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College Basketball AP Top 25 Rankings Week 17
Ohio State Buckeyes lock up number one while UCLA Bruins, Kansas Jayhawks, Memphis Tigers, Texas A&M Aggies, Georgetown Hoyas and Nevada Wolf Pack move up in wild week of AP Top 25 action.
Ohio State in the new #1 in the AP Top 25 after winning two games by a combined nine points. The Buckeyes beat the Penn State Nittany Lions on Wednesday 68-60 and then beat the then #1 Wisconsin Badgers 49-48 on Sunday. The win on Sunday also locked up the Big Ten title for the Buckeyes. Ohio State doesn’t play again until Saturday when they face the Michigan Wolverines.
The UCLA Bruins jumped two spots and landed at #2 this week after beating the California Golden Bears on Thursday 85-75 and then taking care of the Stanford Cardinals 75-61 on Saturday. The Bruins will have a chance to win the Pac 10 when they face the #13 Washington State Cougars on Thursday. The Bruins will then take on the Washington Huskies on Saturday.
With a 71-62 win on Monday over the Kansas State Wildcats and then an 89-52 drubbing of the Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday the Kansas Jayhawks moved up three spots to claim the #3 ranking in the AP Top 25. The Jayhawks will take on the Oklahoma Sooners on Monday night and then face the #15 Texas Longhorns on Saturday.
Losing twice in one week is bad, but it could have been worse. The Wisconsin Badgers fell to #4 this week after dropping Tuesday’s game to the Michigan State Spartans 64-55 and then losing to then #2 Ohio State on Sunday. The Badgers will get their rematch against Michigan State on Saturday.
The Florida Gators fell two spots to #5 after their nine point loss to the LSU Tigers on Saturday. The Gators beat the South Carolina Gamecocks 63-49 on Wednesday to win the SEC East title. They will have a tough week ahead as they face the Tennessee Volunteers on Tuesday and then host the Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday.
The Memphis Tigers continued to claw their way up the AP Rankings reaching #6 this week. Memphis had little trouble with the Rice Owls on Thursday wining by 36 points and then beating the Houston Cougars by 13 on Sunday. The Tigers will be taking on the UTEP Miners on Thursday and then the SMU Mustangs on Saturday.
Moving up one spot in the AP this week are the Texas A&M Aggies, now at #7. They took care of the struggling Oklahoma State Cowboys by 20 on Wednesday and then beat the Baylor Bears on Saturday 97-87. The Aggies have a big week ahead as they are locked atop the Big 12 with Kansas and they will face #15 Texas on Wednesday and then the Missouri Tigers on Saturday.
The North Carolina Tar Heels stumbled three spots to #8 this week after falling to Maryland 89-87 on Sunday. The Tar Heels beat the N.C. State Wolfpack 83-64 on Wednesday. It will be a tough week for North Carolina as they travel to take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Thursday and then host the #14 Duke Blue Devils on Sunday.
Cracking the AP Top 10 in a return to glory are the Georgetown Hoyas at #9. The Hoyas moved up three spots after beating the Cincinnati Bearcats by 10 on Wednesday and then beating the former #10 Pittsburgh Panthers 61-53 on Saturday. Georgetown now has a one game lead in the Big East and will face the Syracuse Orange on Monday and then the Connecticut Huskies on Saturday.
Rounding out the AP Top 10 are the Nevada Wolf Pack at #10. Nevada picked up an 84-68 win over the Idaho Vandals on Thursday and then beat the Boise State Broncos 95-81 on Saturday. Nevada will face the Utah State Aggies on Thursday before hosting the New Mexico State Aggies on Saturday
AP Top 25 Rankings Men’s College Basketball Week 17
1. Ohio State (62) 26-3
2. UCLA (10) 25-3
3. Kansas 25-4
4. Wisconsin 26-4
5. Florida 25-4
6. Memphis 25-3
7. Texas A&M 24-4
8. North Carolina 24-5
9. Georgetown 22-5
10. Nevada 26-2
11. Southern Illinois 25-5
12. Pittsburgh 24-5
13. Washington State 23-5
14. Duke 22-7
15. Texas 21-7
16. Louisville 21-8
17. Oregon 22-7
18. Butler 26-5
19. Vanderbilt 19-9
20. Marquette 22-8
21. Virginia Tech 20-8
22. Notre Dame 22-6
23. USC 21-8
24. Maryland 22-7
25. Air Force 23-6
