Defending nationwide champion Baylor has maintained its high spot within the AP males’s faculty basketball ballot, although not with out ceding a No. 1 vote to Arizona.
WACO, Texas — Defending nationwide champion Baylor maintained its high spot in The Related Press males’s faculty basketball ballot, although not with out ceding a No. 1 vote to Arizona, whereas the six remaining unbeatens continued their rise on Monday.
The Bears ended a four-week streak of turnover atop the ballot by taking good care of Oregon final week, receiving 60 of 61 first-place votes from a nationwide panel that common covers faculty basketball. The Wildcats received the one different No. 1 vote and climbed two spots to sixth heading right into a brutal stretch of video games over the subsequent three weeks.
Duke remained No. 2 after ending a two-week break with three simple wins. Purdue was third whereas Gonzaga and UCLA flip-flopped their spots with the Bruins — at the moment within the midst of a COVID-19 pause — rounding out the highest 5.
The Bears (10-0) reached the highest spot final week after dominating then-No. 6 Villanova, one thing they by no means achieved throughout their title-winning season. However they practically grew to become the fourth straight No. 1 to lose, falling behind the Geese by 4 at halftime earlier than rallying for a 78-70 victory in Eugene, Oregon.
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“This was actually our first highway sport in two years. Final 12 months everybody had restricted crowds,” stated Baylor coach Scott Drew, who picked up his four-hundredth profession win. “Individuals need to understand how essential crowds are; we are the first No. 1 to win on the highway.”
The Wildcats (11-0), who cruised previous Cal Baptist, could have an opportunity to show they deserve their No. 1 vote. They head to No. 19 Tennessee on Wednesday, then go to the Bruins on Dec. 30 and No. 8 Southern California on Jan. 2.
Throw in a visit to Arizona State on Jan. 8 and the Wildcats will not play a house sport for twenty-four days.
“I did not even know that, to be trustworthy,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd stated. “I at all times inform you guys, Tennessee on Wednesday after which Christmas. We’ve an superior alternative on Wednesday. We have had a extremely sturdy begin. I performed at Tennessee and it is a monster, and it is an amazing alternative for us to go in there and take a look at ourselves.”
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The Wildcats have been adopted by seventh-ranked Kansas and two extra unbeatens within the Trojans (12-0) and Iowa State (11-0), each of which moved up two spots. Alabama fell 4 spots after its loss to Memphis and rounded out the highest 10.
“That is the most effective Memphis has performed all 12 months, so you must give them numerous credit score,” stated Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats, whose workforce faces Davidson earlier than a showdown with the Volunteers. “We’ve numerous work to do.”
No. 11 Michigan State was adopted by Auburn, Houston, Ohio State and Seton Corridor. All moved up one spot after the Buckeyes had a sport towards Tennessee-Martin scrapped due to COVID-19 points and the Pirates had a sport towards Iona referred to as off.
Texas additionally moved up one spot to No. 16 and was adopted by LSU (11-0), fast-climbing Xavier, Tennessee and Kentucky. The final 5 spots belonged to Colorado State (10-0), Windfall, Villanova, Wisconsin and Texas Tech.
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RISING AND FALLING
Xavier made the largest bounce this week, climbing 4 spots to No. 18. The Musketeers beat Marquette over the weekend and now head right into a two-game doozy towards Villanova and UConn for early Large East supremacy.
Villanova took the largest topple, falling from ninth to No. 23 after getting blown out by Creighton. The Wildcats’ 79-59 loss got here after a 57-36 loss to Baylor, the primary time since 1998-99 that they’ve misplaced consecutive video games by not less than 20.
HELLO AND GOODBYE
Windfall entered the ballot at No. 22 after its win over UConn whereas Wisconsin moved again into the ballot.
“We knew approaching the highway could be a problem for us. I used to be pleased with our gamers’ preparation,” Windfall coach Ed Cooley stated. “They did a extremely good job being attentive to element and understanding the significance of a Large East sport.”
Dropping out have been the Huskies and Arkansas, which misplaced to Speedy Claxton’s Hofstra over the weekend.
FULL POLL
CONFERENCE WATCH
Large 12: 5 (Nos. 1, 7, 9, 16, 25)
SEC: 5 (Nos. 10, 12, 17, 19, 20)
Large Ten: 4 (Nos. 3, 11, 14, 24)
Large East: 4 (Nos. 15, 18, 22, 23)
Mountain West: 1 (No. 21)
