NCAA: Indiana keeps No. 1 spot despite loss
Duke’s Josh Hairston gets fouled by Florida State’s Ian Miller
The Indiana Hoosiers were able to do something this week that no NCAA No. 1 team has done in a month, keep their No. 1 ranking. Despite losing to unranked Illinois on Thursday, they were able to pick up 26 first-place votes in the Associate Press Top 25 poll and 1,559 total votes to top the new No. 2, Duke, who came in with 20 first-place votes and 1,515 total votes. Duke was voted No. 1 on the USA Today Coaches’ Poll, with Indiana a close No. 2. There was speculation that the Miami Hurricanes might leapfrog Duke and Indiana this week on the strength of wins over Boston College and North Carolina, but they came up just short, earning 17 first-place votes and 1,499 votes to jump five places in the poll. Michigan dropped from No. 3 to No. 4 this week after a tough Big Ten loss to Wisconsin, who finally cracked the Top 25 and landed in the No. 20 spot. Rounding out the Top 5 this week is Gonzaga, who picked up two first-place votes.
This week four of five Top 5 teams suffered a loss as Indiana, Michigan, and Florida all took tough losses, while Kansas lost two during the week, including a loss to 10-14 TCU.
AP Top 5:
No. 1 – Indiana Hoosiers (21-3, 9-2 Big Ten): Indiana was riding a five-game winning streak when unranked Illinois opened Assembly Hall’s doors and welcomed the Hoosiers last Thursday. A colossal defensive breakdown on a simple inbounds play cost Indiana the opportunity to pull out a win in overtime as Illinois forward Tyler Griffey took the pass and dropped in an uncontested lay-up at the buzzer to hand Indiana their second Big Ten loss, and third overall. Fortunately for Indiana, they had another tough game on Saturday against Ohio State, this time they lived up to the No. 1 ranking and pounded the No. 10 team in the country at their home court, 68:81. This week, the Hoosiers square off against Nebraska (Feb. 13) and Purdue (Feb. 16).
No. 2 – Duke (21-2, 8-2 ACC): Duke came 44 votes short of completing their return to the No. 1 spot this week, a position they held for four weeks before losing to North Carolina State and dropping to the No. 3 spot. A week later they regained the No. 1 spot, then the following week they lost to Miami and fell to No. 5. On the new poll they jump two places after avenging their earlier loss to NC State with a 98:85 win at home and then a road win over Boston College, 61:62. This week the Blue Devils take on North Carolina at home (Feb. 13) and then travel to Maryland (Feb. 16).
No. 3 – Miami (19-3, 10-0 ACC): Miami’s 10-0 record in the tough ACC had people talking that they should be No. 1 this week, especially with Indiana’s loss and Duke’s tight game with unranked Boston College. The pollsters didn’t quite agree and they came up 60 votes short of the No. 1 ranking with 1,499 total votes, including 17 first-place nods. The Hurricanes routed the same Boston College team that Duke only beat by one (61:62), 72:50, and then trashed North Carolina 87:61, both home games. Miami did get a five spot bump from No. 8 to No. 3. This week they face Florida State away (Feb. 13) and then travel to Clemson (Feb. 16).
No. 4 – Michigan (21-3, 8-3 Big Ten): Michigan took one on the chin when they traveled to Madison, Wisconsin to take on the Wisconsin Badgers and came up short 62:65 in a tough Big Ten contest. Just days prior they beat a tough Ohio State squad at home, 76:74, to give the voters a reason to not drop them too far in the poll. The Wolverines only fell one spot and are only 71 votes behind Miami. This week Michigan squares off against in-state rival Michigan State on the road (Feb. 12) and then host Penn State (Feb. 17).
No. 5 – Gonzaga (23-2, 10-0 West Coast Conference): The Zags moved up one place to No. 5 with big home WCC wins over Pepperdine, 82:56, and Loyola Marymount, 74:55. Gonzaga’s 23-2 record earned them two first-place votes and 1,371 total votes, putting them only 57 votes shy of the No. 4 spot. The Bulldogs have two road games this week against Saint Mary’s (Feb. 14) and San Francisco (Feb. 16).
