The teams atop the rankings held their top spot in this week's AP top 25 with Kentucky and Villanova remaining at Nos. 1 and 2, but an entertaining week of tournament hoops headlined by the Battle 4 Atlantis the Bahamas, landed three previously unranked teams now in the poll.
AP Top 25
First-place votes are in parentheses:
1. Kentucky (40)
2. Villanova (20)
3. North Carolina (4)
4. Kansas
5. Duke
6. Virginia
7. Xavier
8. Gonzaga
9. Baylor
10. Creighton
11. UCLA
12. Saint Mary's
13. Indiana
14. Louisville
15. Purdue
16. Arizona
17. Wisconsin
18. Butler
19. Iowa State
20. South Carolina
21. Rhode Island
22. Syracuse
23. Oregon
24. Florida
25. West Virginia
Takeaways from the latest AP top 25 poll.
1. Baylor getting much deserved respect: Scott Drew's team made a huge statement in the Battle 4 Atlantis with wins over VCU, then-No. 24 Michigan State and No. 14 Louisville to take home the championship in as impressive fashion as you'll see. They lead the country with 4 top-40 KenPom wins and jumped 11 spots from No. 20 to No. 9. Based on resume alone, that may be too low.
2. Three new faces: Butler, thanks to a win over No. 8 Arizona, is No. 18 after teetering just outside the top 25. And hot starts from South Carolina (6-0) and Florida (6-1) helped them make the leap. Frank Martin's Gamecocks have over two KenPom top 25 teams (Syracuse and Michigan), and an impressive win over Monmouth. Florida has wins over Seton Hall and Miami to boost its resume, and will now likely be ranked headed into their Dec. 6 showdown with Duke.
3. UCLA surging to remain unbeaten: The Bruins are 7-0 a season after starting 4-3 and finishing below .500. What a difference freshman Lonzo Ball makes. The Bruins' first big upticks in competition this week -- Nebraska and Texas A&M -- they proved they have the horses. Maybe the national title guarantee from Lonzo Ball's father doesn't sound too crazy after all.
