Michigan State drops one spot to 12th in AP poll

Michigan State fell one spot to No. 12 in this week’s Associated Press college basketball poll, released Monday.

The Spartans (17-4, 4-4 Big Ten) ended a three-game losing streak with a 74-65 triumph over then-No. 7 Maryland on Saturday at the Breslin Center.

This week the Spartans travel to Northwestern on Thursday night (9 p.m., ESPN) and host Rutgers on Sunday (5:15 p.m., BTN).

Oklahoma remained the No. 1 team by a narrow margin over North Carolina. Iowa is third, Kansas fourth and Texas A&M fifth.

�Mission accomplished�: MSU regains identity

ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL

1. Oklahoma (36 first-place votes), 16-2 record, 1,592 points (1 last week)

2. North Carolina (29), 18-2, 1,586 (2)

3. Iowa, 16-3, 1,473 (9)

4. Kansas, 16-3, 1,369 (3)

5. Texas A&M, 17-2, 1,332 (10)

6. Villanova, 17-3, 1,261 (4)

7. Xavier, 17-2, 1,186 (5)

8. Maryland, 17-3, 1,111 (7)

9. West Virginia, 16-3, 1,105 (6)

10. Providence, 17-3, 1,005 (16)

11. Virginia, 15-4, 903 (13)

12. Michigan State, 17-4, 869 (11)

13. SMU, 18-1, 838 (8)

14. Iowa State, 15-4, 792 (19)

15. Miami, 15-3, 753 (15)

16. Louisville, 16-3, 719 (17)

17. Baylor, 15-4, 594 (13)

18. Arizona, 16-4, 502 (12)

19. Indiana, 17-3, 466 (25)

20. Kentucky, 15-4, 403 (23)

21. Purdue, 17-4, 328 (22)

22. Wichita State, 14-5, 151 (NR)

23. Oregon, 16-4, 149 (NR)

24. Duke, 15-5, 145 (20)

25. Notre Dame, 14-5, 136 (NR)

Others receiving votes: Dayton 77, South Carolina 74, Saint Mary’s (Calif.) 42, Pittsburgh 38, Southern Cal 27, Butler 26, Clemson 18, VCU 17, Hawaii 9, Valparaiso 9, UConn 5, Utah 5, UAB 4, Chattanooga 2, Colorado 1, Grand Canyon 1, Michigan 1, Navy 1.