Previously top-ranked Duke (4-1) dropped to No. 6 after its last-minute loss to Kansas in the Champions Classic.
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The Wildcats (4-0), who beat then-No. 13 Michigan State in the Champions Classic, received 42 first-place votes. Defending national champion Villanova (5-0) picked up 21 first-place votes and is ranked No. 2.
No. 3 Indiana (3-0) received the remaining two first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel.
New to this week’s rankings: No. 20 Baylor (3-0) joins Florida State (4-0) and Michigan (4-0), which tied at No. 25 with 89 points, to replace Cincinnati and California, which were 24th and 25th, respectively, last week.
The ACC leads with six ranked teams, while the Big Ten and Big 12 have five.
AP Top 25 Rank. Team (first-place votes), W-L, Points 1. Kentucky (42), 4-0, 1,494 2. Villanova (21), 5-0, 1,469 3. Indiana (2), 3-0 ,1,348 4. North Carolina, 4-0, 1,319 5. Kansas, 2-1, 1,284 6. Duke, 4-1, 1,253 7. Virginia, 3-0, 1,126 8. Arizona, 3-0, 1,066 9. Xavier, 5-0, 1,039 10. Louisville, 3-0, 893 11. Gonzaga, 3-0, 816 12. Creighton, 4-0, 716 12. Oregon, 2-1, 716 14. UCLA, 4-0, 681 15. Saint Mary’s, 3-0, 665 16. Wisconsin, 2-1, 623 17. Syracuse, 3-0, 576 18. Purdue, 2-1, 571 19. West Virginia, 3-0, 466 20. Baylor, 3-0, 326 21. Iowa State, 3-0, 283 22. Texas, 3-0, 237 23. Rhode Island, 4-1, 198 24. Michigan State, 2-2, 184 T25. Michigan, 4-0, 89 T25. Florida State, 4-0, 89
Others receiving votes: Maryland 56, California 54, Miami 40, Cincinnati 34, Wichita St 29, Florida 27, Seton Hall 15, Virginia Tech 12, Butler 11, Dayton 11, Notre Dame 6, Colorado 4, Ohio State 2, Ohio 1, Rutgers 1, Tennessee State 1
Dropped from rankings: Cincinnati (No. 24), California (No. 25)
