Indiana Narrowly Misses AP Top 25; Purdue Back On Top After Houston, Kansas Lose
Indiana turned its season around with double-digit wins at Illinois on Thursday and at home against Michigan State on Sunday, but it wasn't enough to return to the Associated Press top-25 poll.
The Hoosiers received 61 votes, which was second behind Duke's 102 among teams outside the top 25. Next up for Indiana is a road trip to Minnesota (7-11, 1-7) on Wednesday, followed by a home game against Ohio State (11-8, 3-5).
Another two-win week should be enough for Indiana to jump back into the rankings. Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers teetered between No. 10 and No. 18 in the first nine polls, but dropped out after consecutive losses at Iowa and at home to Northwestern.
Purdue reclaimed the No. 1 ranking after a 64-63 win at Michigan State, a 61-39 win at Minnesota, a 58-55 home victory over Maryland on Sunday and Houston and Kansas stumbling. The former top-ranked Houston Cougars suffered an ugly home loss against a 12-9 Temple squad on Sunday. Former No. 2-ranked Kansas got blown out on its home court in an 83-60 loss to TCU on Saturday and lost 83-82 in overtime at Kansas State on Tuesday. This allowed Purdue to jump back into the No. 1 spot for the fifth week this season.
Purdue is the only Big Ten team in this week's top-25 poll and holds a commanding lead atop the conference at 8-1. Four Big Ten teams have four conference losses, followed by five teams with four losses and two teams with five losses. Indiana, Rutgers, Michigan State, Illinois and Wisconsin each received votes this week.
As for Indiana's non-conference opponents, Kansas dropped from No. 2 to No. 9 after a two-loss week. Things don't get any easier for the Jayhawks this week with trips to No. 17 Baylor on Monday and a showdown with Kentucky at Rupp Arena on Saturday. Arizona rose five spots to No. 6 after a 15-point win over USC and a 58-52 win against UCLA on Saturday. Xavier dropped from No. 8 to No. 13 due to a 73-72 loss at Depaul on Wednesday. And like Indiana, North Carolina is on the outside looking in, receiving 12 votes in this week's poll.
Here's the complete AP top-25 poll:
1. Purdue (19-1) (39 first-place votes)
2. Alabama (17-2) (23 first-place votes)
3. Houston (18-2)
4. Tennessee (16-3)
5. Kansas State (17-2)
6. Arizona (17-3)
7. Virginia (15-3)
8. UCLA (17-3)
9. Kansas (16-3)
10. Texas (16-3)
11. TCU (15-4)
12. Iowa State (14-4)
13. Xavier (16-4)
14. Gonzaga (17-4)
15. Auburn (16-3)
16. Marquette (16-5)
17. Baylor (14-5)
18. Charleston (21-1)
19. UConn (16-5)
20. Miami (FL) (15-4)
21. Florida Atlantic (19-1)
22. Saint Mary's (18-4)
23. Providence (15-5)
24. Clemson (16-4)
25. New Mexico (18-2)
Others receiving votes: Duke 102, Indiana 61, San Diego State 57, Rutgers 31, Kent State 24, North Carolina 12, Michigan State 10, Creighton 9, Illinois 9, Arkansas 9, Missouri 8, Wisconsin 6, North Carolina State 4, Kentucky 3, VCU 2, Boise State 2, Memphis 1, Wake Forest 1, Oral Roberts 1
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- WATCH MILLER KOPP DUNK: Indiana forward Miller Kopp beat the Michigan State defense to the basket for an easy dunk, leading to roars from the Assembly Hall crowd. Watch the highlight. CLICK HERE
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