MIAMI, FL — Gonzaga and Baylor returned as the top-ranked teams in the latest The Associated Press men’s college basketball Top 25 rankings, but Duke fellow took a big tumble on Monday.
Virginia Tech (15), Richmond (19), Arizona State (23) all fell from the rankings this week.
Gonzaga and Baylor continue to sit No. 1 and No. 2 in the poll as the top five teams held their places in Monday’s latest Top 25 release.
The Bulldogs, who paused all team activities a little over a week ago due to COVID-19 positive tests, collected 54 of the 62 first-place votes from the voting panel to sit atop of the rankings for the fourth straight edition this season.
G0nzaga has not played since beating the then-No. 11 West Virginia 87-82 in the Jimmy V Classic on Dec 2, was also forced to call its showdown with the Bears about 90 minutes before tipoff COVID-19 issues.
Meanwhile, Baylor claimed seven first-place votes and Iowa, which returned No. 3 this week, got the remaining one vote.
No. 4 Michigan State and No. 5 Kansas completed the Top 5.
Undefeated Houston is No. 6, followed by Villanova, West Virginia, Creighton, and Tennessee in the top 10.
This week saw Duke taking a big slide.
After losing two of their last three games, including a home defeat to then-No. 6 Illinois the last time out, the Blue Devils fell 11 places to No. 21
Illinois also made a notable slide after the Fighting Illini slipped seven places, following the defeat to Missouri.
Undefeated across five games this season, including two wins against ranked teams, Missouri cracked the poll at No. 16. The Tigers were securing the program’s first AP ranking since midway through the 2013-14 season.
Also entering the rankings this week were No. 24 Clemson and No. 25 Michigan.
AP Top 25 poll
First-place votes in parentheses:
1. Gonzaga (54)
2. Baylor (7)
3. Iowa (1)
4. Michigan State
5. Kansas
6. Houston
7. Villanova
8. West Virginia
9. Creighton
10. Tennessee
11. Texas
12. Wisconsin
13. Illinois
14. Texas Tech
15. Florida State
16. Missouri
17. Virginia
18. San Diego State
19. Rutgers
20. Ohio State
21. Duke
22. North Carolina
23. Louisville
24. Clemson
25. Michigan
Others receiving votes: Richmond 140, Saint Louis 121, Virginia Tech 115, Xavier 55, Oklahoma State 48, Oregon 31, Indiana 22, Florida 18, Arizona State 13, UCLA 9, UConn 7, Arizona 5, Syracuse 4, Georgia 4, Arkansas 4, SMU 1, Minnesota 1
Dropped from rankings: Virginia Tech 15, Richmond 19, Arizona State 23
