Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll: Jerry Carino's ballot
1. Baylor (9-0)
2. Duke (7-1)
3. Gonzaga (8-2)
4. UCLA (9-1)
5. Purdue (9-1)
6. Kansas (8-1)
7. Alabama (8-1)
8. Arizona (9-0)
9. Villanova (7-3)
10. Southern Cal (10-0)
11. Iowa State (10-0)
12. Michigan State (9-2)
13. Ohio State (8-2)
14. Seton Hall (9-1)
15. Texas (6-2)
16. Houston (8-2)
17. UConn (9-2)
18. Auburn (8-1)
19. Colorado State (10-0)
20. Xavier (9-1)
21. Providence (10-1)
22. Texas Tech (7-1)
23. Tennessee (7-2)
24. Wisconsin (8-2)
25. LSU (9-0)
Also considered: Loyola-Chicago (9-2).
Dropped out: No. 10 Kentucky (7-2) after a loss to Notre Dame; No. 12 Arkansas (9-1) after a loss to Oklahoma; No. 20. Florida (7-3) after a loss to Maryland; No. 24 BYU (8-2) after a loss to Creighton.
Entered: Colorado State, which should have entered the polls weeks ago, at NO. 19; Xavier, which has wins over Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State and Cincinnati and a lone loss to Iowa State, at No. 20; Providence, which has wins over Texas Tech, Northwestern and Wisconsin, at No. 21. Texas Tech at No. 22 with a win at No. 13 Tennessee.
Analysis: Baylor is the rightful heir to No. 1 after Sunday’s stunning lockdown of Villanova…Seton Hall, up nine spots, deserves to be the poll’s biggest riser after beating No. 7 Texas and rival Rutgers (coming off a toppling of top-ranked Purdue)…The Big East’s superb non-conference showing should be reflected with five squads in the poll, despite Kenpom’s continued undervaluing of the league.
By conference: Big East (5), Big 12 (5), Big Ten (4), SEC (4), Pac-12 (3), American (1), West Coast (1), Mountain West (1), ACC (1).
COACHES POLL: Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll from USA TODAY Sports
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll: Jerry Carino's ballot
