Duke and Baylor posted strong weeks, but Gonzaga -- with two wins over the last week by an average margin of 34 points -- retained its spot at No. 1 in Monday's updated AP Top 25 men's college basketball rankings. The Bulldogs stayed atop the rankings for the fourth consecutive week, extending the longest streak a team has stayed at No. 1 in the rankings this season.
Baylor is on Gonzaga's heels after posting its 12th consecutive win over the weekend, which came over a ranked Kansas team on the road. The Bears moved up two spots and jumped Duke and Kansas in the process -- their highest ranking in a season since the 2016-17 season. It's just the second time Baylor has held a top-2 spot in the rankings over the last decade.
Baylor received 31 first-place votes to Gonzaga's 30; Gonzaga still edged Baylor for the top spot by getting 1,574 points in the poll to Baylor's 1,567.
Rounding out the new top five is a familiar list and a new entry. Duke, which received the other four first-place votes, fell one spot to No. 3 and Auburn jumped one spot to No. 4, while Butler entered the top five for the first time all season.
The biggest top-10 faller of the week was Michigan State, which dropped from No. 8 to No. 15 after taking a 29 point road loss to Purdue on Sunday. Kansas had the second-most precipitous fall among last week's top 10, dropping from No. 3 to No. 6. San Diego State, Oregon, Florida State and Kentucky round out this week's top 10.
New to the poll this week is Seton Hall, Illinois and Creighton. Seton Hall has been ranked as high as No. 12 this season and re-enters the poll at No. 18. Illinois makes its first appearance in the rankings since the 2014-15 season. For Creighton, it's the first appearance in the rankings since 2017-18.
AP Top 25 rankings
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | LW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gonzaga (30) | 18-1 | 1,574 | 1 |
| 2 | Baylor (31) | 13-1 | 1,567 | 4 |
| 3 | Duke (4) | 15-1 | 1,567 | 2 |
| 4 | Auburn | 15-0 | 1,567 | 5 |
| 5 | Butler | 15-1 | 1,299 | 6 |
| 6 | Kansas | 12-3 | 1,286 | 3 |
| 7 | San Diego State | 17-0 | 1,286 | 7 |
| 8 | Oregon | 14-3 | 1,163 | 9 |
| 9 | Florida State | 14-2 | 1,093 | 10 |
| 10 | Kentucky | 12-3 | 960 | 14 |
| 11 | Louisville | 13-3 | 943 | 13 |
| 12 | West Virginia | 13-2 | 911 | 17 |
| 13 | Dayton | 14-2 | 842 | 15 |
| 14 | Villanova | 12-3 | 822 | 16 |
| 15 | Michigan State | 13-4 | 735 | 8 |
| 16 | Wichita State | 15-1 | 629 | 23 |
| 17 | Maryland | 13-3 | 616 | 12 |
| 18 | Seton Hall | 12-4 | 496 | NR |
| 19 | Michigan | 11-5 | 358 | 19 |
| 20 | Colorado | 13-3 | 345 | 25 |
| 21 | Ohio State | 11-5 | 270 | 11 |
| 22 | Memphis | 13-3 | 232 | 21 |
| 23 | Texas Tech | 10-5 | 111 | 22 |
| 24 | Illinois | 12-5 | 109 | NR |
| 25 | Creighton | 13-4 | 97 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Iowa 88, Stanford 77, Arkansas 65, Indiana 50, Virginia 41, Penn State 36, LSU 30, Arizona 20, Wisconsin 19, Liberty 11, Northern Iowa 10, Purdue 10, Duquesne 9, Washington 9, TCU 8, Rutgers 8, Virginia Tech 5, Oregon State 4, Houston 4, BYU 3, East Tennessee State 2, Saint Mary's 1, Harvard 1, Akron 1, USC 1
