Michigan State dropped out of the AP Top 25 college basketball rankings on Monday on the heels of a 55-54 home loss to Purdue on Friday. The loss came after Purdue big man Trevion Williams hit a late go-ahead jumper to seal the win, erasing Sparty’s 17-point second-half lead for good.
It’s the first time all season that Michigan State is not ranked in the AP poll, though it shouldn’t come as a surprise after the loss marked its fourth defeat in a six-game stretch after ending the 2020 calendar year on a three-game losing streak. It marks the second Big Ten team to drop out of the rankings in Monday’s update along with Rutgers, which lost its first three games to start the 2021 calendar year. It lost twice this week, to Michigan State and to Ohio State, by an average of 17 points.
Making a leap up the rankings this week is Louisville, which went from unranked to No. 16 after its win on Wednesday against Virginia Tech. The Cardinals (8-1) are quietly surging of late, with wins in four straight, including over Kentucky just before the New Year. They’re one of three ACC teams — along with Duke and Virginia — who have yet to take a loss in conference play.
AP Top 25
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week’s ranking:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gonzaga (63) | 12-0 | 1,599 | 1 |
| 2 | Baylor (1) | 11-0 | 1,536 | 2 |
| 3 | Villanova | 8-1 | 1,436 | 3 |
| 4 | Texas | 10-1 | 1,536 | 4 |
| 5 | Iowa | 11-2 | 1,322 | 5 |
| 6 | Kansas | 10-2 | 1,220 | 6 |
| 7 | Michigan | 10-0 | 1,161 | 10 |
| 8 | Creighton | 10-2 | 1,151 | 7 |
| 9 | Wisconsin | 10-2 | 1,110 | 8 |
| 10 | Tennessee | 9-1 | 1,093 | 9 |
| 11 | Houston | 10-1 | 993 | 11 |
| 12 | Clemson | 9-1 | 747 | 19 |
| 13 | West Virginia | 9-4 | 701 | 14 |
| 14 | Illinois | 9-4 | 694 | 12 |
| 15 | Texas Tech | 10-3 | 689 | 18 |
| 16 | Louisville | 8-1 | 464 | NR |
| 17 | Missouri | 7-2 | 436 | 13 |
| 18 | Virginia | 7-2 | 403 | 22 |
| 19 | Duke | 5-2 | 397 | 21 |
| 20 | Virginia Tech | 9-2 | 286 | 19 |
| 21 | Ohio State | 9-3 | 280 | NR |
| 22 | Oregon | 9-2 | 264 | 17 |
| 23 | Minnesota | 10-4 | 233 | 16 |
| 24 | Saint Louis | 7-1 | 220 | 23 |
| 25 | UConn | 6-1 | 181 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Alabama 173, UCLA 137, Colorado 96, Florida St. 74, Southern Cal 48, Rutgers 46, Drake 42, Michigan St. 34, Oklahoma St. 28, Arkansas 24, San Diego St. 10, Boise St. 8, Florida 7, Xavier 7, LSU 7, Northwestern 6, Tulsa 5, NC State 5, Indiana 2, Winthrop 2, Belmont 1
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