By R.L. Bynum

Houston took over the top spot in the latest AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll, with North Carolina suffering the biggest single-week fall from No. 1 in poll history.

The Tar Heels (5–2) are No. 18, a fall from the top spot much bigger than the previous largest Carolina fall to No. 5 in the 2007–08 season. That drop happened on Jan. 21, 2008, after an 82–80 home loss to Maryland for their first loss of the season.

The 17-spot fall is the largest in this week’s poll. UNC fell 14 spots to No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

Carolina went 1–2 at the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Ore., beating Portland 89–81, losing to Iowa State 70–65 and falling to Alabama 103–101 in four overtimes. The Cyclones (5–1) debuted in the AP poll at No. 23, and the Tide (6–1) jumped seven spots to No. 11.

Houston (6–0) moved up from No. 2 after beating Kent State 49–44. Virginia (5–0) moved up two spots to No. 3 after a 72–45 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore. It’s the Cougars’ first No. 1 ranking since the 1982–83 Phi Slama Jama team that lost to N.C. State in the NCAA final.

Duke (6–2) tumbled nine spots to No. 17 after losing 75–56 to Purdue on Sunday in the Phil Knight Legacy tournament championship game in Portland. The Boilermakers (6–0) jumped 19 spots to No. 5.

Indiana, which hosts UNC on Wednesday at 9:15 p.m. in the final ACC-Big Ten Challenge (ESPN), moved up one spot to No. 10 after beating Little Rock 87–68 and Jackson State 90–51.

Ohio State (5–1), which UNC faces in the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 17, debuted in the poll at No. 25. The Buckeyes went 2–1 at the Maui Invitational, losing to San Diego State 88–77 before beating Cincinnati 81–53 and Texas Tech 80–73.

David Thompson of the Fayetteville Observer ranked UNC the highest at No. 4. Others who had the Tar Heels in the top 10 were Aria Gerson of The Tennessean (No. 6), Dave Preston of WTOP in Washington (No. 8) and Jeff Welsch of Lee Enterprises in Lee, Mont. (No. 9).

David Jones of Penn LIve in Dowington, Pa., was the only voter who didn’t rank Carolina.

Jordan Crammer of WNCN voted UNC No. 18 and C.L. Brown of The News & Observer had the Heels No. 19.

Thompson voted Virginia No. 3 and Duke No. 13. Brown had Virginia No. 2 and Duke No. 17. Crammer had the Cavaliers No. 3 and the Blue Devils No. 16.

AP Top 25

Rank	Team	Change	Poll points (1st-place votes)
1	Houston (6–0)	+1	1,534 (45)
2	Texas (5–0)	+2	1,467 (8)
3	Virginia (5–0)	+2	1,408 (2)
4	Arizona (6–0)	+10	1,341
5	Purdue (6–0)	+19	1,307 (8)
6	Baylor (5–1)	+1	1,111
7	Creighton (6–1)	+3	1,100
8	UConn (8–0)	+12	1,099
9	Kansas (6–1)	-6	990
10	Indiana (6–0)	+1	938
11	Alabama (6–1)	+7	860
11	Arkansas (5–1)	-2	860
13	Tennessee (5–1)	+9	848
14	Gonzaga (5–2)	-8	845
15	Auburn (7–0)	-2	733
16	Illinois (5–1)	—	643
17	Duke (6–2)	-9	614
18	North Carolina (5–2)	-17	541
19	Kentucky (4–2)	-4	472
20	Michigan State (5–2)	-8	469
21	UCLA (5–2)	-2	346
22	Maryland (6–0)	+1	282
23	Iowa State (5–1)	—	198
24	San Diego State (4–2)	-7	189
25	Ohio State (5–1)	—	108

Others receiving votes: TCU 45, Iowa 31, Charleston 20, West Virginia 14, Mississippi State 12, Texas Tech 11, Michigan 8, Wisconsin 6, Arizona State 6, UNLV 6, Miami 5, Missouri 2, Oklahoma 2, St. John’s 1, Virginia Tech 1, New Mexico 1, Kansas State 1. Point values in parentheses indicate the number of first-place votes.

