Houston passes Connecticut for No. 1 spot in USA TODAY Sports men's college basketball poll

As expected, there’s a new No. 1 this week in the USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll.

Houston takes over the top spot for the first time this season. The Cougars, now alone atop the rugged Big 12, were voted first on 25 of 32 ballots. Connecticut slips to No. 2 but retains three first-place votes. Purdue stays at No. 3 overall but picked up the remaining No. 1 nods this week. Tennessee and Marquette round out the top five.

Iowa State holds at No. 6, not demoted for last Monday’s loss at Houston. Arizona does take a three-position drop to No. 7 after its home loss to No. 21 Washington State. North Carolina, Kansas and Duke finish out the top 10.

TOP 25: Complete USA TODAY Sports men's basketball poll

Four teams join the top 25 this week, headed by the return of Gonzaga at No. 22. Utah State also returns at No. 23 and Florida moves in at No. 24.

Rounding out the list at No. 25 is the season debut of American Athletic Conference leader South Florida. It is the first ever ranking for the Bulls in the coaches poll, though they did receive votes in the 2011-12 season, the last time they made the NCAA tournament.

It was a good week at the top for the Big 12, but a rough one near the bottom of the rankings as three league members fall out. Brigham Young, Texas Tech and TCU all exit the Top 25 along with Colorado State.