Thoughts on the AP Poll: Week 6

Blue Devils Rise

By virtue of their 79-69 victory of Michigan on Tuesday in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge and losses from the teams above them, the Blue Devils (7-2) rose two spots and are now No. 8. Duke showed a much more balanced attack against the Wolverines (6-3) and much more defensive tenacity led by senior guard Tyler Thornton and freshman guard Matt Jones, who frequently kept Michigan's leading scorer, Nik Stauskas, from even catching the ball. With the loss, the Wolverines fell out of the rankings after being ranked 22nd last week and will look to get healthy before a home contest against No. 1 Arizona (9-0) on Saturday.

Jekyll and Hyde for the Tar Heels

A roller-coaster month of basketball for North Carolina (5-2) culminated in a strong, balanced 79-65 road victory at then-No. 1 Michigan State (7-1). North Carolina now has quality wins against the Spartans and No. 6 Louisville (8-1) and bad losses to Belmont and UAB in the last four weeks, and rose to No. 18 after being unranked last week after their latest triumph. The Spartans fell four spots and are now No. 5 after a disappointing home performance. The Tar Heels helped keep the ACC/Big 10 Challenge a 6-6 tie and host No. 11 Kentucky (7-2) on Saturday—can anyone guess what Roy Williams' squad will do next?

Wildcats mauled by Bears

In the first headliner of the Big 12/SEC Challenge, Baylor (8-1) took down Kentucky 67-62, using a gritty second-half performance to earn the win at Cowboys Stadium. The Wildcats (7-2) were held to 24 second-half points and unable to match Baylor's physicality down the stretch. With the loss, Kentucky fell eight spots and is now No. 11 after being ranked third last week. With their triumph, the Bears got a much-needed quality win after a runner-up finish in the Maui Invitational and rose six spots to check in at No. 14 this week.


Jayhawks Stunned: Part II

After suffering a defeat to Villanova in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis on a late 3-pointer, the Jayhawks (6-2) lost another heartbreaker, falling 75-72 at Colorado on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Buffalo guard Askia Booker, who eluded multiple Jayhawk defenders before swishing the 30-foot trey and getting swarmed by teammates and fans. The Buffaloes (9-1) jumped into the rankings with their triumph, checking in at No. 21 and the Jayhawks fell seven spots and are now No. 13 after being ranked sixth last week. Bill Self's squad appears to have taken a step back after their triumph over Duke at the Champions Classic in Chicago.