AP Poll: Villanova climbs to No. 1, North Carolina drops to No. 9
Villanova is the sixth different No. 1 in the AP Top 25 this season.
Riding high on their three-game winning streak, the Wildcats have only lost once in their last 13 games.
Coming in at No. 2, or what some would call No. 1B, is Maryland, winner of its last four.
Villanova received 32 first-place votes, while Maryland received 13.
For the two schools formerly seeded No. 1 and 2, Oklahoma dropped to No. 3 after getting throttled by Kansas State, while North Carolina stumbled down to No. 9 after losing consecutive games to Louisville and Notre Dame.
But with yet another shakeup in the overall polls, No. 4 Iowa received more No. 1 votes (11) than third-ranked Oklahoma (7). Six schools received No. 1 votes.
The newcomers to round out the poll are USC and Texas, who came in at No. 23 and No. 24, respectively.
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Villanova | 20-3 | 3 |
| 2 | Maryland | 21-3 | 4 |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 19-3 | 1 |
| 4 | Iowa | 19-4 | 5 |
| 5 | Xavier | 21-2 | 6 |
| 6 | Kansas | 19-4 | 7 |
| 7 | Virginia | 19-4 | 9 |
| 8 | Michigan State | 20-4 | 10 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 19-4 | 2 |
| 10 | West Virginia | 19-4 | 14 |
| 11 | Oregon | 20-4 | 16 |
| 12 | Miami | 18-4 | 17 |
| 13 | Louisville | 19-4 | 19 |
| 14 | Iowa State | 17-6 | 13 |
| 15 | Texas A&M | 18-5 | 8 |
| 16 | SMU | 20-2 | 12 |
| 17 | Arizona | 19-5 | 23 |
| 18 | Purdue | 19-5 | 18 |
| 19 | Dayton | 19-3 | 24 |
| 20 | Providence | 18-6 | 11 |
| 21 | Baylor | 17-6 | 15 |
| 22 | Kentucky | 17-6 | 20 |
| 23 | USC | 17-5 | NR |
| 24 | Texas | 16-7 | NR |
| 25 | Wichita State | 17-6 | 21 |