with the Longhorns and Boilermakers each receiving eight first-place votes, and UVa getting the other two.

The top spot had belonged to North Carolina since the preseason poll was released last month. The Tar Heels dropped all the way to No. 18 in the new rankings following losses to Iowa State and Alabama in the Phil Knight Invitational last week.

Kentucky (4-2) is No. 19 in the AP poll, falling four spots despite zero losses in the past week.

UK’s only game last week was a 96-56 victory over North Florida. The Cats dropped 11 spots in the rankings last week — from No. 4 to No. 15 — following losses to Michigan State and Gonzaga.

(The Zags are No. 14 in the new rankings, while the Spartans are ranked No. 20).

The Cats will play two games this week, first against Bellarmine in Rupp Arena on Tuesday night. The Knights played road games on the West Coast at Loyola Marymount on Friday and UCLA on Sunday, losing both by 21 points. Their only victory over a Division I opponent this season came at Louisville in the Nov. 9 opener. Bellarmine has also lost at Duke, Clemson and Morehead State.

Kentucky’s marquee matchup of the new rankings week will come Sunday against Michigan in London, with the team planning to depart Lexington for the international trip Wednesday.

Michigan (5-1) started the season ranked No. 22 nationally but fell out of the Top 25 following an 87-62 loss to Arizona State. The Wolverines are now seventh on the also receiving votes list — making them the No. 32 team in the country — and they’ll play No. 3 Virginia in Ann Arbor on Tuesday night.

The Wildcats’ next game against a team currently ranked in the Top 25 will come Dec. 17 against No. 21 UCLA in Madison Square Garden for the CBS Sports Classic.

Kentucky is one of five Southeastern Conference teams in the updated rankings, along with Arkansas and Alabama (both tied for No. 11 nationally), No. 13 Tennessee and No. 15 Auburn. Mississippi State and Missouri also received votes in the latest poll.

North Carolina’s 17-spot drop was the biggest fall in the new rankings. Next on that list was Duke, which went from No. 8 last week to No. 17 this week following a 19-point loss to Purdue on Sunday and close victories over Xavier and Oregon State before that. Purdue’s jump from No. 24 to No. 5 was the biggest rise in the new poll.

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