The Associated Press Top 25 Poll
| Rank | Team | Record | Votes | Previous | +/- |
| 1 | Indiana (26) | 21-3 | 1559 | 1 | – |
| 2 | Duke (20) | 21-2 | 1515 | 4 | +2 |
| 3 | Miami (FL)(17) | 19-3 | 1499 | 8 | +5 |
| 4 | Michigan | 21-3 | 1428 | 3 | -1 |
| 5 | Gonzaga (2) | 23-2 | 1371 | 6 | +1 |
| 6 | Syracuse | 20-3 | 1293 | 9 | +3 |
| 7 | Florida | 19-3 | 1286 | 2 | -5 |
| 8 | Michigan State | 20-4 | 1178 | 12 | +4 |
| 9 | Arizona | 20-3 | 1062 | 7 | -2 |
| 10 | Kansas State | 19-4 | 1012 | 13 | +3 |
| 11 | Butler | 20-4 | 943 | 14 | +3 |
| 12 | Louisville | 19-5 | 842 | 11 | -1 |
| 13 | Ohio State | 17-6 | 828 | 10 | -3 |
| 14 | Kansas | 19-4 | 823 | 5 | -9 |
| 15 | Georgetown | 17-4 | 679 | 20 | +5 |
| 16 | Pittsburgh | 20-5 | 591 | 23 | +7 |
| 17 | Oklahoma State | 17-5 | 587 | 22 | +5 |
| 18 | Marquette | 17-5 | 493 | 24 | +6 |
| 19 | New Mexico | 20-4 | 433 | 15 | -4 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | 17-7 | 305 | 31 | +11 |
| 21 | Notre Dame | 19-5 | 264 | 25 | +4 |
| 22 | Memphis | 20-3 | 193 | 30 | +8 |
| 23 | Oregon | 19-5 | 137 | 19 | -4 |
| 24 | Colorado State | 19-4 | 125 | 28 | +4 |
| 25 | Kentucky | 17-6 | 87 | 34 | +9 |
| Others Receiving Votes: Minnesota 80, Missouri 69, Cincinnati 68, Saint Mary’s 62, Creighton 56, San Diego State 53, Louisiana Tech 43, Virginia Commonwealth 35, Saint Louis 34, Illinois 26, North Carolina State 24, Akron 12, UCLA 8, UNLV 6, Indiana State 5, Virginia 4, Wichita State3 , Belmont 2, Mississippi 1, Oklahoma 1.Dropped from rankings: Creighton 16, Cincinnati 17, Minnesota 18, Missouri 21. | |||||
Division I Coaches’ Top 25 Poll
| Rank | Team | Record | Votes | Previous | +/- |
| 1 | Duke (18) | 21-2 | 744 | 4 | +3 |
| 2 | Indiana (6) | 21-3 | 717 | 1 | -1 |
| 3 | Gonzaga (1) | 23-2 | 681 | 6 | +3 |
| 4 | Miami (FL)(5) | 19-3 | 674 | 11 | +7 |
| 5 | Michigan (1) | 21-3 | 663 | 3 | -2 |
| 6 | Florida | 19-3 | 628 | 2 | -4 |
| 7 | Syracuse | 20-3 | 608 | 9 | +2 |
| 8 | Michigan State | 20-4 | 582 | 8 | – |
| 9 | Arizona | 20-3 | 491 | 7 | -2 |
| 10 | Butler | 20-4 | 460 | 14 | +4 |
| 11 | Kansas State | 19-4 | 455 | 15 | +4 |
| 12 | Louisville | 19-5 | 393 | 12 | – |
| 13 | Kansas | 19-4 | 364 | 5 | -8 |
| 14 | Ohio State | 17-6 | 353 | 10 | -4 |
| 15 | Georgetown | 17-4 | 329 | 21 | +6 |
| 16 | Oklahoma State | 17-5 | 259 | 24 | +8 |
| 17 | Pittsburgh | 20-5 | 246 | 25 | +8 |
| 18 | New Mexico | 20-4 | 203 | 16 | -2 |
| 19 | Wisconsin | 17-7 | 150 | 31 | +12 |
| 20 | Marquette | 17-5 | 144 | 28 | +8 |
| 21 | Notre Dame | 19-5 | 140 | 27 | +6 |
| 22 | San Diego State | 18-5 | 120 | 25 | +3 |
| 23 | Creighton | 20-5 | 102 | 13 | -10 |
| 24 | Colorado State | 19-4 | 79 | 28 | +4 |
| 25 | Memphis | 20-3 | 76 | 33 | +8 |
| Others Receiving Votes: Missouri 72, Oregon 63, Virginia Commonwealth 63, Cincinnati 38, Kentucky 27, Saint Mary’s 27, Louisiana Tech 18, Saint Louis 13, Middle Tennessee 11, Mississippi 11, Illinois 10, Akron 9, UNLV 8, Wichita State 8, UCLA 3, Stephen F. Austin 2, Belmont 1, Oklahoma 1, Virginia 1.Dropped from rankings: Cincinnati 17, Minnesota 18, Oregon 19, Missouri 20, Wichita State 22, Ole Miss 23. | |||||
Comparison Poll
| Rank | Team | Record | AP | Coaches | Avg |
| 1 | Duke | 21-2 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 |
| Indiana | 21-3 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.5 | |
| 3 | Miami (FL) | 19-3 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| 4 | Gonzaga | 23-2 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 |
| 5 | Michigan | 21-3 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.5 |
| 6 | Florida | 19-3 | 7.0 | 6.0 | 6.5 |
| Syracuse | 20-3 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 6.5 | |
| 8 | Michigan State | 20-4 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| 9 | Arizona | 20-3 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| 10 | Butler | 20-4 | 11.0 | 10.0 | 10.5 |
| Kansas State | 19-4 | 10.0 | 11.0 | 10.5 | |
| 12 | Louisville | 19-5 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 |
| 13 | Ohio State | 17-6 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 13.5 |
| Kansas | 19-4 | 14.0 | 13.0 | 13.5 | |
| 15 | Georgetown | 17-4 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| 16 | Pittsburgh | 20-5 | 16.0 | 17.0 | 16.5 |
| Oklahoma State | 17-5 | 17.0 | 16.0 | 16.5 | |
| 18 | New Mexico | 20-4 | 19.0 | 18.0 | 18.5 |
| 19 | Marquette | 17-5 | 18.0 | 20.0 | 19.0 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | 17-7 | 20.0 | 19.0 | 19.5 |
| 21 | Notre Dame | 19-5 | 21.0 | 21.0 | 21.0 |
| 22 | Memphis | 20-3 | 22.0 | 25.0 | 23.5 |
| 23 | Colorado State | 19-4 | 24.0 | 24.0 | 24.0 |
| 24 | Oregon | 19-5 | 23.0 | 27.0 | 25.0 |
| 25 | Minnesota | 17-7 | 26.0 | NR | 26.0 |
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Miami got 2 roadgames coming up this week with Florida State & Clemson. A lot will be determined afterthat when the away game vs Duke has been played (March 2nd). Interesting to see if they will be able to take a nr. 1 spot in the bracket 🙂