College Basketball: Indiana Stays No. 1, Gonzaga Rises to No. 3 in AP Poll

Indiana is No. 1 in the AP Poll for the third consecutive week, this time minus the controversy.

The Hoosiers, who retained the contentious top ranking last week on the heels of a loss, received 43 of the 65 first-place votes. Second-ranked Miami scooped up three additional first-place votes (20 in all), moving up to second in place of Duke, which lost to Maryland over the weekend.

Gonzaga jumped from fifth to third, tying its highest ranking in program history. The Bulldogs snared the remaining two first-place votes.

Michigan State rose from eighth to fourth on the eve of the team’s Big Ten showdown against Indiana in East Lansing. The Spartans are followed by Florida (No. 5), Duke (No. 6), Michigan (No. 7), Syracuse (No. 8 ), Kansas (No. 9) and Louisville (No. 10). Tom Izzo’s team ripped the in-state rival Wolverines last week at the Breslin Center. The Jayhawks crept back into the Top 10 after righting a three-game losing streak in a rout of pseudo rival Kansas State.

Arizona (No. 12) slipped out of the Top 10 for the first time since starting the poll at No. 12 to begin the season. Ohio State, meanwhile, dropped to No. 18, its lowest mark of the season. The Buckeyes were blitzed in Madison over the weekend by revenge-minded Wisconsin.

Kentucky was the lone casualty of the poll, having lost star freshman pivot Nerlens Noel for the season and a pair of SEC games with ugly ledgers in the week. VCU snuck back into the rankings following a three-week absence.

• Others receiving votes: Saint Louis 58, Minnesota 52, Louisiana Tech 48, Illinois 46, Cincinnati 20, North Carolina State 20, Akron 16, Missouri 4, Middle Tennessee 3, Saint Mary’s 2, Maryland 2, Creighton 1, Wichita State 1