Thoughts on the AP Poll: Week 4

Blue Devils Stay Put

Despite No. 3 Louisville's loss, Duke (5-1) was unable to move up in this week's AP Poll because of Oklahoma State's rout of Memphis and the Blue Devils' defensive struggles against East Carolina and Vermont. As a result, Duke is still No. 6 in this week's AP Poll with a matchup against Alabama and a likely Preseason NIT Tournament championship game matchup against No. 4 Arizona (5-0) coming this week if the Blue Devils beat the Crimson Tide.

Cardinals Fall

Louisville (5-1) lost 93-84 to North Carolina in the Hall of Fame Tipoff Tournament despite getting 36 points from senior guard Russ Smith. While Smith was spectacular, the other Cardinals struggled in their first big game of the season and will need to pick up their level of play if Louisville is to live up to the preseason hype. With the loss, the Cardinals fell to No. 9 after being ranked third last week and the Tar Heels (4-1) rebounded from their loss to Belmont that knocked them down to No. 24 last week, rising to No. 16 this week led by sophomore point guard Marcus Paige.

Cowboys Make a Move

Oklahoma State (4-0) destroyed Memphis 101-80 at Gallagher Iba Arena in one of the more hyped nonconference games of the season. The Cowboys were led by sophomore guard Marcus Smart, who put up 26 points in the first half and finished the game with 39 points. As a result, the Cowboys jumped Duke in this week's poll and are now No. 5—Oklahoma State also received one first-place vote and is looking like a legitimate national championship contender early in the season. With the atrocious defensive performance, Memphis (2-1) fell nine spots and is now No. 21.

Rams, Wolverines Stunned in Puerto Rico

Virginia Commonwealth (3-2) cracked the top 10 last week but struggled in the Puerto Rico Tip-off, getting routed by Florida State 85-67 in the first round, beating Long Beach State, then falling 84-80 to Georgetown in the fifth-place game. Though the Rams have been successful in forcing turnovers, they have not been able to shut teams down after their press is broken and have struggled to adjust to the new hand-check rules. As a result, they fell out of the rankings this week after being ranked 10th last week and are looking to remedy their defensive struggles before conference play.

Michigan (4-2) also went to the Puerto Rico Tip-off after suffering its first loss of the season at now-No. 17 Iowa State last week. The Wolverines destroyed Long Beach State 85-61 in their first game and beat Florida State 82-80 in overtime in the semifinals after a big second-half comeback, but fell in the championship game 62-60 to Charlotte on a last-second tip-in. With the loss, the Wolverines fell eight spots and are now No. 22 and will look to become more consistent on both ends of the court before traveling to Cameron Indoor Stadium next Tuesday to take on the Blue Devils in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge.

Massachusetts makes an appearance

After being ranked 43rd last week, Massachusetts (6-0) beat Nebraska, last week's 19th ranked team, New Mexico, and Clemson to capture the Charleston Classic. The Minutemen are now No. 24 and will look to continue their strong play in Atlantic-10 conference play.