We’re now a few weeks into the 2015-16 college basketball season and the top-25 seems to be rounding into shape. At the least, the country’s best teams seem to be separating themselves from the pack.
NCAA basketball rankings 2015: Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan State hold strong at the top
There wasn’t much change at the top of the polls this week.
Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
Kentucky, after claiming the No. 1 spot last week from North Carolina, had two blowout wins, both over inferior teams. John Calipari’s crew is now 6-0 and already looks dominant.
They’re also not the only ones, as last week was a good one for all the top teams. No. 3 Michigan State won three times while Maryland, the No. 2 team in the country, is now 6-0 after convincing victories over Rhode Island and Cleveland State. The Terrapins travel to Chapel Hill Tuesday night for a showdown with the 5-1 Tar Heels, the No. 9 team in the country and one expecting to get preseason All-American Marcus Paige back on the court. A hand injury has kept Paige out all this season.
But the most impressive showing of the week came in Hawaii, where the No. 6 Kansas Jayhawks ran through the Maui tournament with wins over UCLA and Vanderbilt. Making matters even better: star freshman big man Cheick Diallo is set to make his debut this week. His presence could turn Bill Self’s unit into a national title favorite.
Here’s the AP poll:
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | PREV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky (59) | 6-0 | 1619 | 1 |
| 2 | Maryland (4) | 6-0 | 1512 | 2 |
| 3 | Michigan State (2) | 7-0 | 1510 | 3 |
| 4 | Kansas | 4-1 | 1342 | 5 |
| 5 | Iowa State | 5-0 | 1338 | 4 |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 4-0 | 1269 | 7 |
| 7 | Duke | 6-1 | 1253 | 6 |
| 8 | Villanova | 6-0 | 1218 | 8 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 5-1 | 1115 | 9 |
| 10 | Virginia | 5-1 | 965 | 12 |
| 11 | Purdue | 6-0 | 904 | 16 |
| 12 | Xavier | 7-0 | 801 | 23 |
| 13 | Gonzaga | 4-1 | 788 | 10 |
| 14 | Syracuse | 6-0 | 696 | NR |
| 15 | Oregon | 5-0 | 628 | 21 |
| 16 | Vanderbilt | 5-1 | 587 | 19 |
| 17 | Cincinnati | 7-0 | 551 | 24 |
| 18 | Texas A&M | 6-1 | 522 | 25 |
| 19 | Arizona | 6-1 | 504 | 11 |
| 20 | West Virginia | 6-0 | 363 | NR |
| 21 | Miami (FL) | 5-1 | 289 | 15 |
| 22 | SMU | 4-0 | 256 | 25 |
| 23 | Providence | 6-1 | 247 | NR |
| 24 | Louisville | 5-0 | 173 | NR |
| 25 | Baylor | 4-1 | 162 | NR |
| Also Receiving Votes: Connecticut (4-2) 153; Utah (5-1) 72; Butler (4-1) 62; George Washington (6-1) 45; Indiana (4-2) 26; Northern Iowa (4-1) 25; Notre Dame (4-2) 22; California (4-2) 19; Pittsburgh (4-0) 11; Dayton (5-1) 8; San Diego State (4-3) 5; South Carolina (6-0) 5; Georgetown (2-3) 4; Texas-El Paso (6-0) 3; Northwestern (5-1) 2; LSU (3-2) 2; Iowa (4-2) 2; Arkansas-Little Rock (5-0) 2; Colorado State (5-1) 1; Davidson (4-0) 1; Louisiana Tech (5-0) 1; Monmouth (4-2) 1; Northeastern (5-1) 1 | ||||
Here’s a look at the coach’s poll:
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | PREV | HI/LOW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky Wildcats (29) | 6-0 | 797 | 1 | 1/2 |
| 2 | Maryland Terrapins (3) | 5-0 | 759 | 2 | 2/3 |
| 3 | Michigan State Spartans | 6-0 | 720 | 4 | 4/13 |
| 4 | Iowa State Cyclones | 4-0 | 652 | 5 | 5/7 |
| 5 | Duke Blue Devils | 6-1 | 642 | 3 | 3/4 |
| 6 | Kansas Jayhawks | 4-1 | 615 | 7 | 5/7 |
| 7 | Villanova Wildcats | 6-0 | 613 | 9 | 8/9 |
| 8 | Oklahoma Sooners | 3-0 | 607 | 6 | 6/8 |
| 9 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 5-1 | 549 | 8 | 1/8 |
| 10 | Virginia Cavaliers | 5-1 | 495 | 12 | 6/12 |
| 11 | Purdue Boilermakers | 5-0 | 456 | 15 | 15/24 |
| 12 | Gonzaga Bulldogs | 4-1 | 376 | 11 | 11/12 |
| 13 | Vanderbilt Commodores | 5-1 | 343 | 16 | 16/20 |
| 14 | Arizona Wildcats | 5-1 | 320 | 10 | 10/10 |
| 15 | West Virginia Mountaineers | 6-0 | 299 | 22 | 22/23 |
| 16 | Oregon Ducks | 5-0 | 291 | 23 | 23/NR |
| 17 | Cincinnati Bearcats | 7-0 | 282 | 24 | 24/NR |
| 18 | Xavier Musketeers | 7-0 | 280 | 29 | – |
| 19 | Syracuse Orange | 6-0 | 221 | NR | – |
| 20 | Texas A&M Aggies | 6-1 | 175 | 30 | – |
| 21 | Miami-Florida Hurricanes | 5-1 | 145 | 19 | 19/NR |
| 22 | Louisville Cardinals | 5-0 | 141 | 27 | – |
| 23 | Baylor Bears | 4-1 | 113 | 25 | 21/25 |
| 24 | Providence Friars | 6-1 | 110 | NR | – |
| 25 | Butler Bulldogs | 4-1 | 65 | 28 | 20/NR |
| Also Receiving Votes: Utah 62; Connecticut 53; California 43; Indiana 35; LSU 29; Notre Dame 25; George Washington 17; Dayton 11; Saint Mary?s 10; Davidson 10; UNLV 9; Pittsburgh 8; Monmouth 5; Iowa 5; South Carolina 4; Northern Iowa 3; Florida 2; Wichita State 2; Texas-El Paso 1. | |||||
| Dropped Out: No. 13 California, No. 14 Indiana, No. 17 LSU, No. 18 Notre Dame, No. 20 Wichita State, No. 21 Connecticut. | |||||
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