Indiana holds on to the top spot in the USA Today Poll this week - the first time a team has managed to retain the No. 1 position for two weeks in a row after a topsy-turvy stretch of college basketball.
NCAA basketball rankings: Indiana holds top spot, Gonzaga creeps to No. 2
The USA Today poll finally retained a No. 1 team for two straight weeks, as Indiana stayed in first place after a tough win over Michigan State.
Gregory Shamus
The top spot has belonged to Duke, Louisville, Duke again, Kansas, Indiana, then Duke a third time before Indiana topped last week’s poll. Nobody would have blamed the Hoosiers had they lost their lone matchup this week - a game against a streaking Michigan team that was up to No. 5 in the USA Today poll. But Victor Oladipo dropped in 19 despite battling a twisted ankle for a 72-68 win.
This is Indiana’s third stint on top of the poll, starting the season in first and holding on until a loss to Butler, then reappearing for the one-week stint early in February before a last-second loss to Illinois.
If they do fall, it seems there’s a clear second place team: Gonzaga, now the only other team in the country getting first-place votes after a surprising loss by Miami to Wake Forest. The Zags - also No. 2 in the AP poll - are 27-2 and oddly enough, their two losses are also to Butler and Illinois.
The biggest gainer in this week’s poll is No. 19 St. Louis, as the previously-unranked Billikens knocked off Butler and VCU, who are ranked No. 21 and No. 25 in this week’s poll, respectively. No. 23 St. Mary’s is also new in the poll after knocking off BYU and Creighton, as is No. 24 Akron.
| Team (First-place votes) | Record | Pts |
| 1. Indiana (28) | 24-3 | 772 |
| 2. Gonzaga (3) | 27-2 | 738 |
| 3. Duke | 24-3 | 700 |
| 4. Michigan | 23-4 | 654 |
| 5. Kansas | 23-4 | 619 |
| 6. Florida | 22-4 | 596 |
| 7. Miami | 22-4 | 581 |
| 8. Georgetown | 21-4 | 552 |
| 9. Louisville | 22-5 | 535 |
| 10. Michigan State | 22-6 | 520 |
| 11. Arizona | 23-4 | 458 |
| 12. Syracuse | 22-5 | 420 |
| 13. Kansas State | 22-5 | 398 |
| 14. New Mexico | 23-4 | 369 |
| 15. Ohio State | 20-7 | 328 |
| 16. Wisconsin | 19-8 | 284 |
| 17. Memphis | 24-3 | 281 |
| 18. Oklahoma State | 20-6 | 277 |
| 19. St. Louis | 21-5 | 199 |
| 20. Notre Dame | 22-6 | 169 |
| 21. Butler | 22-6 | 161 |
| 22. Marquette | 19-7 | 104 |
| 23. St. Mary's | 24-5 | 54 |
| 24. Akron | 22-4 | 53 |
| 25. VCU | 22-6 | 52 |
Schools Dropped Out: No. 21 Colorado State (21-6), No. 22 Pittsburgh (21-7), No. 23 Oregon (22-6).
Others Receiving Votes: Pittsburgh (21-7) 38; Oregon (22-6) 37; Middle Tennessee (25-4) 29; Louisiana Tech (24-3) 24; San Diego State (20-7) 13; UNLV (21-7) 12; Wichita State (24-5) 12; Colorado State (21-6) 10; Connecticut (19-7) 5; Illinois (20-9) 5; Oklahoma (18-8) 5; California (18-9) 3; North Carolina (19-8) 3; UCLA (20-7) 2; Belmont (22-6) 1; Creighton (22-7) 1; Kentucky (19-8) 1.
More from SB Nation:
See More:
