AP Poll: South Carolina joins for 1st time since 2017

Reigning national champion Connecticut, Purdue, and North Carolina remained atop The Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll for the third consecutive week, while South Carolina cracked the rankings for the first time in nearly seven years.

The Huskies earned 45 of 61 first-place votes to remain at No. 1 for the fourth straight week in Monday's poll, while the Boilermakers topped the ballots of 16 other voters.

The top of the poll remained set after a big week that included four top-10 matchups over the weekend, with Purdue winning at Wisconsin and UNC beating rival Duke. The week also included Kansas beating Houston, which vaulted the Jayhawks to No. 4 and dropped the Cougars one spot to No. 5.

Tennessee fell one spot to No. 6 after losing at home to the now-No. 15 Gamecocks but following with a win at Kentucky.

As for South Carolina, it marked the program's first appearance in the poll since February 2017. The Gamecocks joined San Diego State as the week's new additions, replacing Oklahoma and TCU.

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