College Basketball AP Top 25: Week one
The AP Top 25 released its first poll of the season and there was no surprised when it was revealed that the Duke Blue Devils were at the top of the pack after only one game. The rest of the group remained similar to that of the pre-season poll put out by
ESPN/USA Today. Nevertheless, a couple unexpected squads were able to make their way into the Top 25 after strong openings to the season.
Top five
The Number one squad in week one of the 2010-11 season is the Blue Devils, who are expected to take the Atlantic Coast Conference on the back of strong play from senior Kyle Singler. Duke had no trouble with Princeton in their first game of the season and
should be able to roll until they see Marquette on 22 November. The second ranked team is still the Michigan State Spartans, who are expected to be the Blue Devils biggest challenger in the race for number one. The third ranked side is still the Kansas State
Wildcats, while the fourth ranked team are the Ohio State Buckeyes, who jumped a spot in the pre-season rankings. Finally the Pittsburgh Panthers were named the number five side after starting the year 3-0.
6-10
The 6-10 range saw a number of changes from the pre-season rankings, as several teams were able to make jumps into the top 10. Still leading the way at number six are the Villanova Wildcats, who are followed very closely by the Kansas Jayhawks. Meanwhile,
the eighth ranking was given to the North Carolina Tar Heels, who moved up a spot, while the Florida Gators managed to push their way into the top 10 from 11th spot. The top 10 is rounded out by the Syracuse Orange, who have been impressive in the
early going, moving up from their 13th place pre-season ranking.
11-15
The jumps from Florida and Syracuse left two spots in the top 15, which were quickly filled by a couple familiar faces. Checking in at number 11 are the Gonzaga Bulldogs, who made a statement in their two opening match-ups. The nation’s 12th ranked
side are the Kentucky Wildcats, who dropped two spots from 10th. The 13th ranked team is the Illinois Illini, who clawed their way up from 16th spot with three wins in week one. Meanwhile, the Purdue Boilermakers dropped from
eighth spot and have one win on the season. Finally the top 15 is finished off by the Missouri Tigers.
16-20
The 16-20 range may have experience the most change after just one week of play with all but two rankings changing. The group is now led by the Butler Bulldogs, who jumped two spots after a win on 13 November. Meanwhile, the Baylor Bears and the Washington
Huskies are tied in 17th place, after the Bears dropped from 14th spot and the Huskies stood pat with a victory over McNeese State. The 19th spot remains in the hands of the Memphis Tigers, who were able to get a stunning victory
over the Miami Hurricanes to start the season. Finally the top 20 is rounded out by the Georgetown Hoyas, who moved up one spot from 21.
Bottom five
The top 25 welcomed two new teams after the first week of the season and as a result the bottom five changed fairly significantly. Now leading the bottom five are the Temple Owls, who moved up one position after getting two wins in week one. The Owls are
followed by the Virginia Tech Hokies, who jumped two spots with a victory over Campbell. The 23rd spot belongs to new arrival the Brigham Young Cougars, who cruised past Fresno State in their opener. The 24th spot now belongs to the Tennessee
Volunteers, who dropped four places. Finally the top 25 is rounded out by the San Diego State Aztecs, who were unranked to start the year.
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