15 top-25 teams suffered losses last week to cause chaos in the AP Poll. Although this week was not quite as crazy, there were still some notable losses and shifts in the latest top 25:
Duke drops one spot to No. 5 after an up-and-down week
The Blue Devils did their best Jekyll-and-Hyde impression this week, losing by 16 at home to an unranked Miami squad Tuesday to snap their 41-game home winning streak before going on the road and upending No. 6 Louisville Saturday. The loss to Miami was Duke’s second straight defeat after a perfect 14-0 start to the season. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s team had given up 88.5 points per game in the pair of losses, raising questions about the Blue Devils’ toughness and defensive intensity heading into their second road matchup with a top-10 team this season.
But the Blue Devils answered the call against the Cardinals, switching to a 2-3 zone on defense and limiting Louisville to less than 30 percent shooting from the field—including a lowly 16 percent from 3-point range—in a 63-52 victory that was their most complete performance since Dec. 3 against then-No. 2 Wisconsin. Duke fell one spot to No. 5 in this week's poll and Louisville fell to No. 10 after its second loss in three games. After two wins, another ACC power, Notre Dame, rose four spots to No. 8.
More bedlam in the Big 12
It was a crazy week in the Big 12, but no team was able to escape the flurry of upsets and set itself apart from the rest of the conference. Five teams ranked in the top 25 went 1-1, as previously No. 9 Kansas, No. 11 Iowa State, No. 16 West Virginia, No. 18 Oklahoma and No. 22 Baylor all had ups and downs, creating a logjam at the top of the conference standings with five teams with one or two losses.
Right now Kansas State sits at the top with a 4-1 conference record after upsetting Baylor 63-61 Saturday, but the Wildcats have games against Iowa State and Oklahoma State this week. With nothing guaranteed in the league, expect more shakeups and excitement from the Big 12 as conference play wears on.
This week the Cyclones are No. 9, Kansas is No. 11 and Texas, West Virginia and Oklahoma occupy spots 17-19. Baylor is ranked No. 21.
Arizona bounces back in Pac-12 showdown
Last week, the No. 10 Wildcats dropped three spots in the poll due to a last-second loss to Oregon State. This week, Arizona jumped to No. 7 following a 61-59 win against No. 8 Utah, who fell four spots to No. 12. The Wildcats’ victory—spearheaded by 18 points from freshman Stanley Johnson—forced a three-way tie atop the Pac-12 standings, with Stanford, Utah and Arizona now boasting identical 4-1 records in conference play. Arizona travels to Palo Alto, Calif., for a critical showdown Thursday against the Cardinal, who will enter the game having won three straight and seven of eight.
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