Michigan State cracks top 10 in Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll
Michigan State is moving up in the Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll, one spot at a time.
The Spartans (10-2) are No. 10 in this week's poll, revealed Monday, climbing one spot from a week ago. Michigan State moved into the top 10 for the first time since Week 5 of last season, after defeating Oakland, 90-78, last Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
The Spartans moved into the poll at No. 22 on Nov. 29 and have made a steady climb since. It's the second straight week Michigan State has moved up one spot.
The Spartans, riding a five-game winning streak, play their final nonconference game of the regular season Wednesday afternoon against High Point.
Baylor remained No. 1 for the third straight week in the poll, receiving all 61 first-place votes from a national media panel. The Bears (11-0) had 60 first-place votes a week ago and were a unanimous selection this week with a blowout win over Alcorn State and Arizona’s loss to Tennessee.
The top five remained the same from last week, with Duke, Purdue, Gonzaga and UCLA behind Baylor.
Arizona dropped three spots to No. 9 after losing for the first time this season, 77-73 at Tennessee last Wednesday. The Wildcats had been one of the nation’s best offensive teams during their undefeated start but were smothered by the Vols, scoring 11 points below their season average.
“We weren’t able to get a lot of post touches,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “At the end of the day, there’s usually one recipe. The recipe is, toughen up.”
Tennessee (9-2) hasn’t had much trouble with toughness this season.
The Vols’ only two losses were to then-No. 5 Villanova and No. 25 Texas Tech in overtime. Tennessee is 21st nationally in scoring defense, holding teams to 59.3 points, and is forcing nearly 18 turnovers a game.
The Vols jumped on Arizona with an opening 16-2 run and withstood a late run to pull out their biggest win of the season.
“We talked about it being a heavyweight fight, which it was,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. “It was a hard-fought win. We knew they would make a push to get back in it.”
The Vols have another test coming out of the Christmas break, playing at No. 19 Alabama on Wednesday.
Michigan (7-4), which saw its only game last week canceled last week because of COVID-19 protocols within the Purdue Fort Wayne program, remains unranked.
Associated Press Top 25
1. Baylor (61 first-place votes), 11-0, 1525 points (last week: 1)
2. Duke, 11-1, 1448 (2)
3. Purdue, 11-1, 1371 (3)
4. Gonzaga, 10-2, 1335 (4)
5. UCLA, 8-1, 1296 (5)
6. Kansas, 9-1, 1233 (7)
7. Southern Cal, 12-0, 994 (8)
8. Iowa State, 12-0, 985 (9)
9. Arizona, 11-1, 973 (6)
10. Michigan State, 10-2, 901 (11)
11. Auburn, 11-1, 826 (12)
12. Houston, 11-3, 801 (13)
13. Ohio State, 8-2, 787 (14)
14. Tennessee, 9-2, 729 (19)
15. Seton Hall, 9-1, 716 (15)
16. LSU, 12-0, 609 (17)
17. Texas, 9-2, 567 (16)
18. Kentucky, 9-2, 459 (20)
19. Alabama, 9-3, 426 (10)
20. Colorado State, 10-0, 366 (21)
21. Providence, 11-1, 315 (22)
22. Villanova, 8-4, 312 (23)
23. Xavier, 11-2, 237 (18)
24. Wisconsin, 9-2, 207, (24)
25. Texas Tech, 9-2, 121 (25)
Others receiving votes: Illinois 72, Oklahoma 62, West Virginia 52, Loyola Chicago 39, UConn 34, Michigan 7, Colorado 5, San Francisco 4, Wake Forest 4, Iowa 2, Davidson 2, Minnesota 1, Creighton 1, Memphis 1.