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Michigan State to No. 1 in AP poll, Villanova drops to No. 3

Michigan State to No. 1 in AP poll, Villanova drops to No. 3
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(AP) -- Michigan State was passed by Villanova for the No. 1 ranking after Duke and Kansas lost three weeks ago. The Spartans were No. 3 at the time, but voters moved the fourth-ranked Wildcats to the top spot.

Look who's No. 1 now.

Michigan State (14-1) moved up to No. 1 in the poll released on Monday, receiving 43 of 65 first-place votes following previously top-ranked Villanova's loss to Butler on Saturday.

No. 2 Duke, up two spots, received 21 first-place votes and No. 3 Villanova had one.

Michigan State won both of its games last week and hasn't lost since Nov. 14, when Duke beat the Spartans 88-81 at the Champions Classic in Chicago. The Spartans are No. 1 for the first time since the 2015-16 season, the 12th time overall.

"Any time we can be ranked No. 1 is a good thing," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said after the Spartans beat Savannah State 108-52. "I also think there are five or six teams that could be No. 1."

One thing there certainly isn't: An undefeated team left in college basketball.

No. 3 Arizona State lost to No. 17 Arizona and No. 10 TCU lost to No. 12 Oklahoma on the same day as Villanova, leaving the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers as the last team to finish a season undefeated.

The Sun Devils (12-1) dropped to No. 4 and the Horned Frogs fell from the program's highest ranking to No. 16.

No. 5 Xavier, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Virginia, Wichita State and Kansas rounded out the top 10.

The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' men's college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Dec. 31, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week's ranking:
                                                Record        Pts    Pvs
  1.  Michigan  St.  (43)      14-1      1,600      2
  2.  Duke  (21)                      13-1      1,556      4
  3.  Villanova  (1)              13-1      1,444      1
  4.  Arizona  St                    12-1      1,336      3
  5.  Xavier                            14-1      1,325      6
  6.  West  Virginia              12-1      1,304      7
  7.  Oklahoma                        11-1      1,160    12
  8.  Virginia                        12-1      1,048      9
  9.  Wichita  St.                  11-2      1,026      8
10.  Kansas                            11-2          963    11
11.  Texas  A&M              11-2          894      5
12.  North  Carolina            12-2          890    13
13.  Purdue                            13-2          883    14
14.  Arizona                          11-3          832    17
15.  Miami                              12-1          782    15
16.  TCU                                  12-1          760    10
17.  Kentucky                        11-2          742    16
18.  Texas  Tech                    12-1          483    22
19.  Gonzaga                          12-3          410    20
19.  Cincinnati                    12-2          410    21
21.  Seton  Hall                    13-2          353    23
22.  Arkansas                        11-2          254      -
23.  Tennessee                        9-3          198    19
24.  Florida  St.                  11-2          119    24
25.  Clemson                          12-1          104      -

Others receiving votes: Baylor 83, Creighton 54, Notre Dame 37, Butler 23, UCLA 14, Texas 10, St. Bonaventure 7, SMU 5, Auburn 4, Syracuse 4, Nevada 2, Rhode Island 2, Alabama 1, New Mexico St. 1, NC State 1, Mississippi St. 1.