College basketball rankings: Preseason No. 1 Michigan State drops out of AP Top 25 for first time since 2017

College basketball's preseason No. 1 team tumbled all the way out of the AP Top 25 after an 0-2 week

A Michigan State team that was ranked No. 1 in the preseason has dropped out of the AP Top 25 for the first time since the 2016-17 season. The Spartans (16-8, 8-5 Big Ten) fell from No. 16 in the poll to unranked following an 0-2 week that included losses to Penn State and Michigan.  

The Spartans landed at No. 16 in the NCAA Tournament selection committee's reveal of its top 16 seeds on Saturday. But that was before they lost to Michigan for their third loss in a row. The Spartans are still ranked No. 11 in the NET. That's likely because both of their losses last week were of the Quadrant 1 variety.

But it's just the second time since 1968 that a preseason No. 1 team has dropped out of the AP poll. The Spartans received 124 votes, making them the 26th team in this week's edition.

The top 10 remained unchanged except for at No. 10, where Seton Hall replaced Villanova after beating Villanova on the road.

Elsewhere, Marquette cracked the AP Top 25 at No. 18 on Monday for the first time since this season after the Golden Eagles completed a 2-0 week that included a win over Butler. Marquette's emergence into the poll and Michigan State's departure made the Big East the conference with most ranked teams this week. The league now has five ranked schools compared to four for the Big Ten.

Texas Tech (15-8, 6-4 Big 12) re-entered the poll after a two-week absence at No. 24 following victories over Oklahoma and Texas. Colorado jumped eight spots to No. 16 — it's highest ranking in the poll since the 2013-14 season — after victories over Cal and Stanford improved the Buffaloes to 19-5 (8-3 Pac-12).

AP Top 25

The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week's ranking:

Rank Team Record Points Previous
1 Baylor (48) 21-1 1,583 1
2 Gonzaga (15) 25-1 1,546 2
3 Kansas (1) 20-3 1,450 3
4 San Diego State 24-0 1,546 4
5 Louisville 21-3 1,331 5
6 Dayton 21-2 1,255 6
7 Duke 20-3 1,211 7
8 Florida State 20-3 1,170 8
9 Maryland 19-4 1,057 9
10 Seton Hall 18-5 1,013 12
11 Auburn 21-2 998 11
12 Kentucky 18-5 853 15
13 Penn State 18-5 787 22
14 West Virginia 18-5 721 13
15 Villanova 17-6 581 10
16 Colorado 19-5 567 24
17 Oregon 18-6 497 14
18 Marquette 17-6 425 NR
19 Butler 18-6 414 19
20 Houston 19-5 402 25
21 Iowa 17-7 374 17
22 Illinois 16-7 235 20
23 Creighton 18-6 213 21
24 Texas Tech 15-8 169 NR
25 LSU 17-6 160 18

Others receiving votes: Michigan State 124, Rhode Island 57, Northern Iowa 44, BYU 43, Arizona 34, Purdue 27, Ohio State 14, Cincinnati 6, Stephen F. Austin 6, Michigan 3, Rutgers 2, Virginia 2, East Tennessee State 2, Wright State 1, Winthrop 1

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