MIAMI, FL — Gonzaga and Baylor return as the No. 1 and No. 2 programs in The Associated Press college basketball poll released on Monday.
San Diego State (18), Louisville (23) and Clemson (24) fell from the rankings this week.
To no surprise, Gonzaga secured 61 of 64 first-place votes from the media panel for 1,597 points after returning to the court and beating then-No. 3 Iowa.
The Bulldogs, who were inactive for two and half weeks due to COVID-19 issues, returned with a 99-88 over the the Hawkeyes on Saturday to tightened their grip on the top-ranked spot.
No. 2 Baylor grabbed the remaining three first-place votes from the media panel for 1,538 points after beating Kansas State 100-69 on Saturday.
Kansas moved up two spots to No. 3 after edging out then-No. 14 Texas Tech 58-57 last week. Iowa drop to No. 4 and Villanova rounded out the top five.
Houston holds steadily at No. 6, followed by West Virginia, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Texas.
Rutgers jumped eight places to No. 11 after taking down then-No. 13 Illinois, which slipped five spots to No. 18.
Michigan State slipped eight spots to No. 12 after losing to Northwestern on Sunday night, Creighton is down four slots to No. 13, with Missouri and Texas Tech completing the Top 15.
The next five top round out the Top 20 are Virginia at No. 16, No. 17 is North Carolina, with Michigan and Duke at 19 and 20, respectively.
No. 21 is Florida State and is followed by Xavier, Ohio State, Virginia Tech and Oregon.
Associated Press Top 25 Poll
First-place votes in parentheses:
1. Gonzaga (61)
2. Baylor (3)
3. Kansas
4. Iowa
5. Villanova
6. Houston
7. West Virginia
8. Tennessee
9. Wisconsin
10. Texas
11. Rutgers
12. Michigan State
13. Creighton
14. Missouri
15. Texas Tech
16. Virginia
17. North Carolina
18. Illinois
19. Michigan
20. Duke
21. Florida State
22. Xavier
23. Ohio State
24. Virginia Tech
25. Oregon
Others receiving votes: San Diego State 146, Richmond 142, Saint Louis 64, Arkansas 54, Indiana 53, Clemson 28, Florida 20, Georgia 19, Colorado 13, Purdue 9, BYU 9, Louisville 8, Northwestern 7, UCF 6, Minnesota 4, Oklahoma State 3, UCLA 3, LSU 2, Western Kentucky 2, SMU 1
Dropped from rankings: San Diego State 18, Louisville 23, Clemson 24
![Read more about the article [HIGHLIGHTS] Villanova Tops Texas 68-64 In Big East-Big 12 Battle](https://sportingalert.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Villanova-and-Texas-face-off-in-Big-East-Big-12-battle-HIGHLIGHTS-ESPN-College-Basketball-scaled.jpg "[HIGHLIGHTS] Villanova Tops Texas 68-64 In Big East-Big 12 Battle 3")
