Monday morning the Associated Press released its top 25 rankings for the week, and there was no change among the top nine teams in the poll. Michigan State, which moved to 13-0 on the season with an overtime win over Oakland on Tuesday, retained a firm grip on the top spot and received 64 of a possible 65 first-place votes. Kansas, which received the other first-place vote, remains second with fellow Big 12 program Oklahoma third.
Rounding out the top five are Maryland and Virginia, which are followed by Xavier, North Carolina, Arizona and Butler. The lone change in the top ten was the return of Kentucky, which was ranked 12th last week and swapped spots with Providence. UCLA made its return to the poll at No. 25, replacing a George Washington team that was ranked 20th before their double-digit loss at DePaul.
1. Michigan State
2. Kansas
3. Oklahoma
4. Maryland
5. Virginia
6. Xavier
7. North Carolina
8. Arizona
9. Butler
10. Kentucky
11. Iowa State
12. Providence
13. Miami (FL)
14. Purdue
15. Duke
16. Villanova
17. SMU
18. Louisville
19. West Virginia
20. Texas A&M
21. Utah
22. Cincinnati
23. Baylor
24. South Carolina
25. UCLA