A year after Dayton and Obi Toppin made a weekly splash in the AP poll, a newcomer from the Atlantic 10 is making some early-season noise in college basketball's rankings.
Richmond joined the AP top 25 in the poll's Nov. 30 edition after starting 2-0 and knocking off then-No.10 Kentucky. The Spiders check in at No. 19, the program's highest ranking since 1958 after earning their first-ever road win against a top-10 team — at Rupp Arena of all places.
Here is the latest AP poll:
| RANK | SCHOOL | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gonzaga (57) | 2-0 | 1,569 | 1 |
| 2 | Baylor (6) | 2-0 | 1,513 | 2 |
| 3 | Iowa | 2-0 | 1,410 | 5 |
| 4 | Wisconsin | 2-0 | 1,287 | 7 |
| 5 | Illinois | 3-0 | 1,281 | 8 |
| 6 | Duke | 1-0 | 1,185 | 9 |
| 7 | Kansas | 1-1 | 1,169 | 6 |
| 8 | Michigan State | 2-0 | 1,028 | 13 |
| 9 | Creighton | 1-0 | 981 | 11 |
| 10 | Houston | 3-0 | 949 | 17 |
| 11 | West Virginia | 3-0 | 943 | 15 |
| 12 | Villanova | 2-1 | 939 | 3 |
| 13 | Tennessee | 0-0 | 878 | 12 |
| 14 | North Carolina | 1-0 | 591 | 16 |
| 15 | Virginia | 1-1 | 581 | 4 |
| 16 | Virginia Tech | 3-0 | 570 | NR |
| 17 | Texas | 1-0 | 478 | 19 |
| 17 | Texas Tech | 2-1 | 478 | 14 |
| 19 | Richmond | 2-0 | 382 | NR |
| 20 | Kentucky | 1-1 | 363 | 10 |
| 21 | Oregon | 0-0 | 338 | 20 |
| 22 | Florida State | 0-0 | 304 | 21 |
| 23 | Ohio State | 2-0 | 282 | 23 |
| 24 | Rutgers | 3-0 | 252 | 24 |
| 25 | Arizona State | 2-1 | 233 | 18 |
Others receiving votes: Michigan 90, San Diego State 86, Saint Louis 69, Louisville 55, Alabama 52, Florida 45, Indiana 38, UCLA 14, Maryland 9, Providence 7, Stanford 7, Connecticut 6, Clemson 4, LSU 3, Arkansas 2, Loyola Chicago 1, TCU 1, Colorado 1, BYU 1
While Richmond works to keep the A-10's presence in the poll, the Big Ten is asserting its dominance near the top of the rankings with four teams in the top 10.
Iowa moved up two spots to No. 3 after All-American forward Luka Garza averaged 33.5 points and shot 86 percent from the floor in the Hawkeyes first two games, both commanding victories. The Hawkeyes were last in the top-3 in 2016, a year before Garza came to campus.
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Wisconsin and Illinois round out the top 5 at fourth and fifth respectively while Michigan State was one of the biggest risers this week, jumping five spots to No. 8. The Badgers and Spartans were two of the league's three regular season co-champions in 2019.
Creighton and Houston come in at Nos. 9 and 10. The Cougars made the biggest move of any team ranked a week ago. Head coach Kelvin Sampson's team jumped seven spots after it won its first three games, including a 64-53 win over then-No. 14 Texas Tech.
The previous top 10 was turned upside down a bit after four teams lost last week. Villanova dropped nine places to No. 12 after Virginia Tech stunned the Wildcats in overtime. Kentucky plummeted 10 spots to No. 20 after Richmond beat the 'Cats at home. Virginia fell the hardest, an 11-spot plunge to No. 15 after San Francisco took down the defending champions 61-60. Virginia is still technically defending its national championship after the 2020 NCAA tournament was canceled. Then-No. 6 Kansas also lost on Thanksgiving to Gonzaga, though they only dropped a spot to No. 7.
Speaking of the Bulldogs, the top two teams remained the same, but GU tightened its grip on the No. 1 ranking after hanging 102 points on Kansas and blowing Auburn out by 23. The 'Zags grabbed 57 of 63 first-place votes while No. 2 Baylor garnered the remaining six.
In addition to Richmond, the only other newcomer to this week's rankings is Virginia Tech. The Hokies downed No. 3 Villanova in overtime and join the top 25 for the first time under second-year head coach Mike Young.
