Michigan State remains No. 3 in Associated Press college basketball poll

Michigan State didn't move up in this week's Associated Press men's basketball poll, but it did pick up a few first-place votes.

The Spartans (2-1) stayed put at No. 3, while Duke moved to No. 1 following Kentucky’s surprising loss to Evansville.

The Blue Devils received 52 first-place votes from a 65-member media panel in the poll released Monday. No. 2 Louisville received eight first-place votes and Michigan State, the preseason No. 1, had four after receiving none last week.

Michigan State won its lone game last week, a 76-73 victory at then-No. 12 Seton Hall. Michigan State plays host to Charleston Southern (1-3) on Monday night.

Kansas and North Carolina rounded out the top five, with No. 7 Virginia receiving the final first-place vote.

Kentucky moved up to No. 1 last week after knocking off top-ranked Michigan State to open the season. The Wildcats fell flat a day later, losing 67-64 to unranked Evansville in Lexington and dropped to No. 9 in this week’s poll.

Michigan (3-0) is unranked, but did collect 11 points from voters, after receiving none last week. The Wolverines are off until Friday, when they play host to Houston Baptist (0-3).

Michigan State is one of three Big Ten teams in the top 10, joined by Maryland (No. 6) and Ohio State (10).

No. 10 Ohio State cracked the top 10 for the first time since reaching No. 8 in 2017-18, coach Chis Holtmann’s first season. The Buckeyes climbed six spots after crushing then-No. 10 Villanova.

Associated Press college basketball Top 25

1. Duke (52 first-place votes), 4-0, 1608 points (last week: 2)

2. Louisville (8), 4-0, 1501 (4)

3. Michigan State (4), 2-1, 1496 (3)

4. Kansas, 2-1, 1389 (5)

5. North Carolina, 3-0, 1262 (6)

6. Maryland, 3-0, 1240 (7)

7. Virginia (1), 3-0, 1232 (9)

8. Gonzaga, 4-0, 1227 (8)

9. Kentucky, 2-1, 1110 (1)

10. Ohio State, 3-0, 1006 (16)

11. Oregon, 4-0, 998 (14)

12. Texas Tech, 3-0, 947 (11)

13. Seton Hall, 3-1, 837 (12)

14. Arizona, 4-0, 644 (19)

15. Utah State, 4-0, 619 (17)

16. Memphis, 3-1, 574 (13)

17. Villanova, 2-1, 560 (10)

18. Xavier, 4-0, 463 (21)

19. Auburn, 4-0, 420 (22)

20. Tennessee, 3-0, 402 (NR)

21. VCU, 4-0, 365 (NR)

22. Texas, 4-0, 238 (NR)

23. Colorado, 2-0, 208 (25)

24. Baylor, 2-1, 179 (24)

25. Washington, 2-1, 150 (20)

Others receiving votes: Florida State 91, Florida 67, LSU 61, Saint Mary's 55, Evansville 43, Oklahoma 29, Vermont 11, Michigan 11, Marquette 11, Purdue 11, Butler 10, Mississippi State 9, Virginia Tech 7, West Virginia 6, Providence 5, Wisconsin 5, Liberty 4, Arkansas 3, Missouri 2, UConn 2, Southern Cal 2, New Mexico 2, San Diego State 2, Dayton 1.