by MIAMI, FL, Sporting Alert – Villanova stayed No. 1 in Week 9 of the AP Top 25 college basketball rankings, released on Monday.
VILLANOVA TOP THE POLL AGAIN
The Wildcats (14-0) received 59 first-place votes from the media panel for 1,619 points after picking up a pair of wins last week over DePaul and No. 10 Creighton.
The defending champion is scheduled for two tough games this coming week, first at No. 18 Butler on Jan 4 and then against Marquette on Jan 7 in Big East action.
Villanova is No. 1 for a fifth straight week, the longest at the top since Kentucky set the pace for the entire 2014-15 campaign.
Baylor collected the other six first-place votes and jumped two places to No. 2 in the rankings after beating Oklahoma 76-50 in its only fixture last week to improve to 13-0 on the season.
The Bears are set to be tested again in their next two scheduled games against Iowa State on Jan 4 and Oklahoma State on Jan 7 in Big 12 play.
Kansas (12-1) stayed at No. 3, UCLA (14-1) slipped two spots to No. 4 after losing for the first time this season to Oregon last week while Gonzaga (14-0) moves up two slots to No. 5.
Kentucky (11-2) is up two places to No. 6, West Virginia (12-1) jumped four spots to No. 7 while Duke (12-2) dipped three places to No. 8 after suffering its first loss of the season to Virginia Tech in ACC opener at the weekend.
Louisville (12-2) and Creighton (13-1) round out the Top 10.
The Bluejays were beaten by top-ranked Villanova last week, but stayed in 10th place after making the defending national champion work for the win.
MOVEMENTS IN THE BOTTOM HALF
The Top 15 is completed by Virginia (11-2) at No. 11, Florida State (14-1), Wisconsin (12-2), North Carolina (12-3) and Oregon (13-2).
Next come Xavier (12-2), Arizona (13-2), Butler (12-2) Saint Mary’s (12-1) and Purdue (12-3) to complete out the Top 25.
Virginia Tech (12-1), Cincinnati (12-2), Notre Dame (12-2), Florida (10-3), Indiana (10-4) and USC (14-1) are the other six teams making up the rankings.
Besides the Duke Blue Devils, other notable teams slipping the AP Top 25 rankings in Week 9 were North Carolina, which dropped five spots, Indiana, which is down nine places after losing to Nebraska and Louisville last week.
Virginia Tech was rewarded for its win over Duke, jumping into the poll at No. 21.
The Hokies are in the AP Top 25 rankings for the first time since the opening week of the 2010-11 season.
For more information visit the AP College Basketball website.
AP Top 25 Rankings
College Basketball
1 Villanova (59)
2 Baylor (6)
3 Kansas
4 UCLA
5 Gonzaga
6 Kentucky
7 West Virginia
8 Duke
9 Louisville
10 Creighton
11 Virginia
12 Florida State
13 Wisconsin
14 North Carolina
15 Oregon
16 Xavier
17 Arizona
18 Butler
19 Saint Mary’s
20 Purdue
21 Virginia Tech
22 Cincinnati
23 Notre Dame
24 Florida
25 Indiana
25 USC
Other teams receiving votes: Minnesota 56, Clemson 23, Miami 16, Maryland 6, Kansas State 5, Seton Hall 3, Iowa State 3, Northwestern 2, VCU 2, UNC Wilmington 1
