Michigan State hoops falls in AP Poll following loss to Northwestern

The Spartans suffered a setback, but have a chance to make up for it in their next two games

Michigan State men's basketball fell to No. 14 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, released on Monday.

The Spartans dropped four spots following a 64-62 loss to Northwestern on Saturday. Michigan State has just one game this week — a road trip to No. 8 Wisconsin on Friday. The Badgers rose five spots in the poll this week after a win over No. 19 Ohio State.

After two losses by previous-No. 1 Baylor last week, Gonzaga took over the No. 1 spot this week. The Bulldogs were the preseason No. 1, and held the top spot for the first three weeks of the poll. The Bears, meanwhile, fell to No. 5 after spending five consecutive weeks in the top spot.

No. 2 Auburn has its highest rankings since the 1999-2000 season, and actually had more first-place votes than Gonzaga. The Zags edged out the Tigers in total points however.

No. 3 Arizona and No. 4 Purdue each moved up three spots. Rounding out the Top 10 is No. 6 Duke, No. 7 Kansas, No. 9 UCLA and No. 10 Houston.

No. 17 Illinois had the biggest jump this week, rising eight spots following wins over Nebraska and Michigan. The Fighting Illini brings the total of ranked Big Ten teams up to five, while fellow conference teams Iowa and Indiana are "receiving votes".

No. 16 USC took the biggest fall, dropping 11 spots with losses to Stanford and Oregon last week.

For the full Associated Press Top 25 rankings, click here.