AP Top 25: Arizona, ASU basketball moving in different directions after rivalry game
Arizona State basketball fell out of the AP Top 25 poll this week, as expected, following ASU's 77-70 loss to Arizona on Thursday.
The Wildcats rose three spots to No. 14 in the poll released Monday.
ASU basketball joins two other teams whose fortunes have turned lately: Texas A&M and Oklahoma, like ASU, were Top-5 teams at one point this season before dropping out of the poll altogether this week.
For ASU, it's the second time the Sun Devils have fallen out of the Top 25 this season, after rising to No. 3 following non-conference wins over teams including Kansas and Xavier.
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Up next for Arizona, ASU basketball
Arizona and ASU are both in Oregon this weekend, with the Sun Devils playing at Oregon on Thursday night and at Oregon State on Saturday afternoon.
The Wildcats play at Oregon State on Thursday night and at Oregon on Saturday.
The Sun Devils and Wildcats finish out the Pac-12 schedule hosting the Bay Area schools next weekend.
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AP'S TOP TEAMS
Virginia strengthened its hold on No. 1 in the AP Top 25 as it coasts to an Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title, while Duke made a big jump after a pair of impressive wins without its top freshman.
The top four remained unchanged, with No. 2 Michigan State earning 19 first-place votes after rallying from 27 down to beat Northwestern. Third-ranked Villanova got the other four first-place votes after winning at No. 4 Xavier. And Duke jumped seven spots to No. 5 after beating Virginia Tech and Clemson despite playing without Marvin Bagley, the ACC's scoring and rebounding leader who is recovering from a knee sprain.
AP TOP 10 CHANGES
It was a tough week at the top of last week's poll, with seven of the top 10 teams losing at least once, so there was a shuffle Monday.
Texas Tech and Gonzaga were tied for No. 6, with the Red Raiders inching up a spot and the Bulldogs moving up three. Kansas jumped five spots to No. 8 after beating West Virginia, followed by Purdue (which slid three spots) and North Carolina — which has won five straight and climbed four spots to No. 10.
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MILESTONE FOR MTSU
Middle Tennessee checked in at No. 24, marking the first AP Top 25 poll appearance in program history.
AP TOP RISERS
While Duke had the biggest jump of the week, No. 13 Wichita State moved up six spots after beating Temple and then-No. 5 Cincinnati . No. 17 Michigan joined Kansas in making a five-spot move after wins against Iowa and then-No. 8 Ohio State .
LONGEST SLIDES
The Buckeyes had a rough week with double-digit losses at Penn State and Michigan, leading them to the biggest fall in Monday's poll. Ohio State fell eight spots to No. 16.
St. Mary's fell seven spots to No. 22 after losing at San Francisco, while the Bearcats fell six spots to No. 11 after losses to Houston and Wichita State.
NEWCOMERS TO TOP 25
Speaking of Houston, Kelvin Sampson's Cougars checked in at No. 23 for the program's first AP poll appearance since spending a week at No. 25 in December 2005. Before that, Houston's last poll appearance was a week at No. 25 in January 1993. Those are the program's only appearances since future NBA great Hakeem Olajuwon was the Cougars' big man on the way to being the No. 1 overall draft pick in 1984.
Florida State re-entered the poll at No. 25. The Seminoles were ranked for five weeks earlier this year.
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