The Villanova Wildcats remain the No. 1 team in this week’s college basketball polls with a perfect record and just one non-conference game left before the start of Big East play. The Wildcats played only one game this week, downing Temple 78-57 on Tuesday to move the defending champs to 11-0.
NCAA basketball rankings 2016: Villanova, UCLA stay atop the polls
The defending champs are still the No. 1 team in college basketball according to the new polls.
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Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Villanova is followed by UCLA, which stays at No. 2 after a win over Ohio State in Las Vegas on Saturday. The Bruins are scoring an incredible 96.9 points per game with a four-guard attack that can stretch the floor and play with pace. UCLA has one non-conference tuneup left before facing Oregon to open Pac-12 play on Dec. 28.
Kentucky checks in at No. 6 after winning a thriller against North Carolina on Saturday behind an amazing effort from Malik Monk. Monk’s 47-point gem comes before the biggest game of the season in the state of Kentucky, when the Wildcats and Louisville Cardinals play on Wednesday. Louisville is No. 10 in this week’s poll. The two teams are a combined 20-2.
Indiana is the only team to exit the top 10 of the polls this week after losing to Butler. The Hoosiers -- who beat North Carolina and Kansas but have now lost to in-state rivals Butler and Fort Wayne — are No. 16 this week.
Here’s a complete look at this week’s AP Poll:
| RK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Villanova (56) | 11-0 | 1,614 |
| 2 | UCLA (3) | 12-0 | 1,514 |
| 3 | Kansas | 10-1 | 1,450 |
| 4 | Baylor (6) | 11-0 | 1,439 |
| 5 | Duke | 10-1 | 1,385 |
| 6 | Kentucky | 10-1 | 1,337 |
| 7 | Gonzaga | 11-0 | 1,211 |
| 8 | North Carolina | 10-2 | 1,170 |
| 9 | Creighton | 11-0 | 1,058 |
| 10 | Louisville | 10-1 | 1,044 |
| 11 | West Virginia | 9-1 | 937 |
| 12 | Virginia | 9-1 | 886 |
| 13 | Butler | 10-1 | 821 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | 10-2 | 781 |
| 15 | Purdue | 9-2 | 754 |
| 16 | Indiana | 8-2 | 719 |
| 17 | Xavier | 9-2 | 542 |
| 18 | Arizona | 10-2 | 501 |
| 19 | Saint Mary's | 8-1 | 389 |
| 20 | Oregon | 10-2 | 299 |
| 21 | Florida State | 11-1 | 290 |
| 22 | South Carolina | 9-1 | 218 |
| 23 | USC | 10-0 | 212 |
| 24 | Cincinnati | 9-2 | 202 |
| 25 | Notre Dame | 9-2 | 188 |
| Also Receiving Votes: Florida 48, Virginia Tech 40, Maryland 27, Seton Hall 15, Oklahoma State 8, Valparaiso 7, Minnesota 6, Miami 5, Northwestern 4, Iowa State 1, Clemson 1, Kansas State 1, Loyola (CHI) 1 | |||
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