Michigan 14th, Michigan State 15th in AP poll; Kansas is new No. 1
Michigan dropped nine spots and Michigan State improved by one, putting the Wolverines and Spartans No. 14 and No. 15, respectively, in this week’s Associated Press college basketball poll.
The Wolverines (8-3) lost at Illinois and at home to Oregon last week, while the Spartans (7-3) beat Oakland at Little Caesars Arena.
Kansas (9-1) moved up one spot to become the fifth No. 1 team in an already wild season. It is the first time the AP poll has had five different No. 1s before New Year’s Day; the record for an entire season is seven, set in 1982-83.
Gonzaga, Louisville, Duke and Ohio State round out the top five.
Michigan State, Kentucky, Duke and Louisville (last week) have been the other top-ranked teams so far in a year with no dominant team.
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The Jayhawks, who received 47 of 65 first-place votes, haven’t lost since falling to Duke in the Champions Classic to open the season. That run has included winning the Maui Invitational and beating a then-ranked Colorado team, with all but the overtime win against Dayton for the Maui title coming by double-digit margins.
North Carolina (6-4) is out of the Top 25 after being ranked No. 17 last week. The Tar Heels had been ranked for 106 consecutive weeks dating to February 2014, including starting this year in the top 10 and peaking at No. 5 on Nov. 18.
The Tar Heels failed to crack 50 points in losses to both highly ranked Ohio State and Virginia, then lost Sunday to Wofford in Chapel Hill with star freshman point guard Cole Anthony and fellow starter Leaky Black out with injuries.
AP poll
1. Kansas, 9-1 record, 1607 points (last week: 2)
2. Gonzaga, 11-1, 1552 (6)
3. Louisville, 10-1, 1412 (1)
4. Duke, 9-1, 1387 (7)
5. Ohio State, 9-1, 1334 (3)
6. Kentucky, 8-1, 1231 (8)
7. Maryland, 10-1, 1207 (4)
8. Oregon, 8-2, 1172 (10)
9. Virginia, 8-1, 1121 (9)
10. Baylor, 8-1, 1062 (11)
11. Memphis, 9-1, 960 (13)
12. Auburn, 9-0, 939 (12)
13. Dayton, 8-1, 879 (14)
14. Michigan, 8-3, 723 (5)
15. Michigan State, 7-3, 656 (16)
16. Arizona, 10-2, 631 (15)
17. Butler, 10-1, 553 (18)
18. Villanova, 8-2, 496 (20)
19. Florida State, 8-2, 449 (21)
20. San Diego State, 10-0, 431 (25)
21. Tennessee, 7-2, 367 (19)
22. Washington, 7-2, 213 (NR)
23. Penn State, 9-2, 182 (NR)
24. Texas Tech, 6-3, 115 (NR)
25. West Virginia, 9-1 (76)
►First-place votes: Kansas 47, Gonzaga 15, Louisville 1, Duke 2.
►Others receiving votes: North Carolina 41, Xavier 40, Iowa 39, Wichita State 31, Purdue 30, Liberty 25, Marquette 23, Indiana 23, VCU 21, Utah State 14, Saint Mary's (Calif.) 13, Northern Iowa 12, Colorado 12, Texas 10, Florida 7, DePaul 6, Georgetown 3, Richmond 3, Virginia Tech 3, LSU 3, Stanford 3, Seton Hall 3, Oklahoma State 2, Duquesne 1, BYU 1, Arkansas 1.