Thoughts on the AP poll: Duke stays at No. 5 despite Villanova's loss

<p>Duke's defense has seen marked improvement since switching to a matchup zone.&nbsp;</p>

Duke's defense has seen marked improvement since switching to a matchup zone. 

Heading into the final week of the regular season, things are starting to shape up across college basketball, as seen in the latest AP poll:  

Duke stays at No. 5 despite top-5 upset

Then-No. 3 Villanova lost on Saturday at Creighton 89-83 in overtime. Bluejays guard Marcus Foster poured in 28 points to earn Creighton’s highest ranked win ever. 

Although its defense has improved rapidly in a five-game winning streak, Duke remained at No. 5 in the latest AP poll. Villanova dropped to No. 4 and now sits second in the Big East behind No. 3 Xavier.    

Big-12 showdown

No. 8 Kansas and No. 6 Texas Tech met in Lubbock on Saturday with a piece of the Big 12 Title at stake. The Jayhawks emerged with a 74-72 win behind 26 points from Devonte’ Graham to clinch their 14th straight Big 12 Championship, setting an NCAA record for most consecutive regular season conference championships. 

Kansas rose to No. 6 on the strength of its win, while the Red Raiders fell to No. 12 after also losing at Oklahoma State earlier in the week.

Scandal strikes Arizona

Then-No. 14 Arizona was rocked on Saturday when a report claiming that the FBI had wiretaps of Wildcats head coach Sean Miller talking about paying recruits. Miller did not coach the team on Saturday night against Oregon, but the player implicated, star freshman DeAndre Ayton, did take the floor. Arizona lost in overtime 98-93 despite Ayton scoring 28 points, but may have a difficult road ahead as the investigation continues. 

The Wildcats remain in first in the Pac-12 but fell to No. 19 in the newest poll with just one week left in the regular season.

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COMPLETE RANKINGS: 

1. Virginia

2. Michigan State

3. Xavier 

4. Villanova 

5. Duke

6. Kansas

7. Gonzaga

8. Purdue

9. North Carolina 

10. Cincinnati 

11. Wichita State

12. Texas Tech 

13. Ohio State

14. Auburn

15. Michigan

16. Tennessee

17. Rhode Island 

18. Clemson

19. Arizona 

20. West Virginia

21. Nevada

22. Saint Mary's 

23. Kentucky 

24. Middle Tennessee

25. Houston

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