We’re just one week into the 2019-20 men’s college basketball season and we already have a shuffle in the top five of the Associated Press Top 25 Poll college basketball rankings.
Kentucky is the new No. 1 in the poll, Duke is the new No. 2, Michigan State fell to No. 3, Louisville rose to No. 4 and Kansas dropped to No. 5.
Florida took the biggest fall in the poll. The Gators dropped from No. 6 to No. 15 after a loss to unranked Florida State. Baylor also took a long fall, going from No. 16 to No. 24 after being defeated by Washington, a newcomer to the poll this week at No. 20.
Let’s take a closer look at the poll.
The AP Top 25 men's college basketball rankings
Through Nov. 11, 2019
| Rank |
TEAM |
POINTS |
RECORD |
PREVIOUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky | 1622 | 2-0 | 2 |
| 2 | Duke | 1538 | 2-0 | 4 |
| 3 | Michigan State | 1451 | 1-1 | 1 |
| 4 | Louisville | 1425 | 2-0 | 5 |
| 5 | Kansas | 1354 | 1-1 | 3 |
| 6 | North Carolina | 1187 | 2-0 | 9 |
| 7 | Maryland | 1166 | 2-0 | 7 |
| 8 | Gonzaga | 1136 | 2-0 | 8 |
| 9 | Virginia | 1134 | 2-0 | 11 |
| 10 | Villanova | 1064 | 1-0 | 10 |
| 11 | Texas Tech | 888 | 2-0 | 13 |
| 12 | Seton Hall | 869 | 2-0 | 12 |
| 13 | Memphis | 828 | 2-0 | 14 |
| 14 | Oregon | 804 | 2-0 | 15 |
| 15 | Florida | 616 | 1-1 | 6 |
| 16 | Ohio State | 544 | 2-0 | 18 |
| 17 | Utah State | 507 | 2-0 | 17 |
| 18 | Saint Mary's | 438 | 1-0 | 20 |
| 19 | Arizona | 415 | 2-0 | 21 |
| 20 | Washington | 373 | 1-0 | NR |
| 21 | Xavier | 370 | 2-0 | 19 |
| 22 | Auburn | 247 | 2-0 | 24 |
| 23 | LSU | 237 | 1-0 | 22 |
| 24 | Baylor | 179 | 1-1 | 16 |
| 25 | Colorado | 151 | 1-0 | NR |
Impact from Champions Classic
We saw the top four teams in the nation battle it out at Madison Square Garden last Tuesday at the Champions Classic. In it, Duke edged out Kansas and Kentucky topped Michigan State. For their victories, the Blue Devils moved up from No. 4 to No. 2 and Kentucky rose from second to first in the AP Poll. Kentucky is also No. 1 in Andy Katz's latest Power 36 college basketball rankings.
Duke also notched a blowout win over Colorado State, while Kentucky ran circles around Eastern Kentucky.
OPENING NIGHT: Kentucky beats No. 1 Michigan State; Duke escapes Kansas in 2019 Champions Classic
Kentucky has just one game this week, hosting Evansville on Tuesday. Duke will host Central Arkansas on Tuesday and Georgia State on Friday.
Michigan State bounced back from the loss with a big win over Binghamton, but faces a test on Thursday when it travels to face No. 12 Seton Hall. Kansas got past UNCG with a 12-point victory and likely won’t face another ranked team until Dec. 21, when it takes a trip to Philadelphia to face Villanova, ranked this week at No. 10.
FATHER-SON MOMENT: Steven Izzo scores his first point at Michigan State
Tough look for VCU
Despite going undefeated in the first week of the season, Atlantic 10 power VCU was dropped from the rankings. The Rams were ranked 25th to start the season and won both of their games last week, beating St. Francis (Pa.) 72-58 and getting a 59-56 win over North Texas.
Still, it wasn’t enough to keep them in the top 25. VCU lost 56 votes from last week, making them the first team outside of the poll.
CAN'T MISS GAMES: Check out the full ACC/Big Ten Challenge schedule
The Rams will have a chance to prove themselves this week when LSU comes to Richmond on Wednesday for a nationally televised game on ESPN2. The Tigers are ranked 23rd this week and beat Bowling Green by 11 points last Friday to start their season. Coached by Will Wade — who was VCU’s head coach from 2015-17 — LSU made the NCAA tournament last season, advancing to the Sweet 16.
A win over LSU could go a long way for the Rams.
