AP Top 25: Illinois enters Top 5; Loyola remains among ranked teams

Gonzaga and Baylor lead an unchanged quartet atop The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll.

By Aaron Beard | Associated Press

Illinois moved up to No. 5 in the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll.

Gonzaga and Baylor lead an unchanged quartet atop The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll, while Kansas has returned to the rankings at No. 23 after a one-week absence and Illinois entered the Top 5.

Loyola remained at No. 22.

Coach Mark Few’s Bulldogs received 59 of 64 first-place votes in Monday’s latest AP Top 25, while Scott Drew’s Bears claimed the other five. Those two teams have been 1-2 in all 13 polls this season and also headlined Saturday’s initial rankings for the committee that will select the field of 68 for the NCAA Tournament.

Next came three straight Big Ten teams, starting with No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 Ohio State in their same positions from last week, followed by Illinois in its return to the top 5 for the second time this season.

Illinois climbed to the top 5 for the second time this season, the other coming in late November, for the program’s highest ranking since reaching No. 1 during the 2004-05 season. The Illini dipped to No. 22 by January but have won five straight, including against Iowa and No. 21 Wisconsin.

Houston, Virginia, Alabama, Oklahoma and Villanova rounded out the top 10.

No. 14 Creighton had the week’s biggest climb, jumping five spots after a weekend win over Villanova. No. 20 Missouri took the biggest tumble, falling 10 spots after two losses in Southeastern Conference play last week.

The Jayhawks fell out of last week’s poll for the first time in 12 years, but their absence turned out to be a short one. Kansas was one of three new additions to this week’s poll, joined by No. 24 Arkansas — marking the Razorbacks’ first appearance since January 2018 — and No. 25 San Diego State.

Oklahoma State, Purdue and Rutgers fell out of the rankings.