AP Top 25: Michigan State Drops In Rankings After 2-1 Week
While Michigan State men's basketball bounced back from last Tuesday's loss to Duke with wins over Butler and Alcorn State, it wasn't enough to prevent the Spartans from dropping three spots in the latest rankings from the Associated Press.
On Monday, Michigan State fell to No. 21 in the AP's Week 3 rendition of its Top 25 poll. After opening the season as the preseason No. 4, the Spartans fell to No. 18 last week after a season-opening loss to James Madison — who is now ranked No. 22 after a 4-0 start.
Preseason No. 1 Kansas strengthened its position atop the poll, garnering 52 of 61 first-place votes. The Jayhawks are the only team to hold the No. 1 ranking so far this season. The first nine spots in the poll remain unchanged — No. 2 Purdue, No. 3 Arizona, No. 4 Marquette, No. 5 UConn, No. 6 Houston, No. 7 Tennessee, No. 8 Creighton, No. 9 Duke — while No. 10 Miami rounds out the Top 10.
On Thanksgiving Day, Michigan State faces Arizona in a neutral site matchup for the inaugural Acrisure Classic in Palm Springs, Calif.
After previous-No. 23 Illinois dropped from the rankings, Purdue and Michigan State are the only Big Ten Conference teams represented in this week's rankings. The Fighting Illini now sit amongst the "Others receiving votes" at No. 27, followed by Michigan (No. 38). The Wolverines fell to Long Beach State on Friday.
Largest Jumps
No. 18 Colorado surged seven spots this week after a 106-79 win over Milwaukee improved the Buffaloes to 3-0 on the year. Meanwhile, No. 14 North Carolina climbed six spot, No. 17 Alabama rose five spots and No. 15 Texas climbed four spots.
Largest Falls
No. 19 Florida Atlantic fell nine spots following an upset loss to Bryant on Saturday. No. 23 USC dropped seven spots after a loss to UC-Irvine, and No 20 Arkansas fell six spots following a loss to UNC Greensboro. Ranked No. 21 last week, Villanova fell out of the rankings (12 total spots) to the "Others receiving votes) at No. 33.
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