The Michigan State Spartans leaped from second to first in the Associated Press' college basketball poll after defeating the former No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats last Tuesday and then holding off a scrappy Columbia squad three days later. Tom Izzo's team earned 51 first-place votes.
NCAA basketball rankings: Michigan State jumps to No. 1, Kentucky falls to No. 4 in AP poll
Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans jumped to first place in the Associated Press poll after defeating previous No. 1 Kentucky this week.
Jonathan Daniel
The Kansas Jayhawks, after defeating Duke, moved from fifth to second, and the Louisville Cardinals held steady at third to jump their rivals at UK. Kentucky fell to fourth and didn't receive a first-place vote. Both KU and Louisville earned seven first-place votes.
Arizona, Duke, Oklahoma State, Ohio State, Syracuse and Virginia Commonwealth round out the top 10.
Iowa State and Creighton entered the Top 25 this week. The Cyclones defeated the previously seventh-ranked Michigan Wolverines on Sunday and appeared at No. 21 in the poll. Creighton is 3-0 on the season and was ranked 23rd.
Michigan fell seven spots in this week's poll, and the Marquette Golden Eagles dropped from 17th to 25th after getting pummeled, 52-35, by the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday. No. 24 North Carolina had the biggest free-fall after losing 83-80 to Belmont. The Tar Heels were ranked 12th last week.
| Rank | Team (1st place votes) | Record | Votes | Previous |
| 1 | Michigan State (51) | 3-0 | 1608 | 2 |
| 2 | Kansas (7) | 2-0 | 1523 | 5 |
| 3 | Louisville (7) | 3-0 | 1511 | 3 |
| 4 | Kentucky | 3-1 | 1410 | 1 |
| 5 | Arizona (5) | 3-0 | 1339 | 6 |
| 6 | Duke | 2-1 | 1320 | 4 |
| 7 | Oklahoma State | 3-0 | 1198 | 8 |
| 8 | Ohio State | 3-0 | 1172 | 10 |
| 9 | Syracuse | 3-0 | 1135 | 9 |
| 10 | VCU | 3-0 | 928 | 14 |
| 11 | Memphis | 1-0 | 871 | 13 |
| 12 | Wisconsin | 3-0 | 763 | 20 |
| 13 | Gonzaga | 3-0 | 710 | 15 |
| 14 | Michigan | 2-1 | 705 | 7 |
| 14 | Wichita State | 4-0 | 705 | 16 |
| 16 | Florida | 2-1 | 619 | 11 |
| 17 | Oregon | 2-0 | 613 | 18 |
| 18 | Connecticut | 4-0 | 600 | 19 |
| 19 | New Mexico | 2-0 | 353 | 22 |
| 20 | Baylor | 3-0 | 342 | 23 |
| 21 | Iowa State | 3-0 | 296 | -- |
| 22 | UCLA | 2-0 | 291 | 24 |
| 23 | Creighton | 3-0 | 246 | 26 |
| 24 | North Carolina | 2-1 | 213 | 12 |
| 25 | Marquette | 2-1 | 144 | 17 |
Others receiving votes: Iowa 122, Indiana 109, Virginia 77, Harvard 72, Boise State 28, Belmont 18, Arizona State 13, Villanova 11, Xavier 10, Tennessee 9, Pittsburgh 7, Colorado 6, Missouri 5, Florida State 4, Minnesota 4, Saint Louis 4, Cincinnati 3, BYU 2, Indiana State 2, UMass 2, George Washington 1, Notre Dame 1.
More from SB Nation College Basketball
See More:
