Michigan, Michigan State return to Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll
Michigan and Michigan State are back.
The Wolverines and Spartans returned to the Associated Press Top 25 poll, with Michigan jumping back in at No. 19, and Michigan State checking in at No. 24.
Kansas returned to No. 1 in Top 25, followed by Baylor, Gonzaga, Dayton, and San Diego State. Creighton joined the top 10.
Michigan returned after winning a pair of road games last week, against Rutgers and Purdue. Michigan State also won on the road in its lone game last week, an 86-65 victory over Nebraska.
It's Michigan's first appearance since Week 11. The Wolverines (18-9) have won five straight. Michigan State (18-9) is back in the Top 25 after a two-week absence, when the Spartans became the first preseason No. 1 team to drop from the rankings since Kentucky in 2013-14.
The Jayhawks (24-3, 13-1 Big 12) received 62 of 64 first-place votes from the national media panel to take over the No. 1 ranking for the second time this season. Kansas also was atop the poll for one week in December, when it seemed as if just about every school that ascended to No. 1 promptly lost in a topsy-turvy start to the season.
“We’re a silent team that can make a run late in March,” Jayhawks guard Devon Dotson said after the 64-61 victory on Saturday. “We’re not going to get complacent from this one. We’re going to build off of it.”
Baylor (24-2, 13-1) received two first-place votes and fell to second after its 23-game winning streak came to an end. Gonzaga was No. 3 after a loss to BYU, and Dayton jumped San Diego State for No. 4 after the Aztecs lost for the first time in a week when every team in the top 10 found itself in a new position from last week.
Baylor wasn’t the only team to take its lumps during an upset-filled weekend.
The Cougars continued their climb to No. 17 after they knocked off Gonzaga on Saturday night, while UNLV ended the Aztecs’ perfect start with a 66-63 victory. Two more top-10 teams went down in a Big Ten shakeup Sunday when Maryland lost to Ohio State and Penn State lost to Indiana for its second defeat of the week.
The Flyers (25-2) have won 16 straight to reach their highest standing in the poll since finishing third during the 1955-56 season, while the Aztecs (26-1) remain the nation’s only one-loss Division I team. They were followed by Florida State, Duke, Kentucky, Maryland and Creighton in rounding out the top 10.
The Seminoles climbed two spots ahead of their high-profile ACC showdown with No. 11 Louisville on Monday night.
Associated Press Top 25
1. Kansas (62 first-place votes), 24-3, 1598 points (last week: 3)
2. Baylor (2), 24-2, 1532 (1)
3. Gonzaga, 27-2, 1442 (2)
4. Dayton, 25-2, 1413 (5)
5. San Diego State, 26-1, 1287 (4)
6. Florida State, 23-4, 1247 (8)
7. Duke, 23-4, 1186 (6)
8. Kentucky, 22-5, 1130 (10)
9. Maryland, 22-5, 1124 (7)
10. Creighton, 22-6, 986 (15)
11. Louisville, 23-5, 966 (11)
12. Villanova, 21-6, 928 (12)
13. Seton Hall, 20-7, 842 (16)
14. Oregon, 21-7, 653 (14)
15. Auburn, 23-4, 643 (13)
16. Penn State, 20-7, 618 (9)
17. BYU, 23-7, 598 (23)
18. Iowa, 19-8, 489 (20)
19. Michigan, 18-9, 329 (NR)
20. West Virginia, 19-8, 313 (17)
21. Colorado, 21-7, 291 (18)
22. Texas Tech, 18-9, 226 (NR)
23. Ohio State, 18-9, 210 (25)
24. Michigan State, 18-9, 160 (NR)
25. Houston, 21-7, 102 (22)
Others receiving votes: Arizona State 95, Illinois 82, Arizona 71, Butler 51, Virginia 50, Marquette 41, Stephen F Austin 29, LSU 24, ETSU 13, Utah State 9, Florida 8, Wisconsin 7, New Mexico State 2, N Iowa 2, Liberty 2, UCLA 1.