Thoughts on the AP poll: Duke rises all the way to No. 5 after week of carnage

<p>The Blue Devils look a leap in the rankings after a perfect week against Virginia Tech and then-No. 11 Clemson.</p>

The Blue Devils look a leap in the rankings after a perfect week against Virginia Tech and then-No. 11 Clemson.

The bottom fell out of the top 10 this week, with seven teams losing at least one game, and Duke took full advantage as one of the biggest risers. The Blue Zone recaps another AP poll shakeup.

Michigan State stays put after roaring past Wildcats

In a week full of surprising losses, the second-ranked Spartans looked like they were well on their way to the most stunning result yet when they fell behind 43-16 at Northwestern Saturday afternoon. They still trailed by 21 with less than 17 minutes left in the game, but put the clamps down on defense to hold the Wildcats scoreless for more than 11 minutes during a 24-0 run to take the lead. Michigan State wound up outscoring Northwestern 38-11 in the second half of their 65-60 win.

The Spartans remained at No. 2 with a number of first-place votes, still sitting behind top-ranked Virginia, which won a tough road contest at Miami this week.

Duke skyrockets with key road win

The Blue Devils did just fine in two games without Marvin Bagley III this week, blowing out Virginia Tech at home and then outlasting Clemson in a physical top-15 matchup Sunday afternoon on the road. The Tigers went on a 10-0 run to tie the game with less than two minutes left, but Duke answered with a 9-0 run to close it out, sparked by three free throws from Gary Trent Jr.

Duke jumped from No. 12 all the way to No. 5, capitalizing on losses by Cincinnati, Purdue, Texas Tech, Ohio State, Auburn and formerly No. 11 Clemson. North Carolina became the third ACC team to join the Blue Devils and Virginia in the top 10, moving up to No. 10 on the heels of a five-game winning streak.

Villanova rebounds with top-five victory

Mired in a bit of a slump with two losses in their previous three games, Villanova responded with a convincing 95-79 road win at Xavier Saturday in a matchup of the No. 3 and No. 4 teams in the country. The Wildcats shot 16-of-34 from 3-point range in the victory and kept themselves in contention for the Big East regular-season title.

The win helped Villanova stay put at No. 3 despite a road loss at Providence earlier in the week, and the Musketeers did not suffer too much either thanks to the carnage beneath them, staying put at No. 4.

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COMPLETE RANKINGS: 

1. Virginia

2. Michigan State

3. Villanova

4. Xavier

5. Duke

6. Texas Tech

6. Gonzaga

8.  Kansas

9. Purdue

10. North Carolina

11. Cincinnati

12. Auburn

13. Wichita State

14. Arizona

15. Clemson

16. Ohio State

17. Michigan

18. Rhode Island

19. Tennessee

20. Nevada

21. West Virginia

22. Saint Mary's 

23. Houston

24. Middle Tennessee

25. Florida State

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