Michigan State tumbles in Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll
After debuting in the Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll last week, Michigan State took a tumble Monday.
The Spartans dropped eight spots to No. 20 in this week's poll, following a 2-1 showing at the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Oregon.
Michigan State, playing without regulars Jaden Akins and Malik Hall, opened the tournament with an 81-70 loss to then-No. 18 Alabama, before bouncing back with close victories over Oregon and host Portland.
Michigan (5-1) remains outside the Top 25, collecting eight points.
Houston is the new No. 1 team.
Nearly four decades after Clyde Drexler and Akeem Olajuwon took the Cougars to No. 1, the latest bunch led by Marcus Sasser and star freshman Jarace Walker took over the top spot in the AP Top 25. They received 45 of 63 first-place votes from the national media panel, easily outdistancing second-place Texas and third-place Virginia.
North Carolina had been No. 1 all season, but the Tar Heels lost to Iowa State and in a four-overtime thriller to Alabama at the Phil Knight Invitational to cede the top spot to Houston, which beat Kent State in its only game last week.
The last time the Cougars ascended to No. 1 was the final poll of the 1982-83 season, when “The Glide” and “The Dream” along with coach Guy Lewis were the favorites to win it all. They rolled through the NCAA Tournament before falling to Jim Valvano and North Carolina State in an iconic championship game in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Texas received eight first-place votes and Virginia received two. Arizona climbed from 14th to fourth after emerging from a stacked field to win the Maui Invitational. Purdue jumped from 24th all the way to fifth and scooped up eight first-place votes after beating West Virginia, Gonzaga and Duke at the Phil Knight Legacy tourney.
Baylor was sixth, Creighton seventh and U Conn climbed from 20th to eighth after beating Oregon, Alabama and Iowa State to win the Phil Knight Invitational. Kansas fell from third to ninth after losing to Tennessee in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis, while Indiana rounded out the top 10.
There was a tie for 11th between SEC rivals Alabama and Arkansas with the Volunteers, another conference foe, right behind them. Gonzaga dropped from sixth to 14th, its first time outside the top 10 since Feb. 5, 2018, and Auburn was 15th.
Illinois was next followed by Duke and North Carolina in a tough week for Tobacco Road. The Blue Devils fell from eighth after their 75-56 loss to the Boilermakers.
Associated Press Top 25
| Record | Pts | Prv | |
| 1. Houston (45) | 6-0 | 1534 | 2 |
| 2. Texas (8) | 5-0 | 1467 | 4 |
| 3. Virginia (2) | 5-0 | 1408 | 5 |
| 4. Arizona | 6-0 | 1341 | 14 |
| 5. Purdue (8) | 6-0 | 1307 | 24 |
| 6. Baylor | 5-1 | 1111 | 7 |
| 7. Creighton | 6-1 | 1100 | 10 |
| 8. UConn | 8-0 | 1099 | 20 |
| 9. Kansas | 6-1 | 990 | 3 |
| 10. Indiana | 6-0 | 938 | 11 |
| 11. Arkansas | 5-1 | 860 | 9 |
| 11. Alabama | 6-1 | 860 | 18 |
| 13. Tennessee | 5-1 | 848 | 22 |
| 14. Gonzaga | 5-2 | 845 | 6 |
| 15. Auburn | 7-0 | 733 | 13 |
| 16. Illinois | 5-1 | 643 | 16 |
| 17. Duke | 6-2 | 614 | 8 |
| 18. North Carolina | 5-2 | 541 | 1 |
| 19. Kentucky | 4-2 | 472 | 15 |
| 20. Michigan State | 5-2 | 469 | 12 |
| 21. UCLA | 5-2 | 346 | 19 |
| 22. Maryland | 6-0 | 282 | 23 |
| 23. Iowa State | 5-1 | 198 | - |
| 24. San Diego State | 4-2 | 189 | 17 |
| 25. Ohio State | 5-1 | 108 | - |
Others receiving votes: TCU 45, Iowa 31, Coll of Charleston 20, West Virginia 14, Mississippi State 12, Texas Tech 11, Michigan 8, UNLV 6, Arizona State 6, Wisconsin 6, Miami 5, Oklahoma 2, Missouri 2, New Mexico 1, Kansas State 1, Virginia Tech 1, St. John's 1.
This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.