AP Poll: Indiana, Duke Still Lead Rankings

Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

The college basketball season is in full swing after the Associated Press released week 5’s top-25 rankings.

The top three from last week — Indiana, Duke and Michigan — all remain unchanged after furthering their undefeated season.  The Hoosiers (8-0) held on to their top spot for the fifth straight week, tallying 45 votes, while Blue Devils (8-0) weren’t far behind, garnering 20 votes from the national media panel of voters.  The third-place Wolverines are still nipping at their heels, receiving just 110 points less than Duke.

There was a bit of a shakeup this past week as No. 2 Duke held off then-No. 4 Ohio State in the ACC Big-Ten Challenge, which dropped to No. 7 in this week’s rankings.  Meanwhile, Duke is gaining momentum after defeating some of the best college basketball has to offer.  In the last 15 days, they’ve rattled off victories against the second, third and fourth ranked teams in the nation.

With the Buckeye’s loss, Syracuse jumped two spots to the No. 4 position.

There are still seven undefeated teams in the top-1o standings, which also include No. 6 Florida, No. 8 Arizona and No. 10 Gonzaga.  And still, Kansas (7-1) was tabbed No. 9 to round out the top-10 rankings.

The biggest name not to make the top-25 cut was Kentucky (4-3), which usually promises to have one of the best teams in the nation on a yearly basis. Originally at No. 8 last week, they fell to Notre Dame and Baylor, the latter of which ended the Wildcats astounding 55-game home winning streak — the longest current streak in college basketball. The recent drought has caused a stir in head coach John Calipari’s camp, which once again nabbed the top freshman talent this season.

Then-No. 19 Colorado (6-1) also dropped out of the rankings, after their defeat to Wyoming this past week.  Their loss was Wichita State’s gain, who crept into the standings at No. 24 after trumping Tulsa and the Air Force.

The biggest risers in the rankings went to Illinois which shot up nine spots in a week’s span and currently stand at No. 13. Elsewhere, Minnesota and New Mexico jumped up seven positions to No. 14 and No. 18, respectively.