To be the best, you have to beat the best. That was the formula for Duke over the weekend, as the Blue Devils took down Michigan in a marquee non-conference showdown. In the wake of that colossal victory, Jon Scheyer’s squad replaced the Wolverines atop the AP Top 25 poll. Monday’s rankings placed Duke in the No. 1 spot for the first time this season and set the ACC frontrunner up as the new favorite to secure the top overall seed in next month’s NCAA Tournament.
Michigan did not tumble far, though. The Wolverines check in at No. 3 this week on the heels of their second loss of the year. They still control their own destiny in the Big Ten title race, and a mere five-point defeat against a national championship contender should not diminish their potential to make a Final Four run.
Things are slightly more concerning at Houston after a two-loss week. The Cougars entered their matchups against Iowa State and Arizona ranked No. 2 nationally and had an opportunity to stake their claim to the top spot, but they fell short in both tests and suddenly have work to do in the hunt for a third consecutive Big 12 crown. Kelvin Sampson’s crew slipped to No. 5 in the rankings after its season loss total doubled in the span of just four days.
Further down the pecking order, UConn dropped to No. 6 following a rough home loss to Creighton. Kansas is also on a downward trend following two losses in its last three outings, and AP voters downgraded it to No. 14.
Meanwhile, Miami (Ohio) is now the highest-ranked mid-major team after it added two more wins to its perfect tally. With just four regular-season games remaining, the RedHawks are 27-0. Their climb was aided by Saint Louis’ 18-game winning streak coming to an end.
Bracketology: Houston’s Monday night showdown at Kansas is critical for Cougars’ No. 1 seed aspirations
David Cobb
AP Top 25
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week’s ranking:
| Rank |
Team |
Record |
Points |
Prev. |
| 1 |
Duke (56) |
25-2 |
1,520 |
3 |
| 2 |
Arizona (5) |
25-2 |
1,439 |
4 |
| 3 |
Michigan |
25-2 |
1,433 |
1 |
| 4 |
Iowa State |
23-4 |
1,272 |
6 |
| 5 |
Houston |
23-4 |
1,251 |
2 |
| 6 |
UConn |
25-3 |
1,211 |
5 |
| 7 |
Florida |
21-6 |
1,112 |
12 |
| 8 |
Purdue |
22-5 |
1,062 |
7 |
| 9 |
Gonzaga |
27-2 |
1,039 |
11 |
| 10 |
Illinois |
22-6 |
895 |
10 |
| 11 |
Virginia |
24-3 |
884 |
14 |
| 12 |
Nebraska |
23-4 |
858 |
9 |
| 13 |
Michigan State |
22-5 |
856 |
15 |
| 14 |
Kansas |
20-7 |
774 |
8 |
| 15 |
St. John’s |
22-5 |
763 |
17 |
| 16 |
Texas Tech |
20-7 |
592 |
13 |
| 17 |
Alabama |
20-7 |
402 |
25 |
| 18 |
North Carolina |
21-6 |
388 |
16 |
| 19 |
BYU |
20-7 |
361 |
23 |
| 20 |
Arkansas |
20-7 |
356 |
20 |
| 21 |
Miami (Ohio) |
27-0 |
335 |
22 |
| 22 |
Tennessee |
20-7 |
288 |
NR |
| 23 |
Saint Louis |
25-2 |
242 |
18 |
| 24 |
Louisville |
20-7 |
186 |
21 |
| 25 |
Vanderbilt |
21-6 |
171 |
19 |
Others receiving votes: Wisconsin (47), Saint Mary’s (30), Villanova (15), Miami (10), Utah St. (8), NC State (7), SMU (4), Texas A&M (3), Iowa (3), UCF (3), High Point (2), Stephen F Austin (2), Navy (1).
