Michigan State tumbles, Michigan stays put in AP college basketball poll

Michigan State tumbled Sunday on the court, and Monday in the Associated Press Top 25.

Michigan State (13-4) dropped seven spots to No. 15 on the heels of Sunday's 71-42 dismantling at the hands of Purdue. Michigan (11-5) also lost on Sunday — 75-67 at Minnesota — but stayed at No. 19.

The Spartans and Wolverines each opened the week with a victory Thursday, MSU downing Minnesota and Michigan surviving Purdue in double overtime.

And, while both Michigan State and Michigan fell on the road Sunday, Baylor notched a pair of impressive road victories, following up a victory at Texas Tech by invading Allen Fieldhouse and thumping Kansas on its home floor.

As a result? The Bears leapfrogged the Jayhawks and Duke into the second spot in AP poll. They finished with 1,567 points in voting by 65 media members who regularly cover the game, just seven back of top-ranked Gonzaga — even though Baylor had 31 first-place votes and the Bulldogs had 30.

Baylor (13-1, 3-0 Big 12) hasn’t lost since playing Washington in Alaska in its second game of the season. Along the way, the Bears have notched nonconference wins over ranked teams Villanova, Arizona and Butler along with league wins over the Red Raiders, the Jayhawks and Texas.

The win over Kansas was the first for Baylor in 18 tries at Allen Fieldhouse and the first over a top-five team on the road.

The Blue Devils fell to third in the AP poll, followed by unbeaten Auburn and Butler. The Jayhawks were next with another unbeaten, San Diego State, staying at No. 7. Oregon, Florida State and Kentucky rounded out the top 10.

The Wildcats climbed four spots by squeezing out tougher-than-expected wins over Georgia and Alabama.

The biggest climb came from Wichita State, which jumped seven spots to No. 16 after soundly beating No. 22 Memphis and turning back Connecticut in double overtime. The Shockers’ only loss came against No. 12 West Virginia in the championship game of the Cancun Classic in late November.

The biggest drop by a team that remains in the poll came from Ohio State, which lost two more games to Maryland and Indiana to make it four consecutive losses. The Buckeyes were once in the top five but are now No. 21.

Associated Press Top 25

1. Gonzaga (30 first-place votes), 18-1, 1574 points (last week: 1)

2. Baylor (31), 13-1, 1567 (4)

3. Duke (4), 15-1, 1529 (2)

4. Auburn, 15-0, 1359 (5)

5. Butler, 15-1, 1299 (6)

6. Kansas, 12-3, 1286 (3)

7. San Diego State, 17-0, 1266 (7)

8. Oregon, 14-3, 1163 (9)

9. Florida State, 14-2, 1093 (10)

10. Kentucky, 12-3, 960 (14)

11. Louisville, 13-3, 943 (13)

12. West Virginia, 13-2, 911 (17)

13. Dayton, 14-2, 842 (15)

14. Villanova, 12-3, 822 (16)

15. Michigan State, 13-4, 735 (8)

16. Wichita State, 15-1, 629 (23)

17. Maryland, 13-3, 616 (12)

18. Seton Hall, 12-4, 496 (NR)

19. Michigan, 11-5, 358 (19)

20. Colorado, 13-3, 345 (25)

21. Ohio State, 11-5, 270 (11)

22. Memphis, 13-3, 232 (21)

23. Texas Tech, 10-5, 111 (22)

24. Illinois, 12-5, 109 (NR)

25. Creighton, 13-4, 97 (NR)

Others receiving votes: Iowa 88, Stanford 77, Arkansas 65, Indiana 50, Virginia 41, Penn St. 36, LSU 30, Arizona 20, Wisconsin 19, Liberty 11, Northern Iowa 10, Purdue 10, Duquesne 9, Washington 9, Rutgers 8, TCU 8, Virginia Tech 5, Houston 4, Oregon State 4, BYU 3, ETSU 2, Akron 1, Harvard 1, Saint Mary's (Calif.) 1, Southern Cal 1.