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UNC’s biggest previous drops from No. 1

To No. 4:
— On Jan. 15, 2007, after a 94–88 road loss to Virginia Tech for their first loss of the season.
— On Jan. 9, 1995, after losing at N.C. State 80–70 for their first loss of the season but beating Maryland at home 100–90.
— On March 15, 1993, after losing 77–75 to Georgia Tech in the ACC tournament championship game before winning the national championship.
— On Dec. 23, 1957, after a 75–64 loss to West Virginia in Lexington, Ky., in the University of Kentucky Invitational for their first loss.
To No. 5 on Jan. 21, 2008, after an 82–80 home loss to Maryland for their first loss of the season

UNC statistics

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Date	Month/day	Time/score	Opponent/event (current ranking)	Location	Record
	October
28	Friday	W, 101–40	Johnson C. Smith	Home	Exhibition
	November
7	Monday	W, 69–56	UNCW	Home	1–0
11	Friday	W, 102–86	College of Charleston	Home	2–0
15	Tuesday	W, 72–66	Gardner-Webb	Home	3–0
20	Sunday	W, 80–64	James Madison	Home	4–0
			Phil Knight Invitational
24	Thursday	W, 89–81	First round: Portland	Portland	5–0
25	Friday	L, 70–65	Semifinals: Iowa State	Portland	5–1
27	Sunday	L, 103–101, 4 OTs	Consolation: No. 1 Alabama	Portland	5–2
			ACC/Big Ten Challenge
30	Wednesday	L, 77–65	No. 21 Indiana	Bloomington, Ind.	5–3
	December
4	Sunday	L, 80–72	Virginia Tech	Blacksburg, Va.	5–4, 0–1 ACC
10	Saturday	W, 75–59	Georgia Tech	Home	6–4, 1–1 ACC
13	Tuesday	W, 100–67	The Citadel	Home	7–4
			CBS Sports Classic
17	Saturday	W, 89–84, OT	Ohio State	New York	8–4
			Jumpman Invitational
21	Wednesday	W, 80–76	Michigan	Charlotte	9–4
30	Friday	L, 76–74	Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh	9–5, 1–2 ACC
	January
4	Wednesday	W, 88–79	Wake Forest	Home	10–5, 2–2 ACC
7	Saturday	W, 81–64	Notre Dame	Home	11–5, 3–2 ACC
10	Tuesday	L, 65–58	No. 14 Virginia	Charlottesville	11–6, 3–3 ACC
14	Saturday	W, 80–59	Louisville	Louisville, Ky.	12–6, 4–3 ACC
17	Tuesday	W, 72–64	Boston College	Home	13–6, 5–3 ACC
21	Saturday	W, 80–69	N.C. State	Home	14–6, 6–3 ACC
24	Tuesday	W, 72–68	Syracuse	Syracuse, N.Y.	15–6, 7–3 ACC
	February
1	Wednesday	L, 65–64	Pittsburgh	Home	15–7, 7–4 ACC
4	Saturday	L, 63–57	No. 12 Duke	Durham	15–8, 7–5 ACC
7	Tuesday	L, 92–85	Wake Forest	Winston-Salem	15–9, 7–6 ACC
11	Saturday	W, 91–71	Clemson	Home	16–9, 8–6 ACC
13	Monday	L, 80–72	No. 16 Miami	Home	16–10, 8–7 ACC
19	Sunday	L, 77–69	N.C. State	Raleigh	16–11, 8–8 ACC
22	Wednesday	W, 63–59	Notre Dame	South Bend, Ind.	17–11, 9–8 ACC
25	Saturday	W, 71–63	No. 14 Virginia	Home	18–11, 10–8 ACC
27	Monday	W, 77–66	Florida State	Tallahassee, Fla.	19–11, 11–8 ACC
	March
4	Saturday	L, 62–57	No. 12 Duke	Home	19–12, 11–9 ACC
			ACC tournament
8	Wednesday	W, 85–61	Boston College	Greensboro	20–12
9	Thursday	L, 68–59	No. 14 Virginia	Greensboro	20–13

Photo via @UNC_Basketball