NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 15: Head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats reacts in the first half against the Xavier Musketeers during the semifinal round of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 15, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)The Week 7 release of the AP top 25 college basketball poll saw some major shifts in the top 10.
With some exciting marquee matchups this past week, some mid-ranked teams were giving the opportunity to prove their worth at the top of the list.
Top 5
Just as they have all season, the top two teams remained constant in Week 7.
While they weren’t exactly tested this week, Gonzaga notched three solid blowout wins over lesser opponents to retain its No. 1 ranking. The Bulldogs have been far and away the best team in college basketball this season, going 10-0 and recording four wins over AP top 25 foes.
Baylor has also looked virtually unstoppable in 2020. An 11-point win over Iowa State this week was the Bears narrowest margin of victory so far this season en route to a 9-0 start.
After a disappointing Week-1 loss that knocked them out of the top 10, Villanova has finally worked its way back up to its preseason No. 3 ranking. Six straight wins since the upset, including one over No. 17 Texas, has won the Wildcats’ favor in the voting committee once again.
After earning its first top-10 ranking in Week 6, Texas earns its first top-5 ranking in Week 7. With an 84-59 blowout win over No. 3 Kansas on Saturday, the Longhorns slide into the No. 4 position.
Iowa round out the top 5 this week, reclaiming their top-tier spot. An upset loss to Minnesota saw them drop out last week — but with two AP top 25 wins over No. 19 Northwestern and No. 14 Rutgers, the Hawkeyes move back into No. 5.
Here’s the full AP top 25 list:
11. Houston
12. Illinois
13. Missouri
14. West Virginia
15. Rutgers
16. Minnesota
17. Oregon
18. Texas Tech
T19. Clemson
T19. Virginia Tech
21. Duke
22. Virginia
T23. Saint Louis
T23. Michigan State
25. Florida State— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) January 4, 2021
Top 10
Two teams took some big strides into the top 10 this week.
Wins over No. 22 Xavier and Providence propelled 8-2 Creighton up four spots into No. 7. The Blue Jays suffered a closely-contested 73-72 loss to No. 5 Kansas and a more-disappointing 89-84 loss to Marquette earlier this season.
Michigan also leaped into the top 10. The Wolverines have slowly worked their way up through the AP top 25 over the past few weeks. Their first ranked win of the year over No. 19 Northwestern saw them jump six spots into the No. 1o position.
These top-10 spots were taken after being vacated by Houston and West Virginia.
The Cougars saw a huge skid out of the top 5 after suffering a one-point loss to unranked Tulsa on Tuesday. The upset loss dropped UH all the way from No. 5 to No. 11.
After dropping two of their last three games, the Mountaineers now fall to the out of the top 10. Last week’s loss to No. 3 Kansas was forgivable, but Tuesday’s defeat at the hands of Oklahoma sent WVU to No. 14.
Middle of the Pack
Minnesota, Oregon and Virginia Tech all made big strides forward this week.
The Golden Gophers have played four AP top 25 teams in a row, winning 3-4. Beating No. 4 Iowa, No. 17 Michigan State and No. 25 Ohio State, Minnesota’s only loss was to No. 6 Wisconsin. They move up five spots this week into No. 16.
The Ducks notched two solid wins over Pac-12 opponents California and Stanford this week, jumping them four spots into No. 17.
Wins over Longwood and Miami saw the Hokies climb five spots into a tie for No. 19 with Clemson.
After losing three of its last four games, Michigan State has seen a significant fall from grace over the past few weeks. Just three weeks ago, the Spartans were ranked No. 4 — now they sit all the way down in a tie for No. 23 with St. Louis.
Florida State has also seen a major drop over the past two weeks. The Seminoles fell seven spots to No. 25 with a loss to Clemson on Tuesday.
Moving In, Kicked Out
After a solid 6-1 start to the season boasting multiple AP top 25 victories, Northwestern has now dropped two games in a row. The Wildcats fell in a big way to No. 10 Iowa and No. 16 Michigan this week, dropping them from No. 19 to out of the top 25.
Ohio State had been holding on to a top 25 spot for the past few weeks. An upset win over No. 11 Rutgers last week was enough to keep them in it, but losses to Northwestern and No. 21 Minnesota were too much for the voter to overlook.
The two vacated spots were claimed by St. Louis and Clemson.
The Billikens slid into the No. 23 spot after slowly garnering attention all year. At 7-1, their only loss comes to a solid Minnesota team.
This is the Tigers’ second appearance in the AP top 25 this season. Three straight wins, including one over No. 18 Florida State, was enough to propel Clemson into the No. 19 spot.
