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Here's where we are in Week 17 of the college basketball season with the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Polls. The revolving door that is the top spot in college basketball this season is now headed by Kansas in both polls, by relatively significant margins. Michigan State is No. 2, ahead of No. 3 Villanova in the AP Poll. The Spartans and Wildcats are flipped in the Coaches Poll. Virginia and Xavier round out the top five in both polls, ranked No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati is coming off a week in which they won their only game; a 65-56 win over East Carolina on Saturday. The Bearcats were rewarded with another vote in the AP Top 25 Poll, bringing their current total to four with two games remaining in the regular season. The Bearcats are still being ignored in the Coaches Poll.
These polls really don't mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things, especially for a team that has much larger aspirations (see: NCAA Tournament) than returning to the top 25 polls. For what it's worth though, Cincinnati has now added a vote each of the last two weeks and still has a chance to possibly crack the rankings before postseason play.
This week, Cincinnati travels to Houston to take on the 21-8 (11-6) Cougars on Thursday and then hosts the currently No. 24 SMU Mustangs who are 24-4 (12-4) on the season on Sunday. Win those games and the Bearcats should at least be sitting on more than four votes come next week.
AP Top 25
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas (63) | 25-4 | 1,623 |
| 2 | Michigan State (2) | 24-5 | 1,510 |
| 3 | Villanova | 25-4 | 1,479 |
| 4 | Virginia | 22-6 | 1,405 |
| 5 | Xavier | 25-4 | 1,356 |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 22-6 | 1,297 |
| 7 | Miami (FL) | 23-5 | 1,211 |
| 8 | North Carolina | 23-6 | 1,205 |
| 9 | Oregon | 23-6 | 1,065 |
| 10 | West Virginia | 22-7 | 1,056 |
| 11 | Louisville | 22-7 | 822 |
| 12 | Indiana | 23-6 | 819 |
| 13 | Utah | 23-7 | 751 |
| 14 | Maryland | 23-6 | 733 |
| 15 | Purdue | 22-7 | 613 |
| 16 | Iowa | 20-8 | 572 |
| 17 | Duke | 21-8 | 495 |
| 18 | Arizona | 22-7 | 450 |
| 19 | Baylor | 21-8 | 447 |
| 20 | Texas A&M | 22-7 | 419 |
| 21 | Iowa State | 20-9 | 413 |
| 22 | Kentucky | 21-8 | 405 |
| 23 | Texas | 19-10 | 338 |
| 24 | SMU | 24-4 | 196 |
| 25 | California | 21-8 | 178 |
| Others receiving votes: Wisconsin 93, Seton Hall 60, Wichita St 43, Saint Joseph's 29, Notre Dame 14, Texas Tech 12, Cincinnati 4, Vanderbilt 3, Saint Mary's 3, Arkansas-Little Rock 2, Valparaiso 2, Dayton 1, Stephen F. Austin 1 | |||
| Dropped out: Notre Dame 23. | |||
USA TODAY Coaches Poll
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | PREV | HI/LOW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas (31) | 25-4 | 799 | 2 | 1/7 |
| 2 | Villanova | 25-4 | 734 | 1 | 1/17 |
| 3 | Michigan St (1) | 24-5 | 733 | 7 | 1/13 |
| 4 | Virginia | 22-6 | 673 | 3 | 3/13 |
| 5 | Xavier | 25-4 | 637 | 5 | 4/NR |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 22-6 | 623 | 4 | 1/8 |
| 7 | Miami-Florida | 23-5 | 607 | 11 | 9/NR |
| 8 | North Carolina | 23-6 | 584 | 6 | 1/11 |
| 9 | West Virginia | 22-7 | 518 | 12 | 7/23 |
| 10 | Oregon | 23-6 | 510 | 13 | 12/NR |
| 11 | Indiana | 23-6 | 434 | 15 | 14/NR |
| 12 | Maryland | 23-6 | 405 | 9 | 2/9 |
| 13 | Purdue | 22-7 | 330 | 19 | 8/24 |
| 13 | Utah | 23-7 | 330 | 23 | 16/NR |
| 15 | Iowa | 20-8 | 321 | 8 | 4/NR |
| 16 | Arizona | 22-7 | 307 | 10 | 6/20 |
| 17 | Baylor | 21-8 | 288 | 16 | 13/25 |
| 18 | Texas A&M | 22-7 | 261 | 21 | 5/NR |
| 19 | Kentucky | 21-8 | 226 | 14 | 1/21 |
| 20 | Iowa St. | 20-9 | 221 | 17 | 2/21 |
| 21 | Duke | 21-8 | 211 | 18 | 3/NR |
| 22 | Texas | 19-10 | 187 | 25 | 25/NR |
| 23 | Wichita St. | 23-7 | 68 | 28 | 11/NR |
| 24 | St. Mary's | 24-4 | 61 | 27 | 25/NR |
| 25 | California | 21-8 | 58 | 32 | 13/NR |
| Others receiving votes: Wisconsin 52; Notre Dame 42; Seton Hall 39; Texas Tech 36; Providence 28; St. Joseph's 17; Pittsburgh 17; South Carolina 16; Dayton 14; Valparaiso 6; St. Bonaventure 4; Colorado 2; Arkansas-Little Rock 1. | |||||
| Dropped out: No. 20 Notre Dame, No. 22 Dayton, No. 24 Providence. | |||||