Houston Cougars basketball falls from No. 1 in both national polls following loss to Temple

The Houston Cougars basketball team saw their nine-game winning streak come to an end against Temple on Sunday afternoon. With the loss, UH fell to third in both The Associated Press and USA Today’s Coaches Poll on Monday morning.

Temple handed UH its first conference loss of the season and just the second defeat overall (18-2, 6-1 American Athletic). After a week that saw a lot of the nation’s top teams fall as well, Houston’s loss to the Owls dropped them to No. 3 in the AP Poll, ending the team’s reign as the nation’s first-ranked team.

Houston received 1,333 total points in Monday’s AP Poll, with no first-place votes. The new No. 1 team in the country is Purdue, while Alabama moved up to No. 2. Just behind the Cougars is Tennessee at fourth and Kansas State as fifth.

Texas fell to No. 10 in this week’s AP Poll, while TCU rose to No. 11, and Baylor climbed up to No. 17. Beside Houston, those are the other schools within the state ranked in the AP top 25.

In the USA Today Coaches Poll, Houston was also ranked third. The Cougars garnered 684 total points and had no first-place votes. Purdue is first in this week’s poll, with Alabama also leapfrogging UH and sitting at No. 2. Tennessee is fourth and Kansas State is fifth.

Other teams within the state ranked in the top 25 were Texas at 10th, TCU at 11th, and Baylor at 17th.

Houston is still No. 1 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool, or NET, rankings despite suffering a Quad Three home loss. The NET rankings factor in a team’s opponent, the location of the games, and other factors when ranking the teams.

The Cougars will look to shake off the tough loss on Wednesday evening in Orlando against Central Florida. Houston’s next home game is Saturday afternoon against Cincinnati.