MSU now in a tie for eighth in new AP poll
Joe Rexrode
EAST LANSING -- An 82-81 overtime loss at Purdue and an 88-69 home rout of Indiana added up to no change for the Michigan State men's basketball team in the polls released today.
The Spartans (21-5, 8-5 Big Ten) stayed No. 8 in the Associated Press poll, now sharing that spot with Xavier, which fell from No. 5. And MSU stayed No. 9 in the USA TODAY coaches poll.
MSU hosts surging Wisconsin on Thursday (9 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2) before getting the weekend off. The Badgers (16-9, 8-4) are receiving votes in both polls after Saturday's upset win at Maryland. Wisconsin has won seven straight games, starting with a 77-76 home upset of MSU on Jan. 17.
Villanova is No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for a second week, and Kansas, coming off of wins over two top-10 teams, jumped four places, to second.
Duke, which had one of the longest consecutive poll streaks ever, returns at No. 20 after two weeks out of the Top 25.
Villanova (22-3) received 44 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel today, with Kansas (21-4) getting the other 21.
Oklahoma, which lost to Kansas in their rematch, and Iowa stayed third and fourth. North Carolina jumped four places, to fifth, and was followed by Maryland, which had been No. 2, and Virginia. West Virginia, which also lost to Kansas, is 10th.
Joining Duke as newcomers are No. 19 Notre Dame and No. 22 Indiana. They replace Texas A&M, Southern Cal and Wichita State.
Michigan received 17 voting points, good for tying as the unofficial No. 32.
Note: MSU (18-7) fell eight spots, to No. 25, in this week's AP women's basketball poll.
Here is the full AP men's basketball poll:
1. Villanova (44) 22-3 1,601
2. Kansas (21) 21-4 1,578
3. Oklahoma 20-4 1,471
4. Iowa 20-5 1,349
5. North Carolina 21-4 1,343
6. Maryland 22-4 1,248
7. Virginia 20-5 1,188
8. Xavier 22-3 1,174
8. Michigan State 21-5 1,174
10. West Virginia 20-5 1,094
11. Miami (Fla.) 20-4 1,036
12. Arizona 21-5 823
13. Iowa State 18-7 742
14. Kentucky 19-6 692
15. Dayton 21-3 681
16. Oregon 20-6 529
17. Purdue 20-6 497
18. Louisville 19-6 494
19. Notre Dame 18-7 489
20. Duke 19-6 462
21. SMU 21-3 441
22. Indiana 20-6 232
23. Providence 19-7 125
24. Texas 16-9 123
25. Baylor 18-7 97
Others receiving votes: Texas A&M 90, Utah 75, Saint Joseph's 57, Wisconsin 47, South Carolina 39, USC 38, Michigan 17, Syracuse 17, Wichita State 14, Stony Brook 13, Monmouth 10, California 8, Hawaii 5, UNC Wilmington 4, San Diego State 3, Yale 3, Cincinnati 2.
The Associated Press contributed.