COLLEGE

Michigan State women drop to No. 17 in Associated Press college basketball poll

Detroit News staff and wires
Mardrekia Cook, left, and Michigan State dropped to No. 23 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 women’s poll.

As quickly as Michigan State climbed in the Associated Press women’s baskeball rankings, the Spartans’ tumble was just as rapid.

Michigan State (13-5) dropped six spots in the new AP Top 25, released Monday, checking in at 23. That’s one week after the Spartans jumped six spots to No. 17.

The week included losses to Ohio State and then-No. 20 Rutgers sandwiched around a victory at home against then-No. 9 Maryland.

Rutgers, the Big Ten leader, jumped six spots to No. 14. Maryland dropped to No. 11.

Utah earned its first appearance in the AP poll in a decade, entering at No. 21.

The Utes (16-1) last were ranked in the final poll of the 2008 season. They were one of four teams to enter the Top 25 after 13 ranked teams lost last week. Utah was joined by Florida State at 22, Texas A&M at 24 and Missouri at 25.

While there was change at the bottom of the poll, the top eight teams stayed virtually the same with Notre Dame leading the way. The Fighting Irish received 22 first place votes from the 30-member national media panel. Baylor broke a tie with UConn for second, garnering seven top ballots. The Huskies got the other one and dropped to third. Louisville and Oregon rounded out the first five teams in the poll.

Stanford is sixth, followed by Mississippi State, N.C. State, Oregon State and Marquette. It’s the first time that the Golden Eagles have ever been ranked this high.

Tennessee dropped out of the poll after losing its fourth straight game last week. Minnesota, DePaul and Indiana also fell out of the Top 25.

WOMEN’S ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25

 

Record

Pts

Prv

1. Notre Dame (22)

18-1

735

1

2. Baylor (7)

15-1

713

2

3. UConn (1)

16-1

703

2

4. Louisville

17-1

651

4

5. Oregon

17-1

623

5

6. Stanford

16-1

608

6

7. Mississippi State

17-1

578

7

8. N.C. State

18-0

549

8

9. Oregon State

15-3

472

10

10. Marquette

16-3

460

14

11. Maryland

16-2

442

9

12. Texas

15-3

376

11

13. Syracuse

15-3

358

12

14. Rutgers

15-3

343

20

15. Kentucky

16-3

331

16

16. Arizona State

13-5

265

19

17. Iowa

14-4

261

22

18. Gonzaga

17-2

258

13

19. South Carolina

12-5

245

15

20. Iowa St.

14-4

145

18

21. Utah

16-1

138

22. Florida State

16-2

134

23. Michigan State

13-5

109

17

24. Texas A&M

14-4

45

25. Missouri

15-4

43

Others receiving votes: BYU 32, Tennessee 23, Minnesota 21, Drake 20, UCF 20, Clemson 11, South Dakota 11, California 9, DePaul 8, Miami 6, Boise St. 3, Indiana 1.