The week 7 rankings of the AP Poll give us a similar lead in the top 25 to the previous week, with Michigan State holding on to the number one spot and the top 3, which include Kansas at number two and Oklahoma at number three, is unchanged. Kentucky fall to number 12 after their loss while Duke fall to number 15.
It is the first time since February 2014 that the Blue Devils aren’t in the top 10, falling 8 spots due to their loss against Utah. Kentucky have also lost twice this season, falling 8 spots as well following their defeat against Ohio State. The biggest rise came from Butler (8 spots), latching on to number nine for now after a big win against Purdue. The two new teams in the rankings are Utah (number 24, 9-2), and the undefeated South Carolina (10-0, number 25) following their win against Clemson in the big state rivalry. The Gamecocks are ranked for the first time since the final rankings of the 2003-2004 season.
Michigan State (12-0) had just one person not give them the number one vote, going to Kansas. It’s the 10th week in Spartans history as the number one team, and they need one more week, they’ll enter the all-time top 25 based on weeks as the AP number one team. Houston, with 11 weeks at number one from 1968 to 1983, currently hold the #25 spot. UCLA leads the list with 134 weeks at #1 from 1964 to 2007, but they’re not ranked right now.
Maybe the biggest surprise in the top 10 are Providence, improving to 11-1 after wins against Rider and UMass. The Friars climbed four spots to make it into the top 10 for the first time since 1978. Those Friars were ranked ninth, led in scoring by Bruce Campbell and coached by Basketball Hall of Famer Dave Gavitt.
UCLA and UConn were the teams dropped from the rankings, leading the votes among those outside the top 25, followed by Oregon and Gonzaga. Arkansas Little-Rock, the only undefeated team outside the top 25, are picking up momentum and votes, and are getting close to finding themselves shockingly in the rankings if they keep this up.