Gonzaga, Virginia, UNC stay atop shuffled AP Top 25 in college basketball

Gonzaga, Virginia and North Carolina retained their hold on the top three places in the latest AP Top 25 poll, released Monday, but every other spot changed hands.

The Zags (29-2) received 41 first-place votes, with the Cavaliers (28-2) earning the other 23.

Kentucky climbed two spots to No. 4 and Duke fell to No. 5 after its regular-season finale loss to rival North Carolina.

At No. 8, Tennessee stayed in the Top 10, as did No. 10 Michigan. Both teams tumbled three spots after losses over the weekend.

Rounding out the Top 10 were No. 6 Michigan State, which rose three places after beating Michigan; No. 7 Texas Tech; and No. 9 LSU, which moved up one spot despite a difficult week that saw the suspension of head coach Will Wade over allegations he engaged in pay-for-play recruiting.

Marquette, ranked No. 10 just four weeks ago, continued to plummet down the rankings after ending Big East play with four straight losses. The Golden Eagles slid seven spots to No. 23.

Kansas, which saw its streak of 14 consecutive Big 12 regular-season championships end, continued to fall, dropping four places to No. 17 after a loss to Oklahoma. Cincinnati also skidded four spots to No. 24.

A trio of schools jumped three spots: No. 14 Nevada, No. 15 Kansas State and No. 21 Maryland.

Auburn returned to the rankings, coming in at No. 22 following an 84-80 win over Tennessee.

–Field Level Media