Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll: Jerry Carino's ballot
1. Duke (7-0)
2. Gonzaga (6-1)
3. Purdue (6-0)
4. Baylor (7-0)
5. UCLA (6-1)
6. Villanova (4-2)
7. Texas (4-1)
8. Kentucky (5-1)
9. Arkansas (5-0)
10. Arizona (6-0)
11. BYU (6-0)
12. Kansas (5-1)
13. Florida (6-0)
14. Tennessee (4-1)
15. Michigan State (5-2)
16. Southern Cal (6-0)
17. UConn (6-1)
18. Auburn (5-1)
19. Colorado State (7-0)
20. Wisconsin (5-1)
21. Houston (5-1)
22. Iowa State (6-0)
23. St. Bonaventure (5-1)
24. Ohio State (4-2)
Dropped out: No. 9 Memphis (5-1) after losing to Iowa State by 21; No. 10 Alabama (6-1) after losing to Iona; No. 14 Illinois (4-2) after losing to Cincinnati by 20; No. 20 Michigan (4-2) which didn’t make my ballot last week either; No. 25 Xavier (5-1) after losing to Iowa State by 12.
Entered: Michigan State at No. 15 after a neutral-court win over UConn; Colorado State, which has been on my ballot since the start but should enter the poll, moves up to No. 19; Wisconsin at No. 20 after a neutral-court win over Memphis; Iowa State at No. 22 after double-digit neutral-court wins over Xavier and Memphis; Ohio State at No. 24 after a neutral-court win over Seton Hall.
Also considered: Florida State (5-1), Saint Mary’s (6-1), Indiana (6-0).
Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll: Duke, Purdue, Gonzaga at the top
Analysis: Memphis didn’t just look bad against Iowa State; it came completely unglued with four technical fouls, and Penny Hardaway leaving a guy in after he popped an Iowa State player in the face and jawed at the ref is a sign that this collection of talent is rudderless and ripe for implosion…Alabama drops from No. 10 to out after the Iona loss because upon further inspection, the Tide’s resume has no meat…Duke is the easy choice at No. 1 after beating the No. 1 team on a neutral court, but it’s tough to penalize Gonzaga more than one spot for losing a close one to the Blue Devils…Florida is the big winner, rising 10 spots after crushing Cal and edging Ohio State…Seton Hall is going to test our maxim that the AP Top 25 poll is like the mob: hard to get in and hard to get out. The Hall probably has a 40 percent chance of hanging onto a spot.
By conference: SEC (5), Big Ten (4), Big 12 (4), Big East (3), Pac-12 (3), West Coast (2), American (1), Mountain West (1), Atlantic 10 (1), ACC (1).
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll: Jerry Carino's ballot
