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After suffering their third loss of the season, the Cincinnati Bearcats took a giant step back in the nationally rankings, falling from No. 11 in the AP poll to No. 18. It is the lowest they have been ranked since the Jan. 23 poll update then they stood at No. 19.
Coincidentally, that No. 19 spot is now housed by SMU, which lifted itself up from No. 25 with a win over the then No. 11 Bearcats on Sunday. So now two teams that have been sharing the same zip code in the American Athletic Conference standings are in the same position on a national level.
As for the rest of the poll, despite the NCAA Tournament selection committee's choices, Gonzaga, Villanova, Kansas, Baylor and now Arizona make up the top five. With UCLA and Oregon at No. 6 and No. 7, respectively, the top 10 is littered with Pac-12 teams, while the ACC has two in the fold (Louisville at No. 8 and North Carolina at No. 10).
The rest of the poll can be found below.
AP Top 25 Week 15
| RANK | SCHOOL | POINTS | RECORD | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RANK | SCHOOL | POINTS | RECORD | Prev |
| 1 | Gonzaga (60) | 1,620 | 26-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Villanova (5) | 1,564 | 24-2 | 2 |
| 3 | Kansas | 1,493 | 22-3 | 3 |
| 4 | Baylor | 1,394 | 22-3 | 6 |
| 5 | Arizona | 1,301 | 23-3 | 9 |
| 6 | UCLA | 1,276 | 23-3 | 10 |
| 7 | Oregon | 1,229 | 22-4 | 5 |
| 8 | Louisville | 1,204 | 20-5 | 4 |
| 9 | West Virginia | 1,012 | 20-5 | 13 |
| 10 | North Carolina | 1,005 | 21-5 | 8 |
| 11 | Wisconsin | 868 | 21-4 | 7 |
| 12 | Duke | 857 | 20-5 | 18 |
| 13 | Kentucky | 854 | 20-5 | 15 |
| 14 | Virginia | 825 | 18-6 | 12 |
| 15 | Florida | 717 | 20-5 | 17 |
| 16 | Purdue | 682 | 20-5 | 16 |
| 17 | Florida State | 665 | 21-5 | 14 |
| 18 | Cincinnati | 634 | 22-3 | 11 |
| 19 | SMU | 415 | 22-4 | 25 |
| 20 | Creighton | 298 | 21-4 | 23 |
| 21 | South Carolina | 296 | 20-5 | 19 |
| 22 | Saint Mary's (Cal) | 269 | 22-3 | 20 |
| 23 | Maryland | 136 | 21-4 | 21 |
| 24 | Butler | 129 | 19-6 | 22 |
| 25 | Notre Dame | 122 | 19-7 | NR |