Purdue regained its spot atop the AP basketball poll when the new rankings were released Monday.

The Boilermakers' rise from No. 2 followed a week in which they beat No. 8 Alabama on the road and then returned home to defeat an Akron team that is projected to be one of the best mid-majors in the country this season.

The Boilers began the season at No. 1 in the rankings and slipped a spot after a couple of uneven performances against Evansville and Oakland with preseason All-American forward Trey Kaufman-Renn out because of a hip injury.

Kaufman-Renn returned last week and averaged 18 points and 15 rebounds in helping the Boilers improve to 4-0.

Purdue received 44 of the 61 first-place votes this week, while No. 2 Houston, which spent last week in the top spot, got 12. No. 3 Connecticut

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