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Michigan stays at No. 5, MSU up to No. 9 in AP Top 25

Detroit News staff and wires

Michigan is still unbeaten and still No. 5 in the country.

The Wolverines (10-0) held steady at No. 5 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25, following victories last week over Northwestern and South Carolina, which also helped them land the No. 1 spot in the most recent NCAA Evaluation Tool.

Michigan’s total includes a first-place vote.

Michigan State (8-2), meanwhile, climbed one spot to No. 9 after also notching a pair of victories last week over then-No. 18 Iowa and Florida.

Kansas, meanwhile, is back where it started the season.

The preseason No. 1, the Jayhawks are again the top-ranked in the AP Top 25 despite struggling to get past New Mexico State at home. Kansas received 57 first-place votes from a 65-person media panel in the poll released Monday, sliding into the top spot after previous No. 1 Gonzaga lost to Tennessee.

No. 2 Duke moved up a spot and received four first-place votes. No. 3 Tennessee, No. 4 Gonzaga, No. 5 Michigan and No. 6 Virginia received the other first-place votes.

No. 7 Nevada, Auburn, Michigan State and Florida State rounded out the top 10.

The Jayhawks were the preseason No. 1, but dropped a spot after Duke decimated then-No. 2 Kentucky to open the season.

Gonzaga moved to No. 1 after beating Duke in the Maui Invitational title game, lasting two weeks before losing 76-73 to the Vols Sunday in Phoenix.

Kansas (8-0) kept winning, though needed a big game from Dedric Lawson to beat New Mexico State in Kansas City on Saturday. Lawson, a preseason All-American, had 20 points, including the final 14 for Kansas, and 10 rebounds in the tighter than expected 63-60 victory.

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25

 

Record

Pts

Prv

1. Kansas (57)

8-0

1583

2

2. Duke (4)

9-1

1454

3

3. Tennessee (1)

7-1

1421

7

4. Gonzaga (1)

9-1

1412

1

5. Michigan (1)

10-0

1398

5

6. Virginia (1)

9-0

1384

4

7. Nevada

10-0

1283

6

8. Auburn

8-1

1151

8

9. Michigan State

8-2

1066

10

10. Florida State

8-1

991

11

11. Texas Tech

8-0

914

13

12. North Carolina

7-2

890

14

13. Virginia Tech

8-1

833

15

14. Buffalo

9-0

664

17

15. Ohio St.

8-1

621

19

16. Wisconsin

8-2

599

12

17. Villanova

8-2

532

21

18. Mississippi State

8-1

441

22

19. Kentucky

7-2

385

9

20. Arizona State

7-1

351

20

21. Marquette

8-2

281

22. Iowa

7-2

208

18

23. Furman

10-0

189

25

24. Houston

8-0

173

25. Syracuse

7-2

118

25. Indiana

8-2

118

25. Kansas State

6-2

118

16

Others receiving votes: Nebraska 115, Maryland 105, Oklahoma 82, Cincinnati 73, St. John’s 57, Purdue 40, N.C. State 26, Iowa St. 19, TCU 13, San Francisco 5, UCLA 3, Butler 2, Minnesota 2, Davidson 1, Florida 1, NJIT 1, Seton Hall 1, Texas 1.