UCLA jumps 13 places to No. 9 in men’s AP Top 25

UCLA rose 13 places to No. 9 in the first regular-season Associated Press men’s college basketball poll on Monday after wins over Arizona and North Florida. The Bruins entered the season at No. 22 and had last appeared in the top 10 in the final poll of 2022-23, when they were seventh. Associated Press poll report.

The biggest result for UCLA came in its opener on Nov. 2 in Las Vegas. Trent Perry scored 21 points, added five assists and made all 11 free throws as the Bruins beat then-No. 5 Arizona 84-75. The Wildcats cut the lead to one with just over three minutes left. UCLA held on despite a career-high 38 points from Ivan Kharchenkov. UCLA game recap.

“I thought, our defense got us separation and our rebounding,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said after the Arizona game. He pointed to ball security and Perry’s free-throw shooting as reasons the Bruins were able to protect the lead. UCLA postgame transcript.

The Bruins followed with a 114-63 win over North Florida on Friday at Pauley Pavilion. Freshman Nikola Kusturica scored 26 of his 29 points before halftime and made his first nine field-goal attempts. UCLA trailed 18-17 in the first half before scoring 35 straight points. Jaylen Petty added 22 in the home opener. UCLA’s North Florida recap.

Arizona fell seven places to No. 12. Michigan State moved into fifth, while Florida held No. 1 and received 53 of 60 first-place votes. Duke received the other seven and stayed second. Illinois and UConn remained third and fourth.

Virginia rose three spots to sixth after beating Arkansas 91-72. Texas held seventh and Houston moved up to eighth. Louisville climbed to No. 10, replacing Tennessee in the top 10. Nebraska entered at No. 25 in place of Iowa State, which lost its opener to Memphis.