Michigan State lost All-American guard Cassius Winston and all Big Ten defender Xavier Tillman from last year's preseason No. 1 team, and yet Tom Izzo might have an even more complete club on his hands in 2020-21. Izzo's Spartans (5-0) moved to No. 4 in the latest update of the AP Top 25 college basketball rankings Monday, a four-spot bump that comes after the Spartans earned a road win over Duke and two home wins over in-state foes of Detroit and Western Michigan within the last week.
In a sign of just how loaded the Big Ten is this season, the Spartans are the second-highest ranked team in Monday's update -- behind No. 3 Iowa (3-0) -- and one of a whopping six teams from the conference to find themselves in the top 25. Illinois is ranked No. 6, Wisconsin is 13th, Rutgers is 21st and Ohio State comes in at No. 22.
As for the top of the rankings, it's all the same with Gonzaga and Baylor -- who were expected to meet Saturday before the game was called off due to COVID-19 concerns -- staying at 1-2 at the top. Gonzaga (3-0) received 54 first-place votes while Baylor (3-0) received the remaining seven first-place available.
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AP Top 25
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week's ranking:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gonzaga (54) | 3-0 | 1518 | 1 |
| 2 | Baylor (7) | 3-0 | 1470 | 2 |
| 3 | Iowa | 3-0 | 1385 | 3 |
| 4 | Michigan State | 5-0 | 1296 | 8 |
| 5 | Kansas | 4-1 | 1195 | 7 |
| 6 | Illinois | 3-1 | 1104 | 5 |
| 7 | Houston | 4-0 | 1090 | 10 |
| 8 | Creighton | 3-0 | 1068 | 9 |
| 9 | Villanova | 4-1 | 1033 | 12 |
| 10 | Duke | 2-1 | 954 | 6 |
| 11 | West Virginia | 4-1 | 918 | 11 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 0-0 | 767 | 13 |
| T-13 | Wisconsin | 3-1 | 750 | 4 |
| T-13 | Texas | 4-1 | 750 | 17 |
| 15 | Virginia Tech | 4-0 | 688 | 16 |
| 16 | North Carolina | 3-1 | 547 | 14 |
| 17 | Texas Tech | 4-1 | 541 | 17 |
| 18 | Virginia | 3-1 | 474 | 15 |
| 19 | Richmond | 2-0 | 419 | 19 |
| 20 | Florida State | 1-0 | 350 | 22 |
| 21 | Rutgers | 3-0 | 293 | 24 |
| 22 | Ohio State | 3-0 | 287 | 23 |
| 23 | Arizona State | 3-1 | 218 | 25 |
| 24 | San Diego State | 4-0 | 123 | NR |
| 25 | Louisville | 4-0 | 122 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Michigan 107, Saint Louis 94, Florida 90, Indiana 40, Oregon 26, Oklahoma State 26, Marquette 22, Missouri 19, Connecticut 12, Xavier 9, Clemson 7, Alabama 5, Washington State 3, Maryland 2, UCLA 1, SMU 1, Oklahoma 1.
