The Michigan Wolverines' basketball team made a significant jump in today's Associated Press Poll, rising from No. 25 nationally to No. 19. Here's the kicker though … U-M's six-spot leap came with the Maize and Blue not even having played a game this past week.
The Wolverines last took the court Dec. 13 against Penn State, and were ranked No. 25 the ensuing day following that win. The six teams Michigan leapfrogged in today's top 25 were Duke, Florida State, Ohio State, Clemson, San Diego State and Louisville.
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Three of those aforementioned teams fell out of the top 25 altogether, in the Aztecs, Cardinals and Tigers. Louisville had the worst week of the bunch, getting obliterated 85-48 at Wisconsin Saturday.
San Diego State's descension, meanwhile, came as a result of a 72-62 home loss to BYU Friday, while Clemson's drop occurred after it lost 66-60 at Virginia Tech Tuesday night.
The Big Ten still has half its clubs ranked, with seven squads checking in in this week's top 25 — Iowa at No. 4, Wisconsin at No. 9, Rutgers at No. 11, Michigan State at No. 12, Illinois at No. 18, Michigan at No. 19 and Ohio State at No. 23.
It's worth noting the Hawkeyes only dropped one spot following their 11-point loss to No. 1 Gonzaga Saturday, while Rutgers made a significant eight-spot leap after it enjoyed a 2-0 week with wins over Maryland and then-No. 13 Illinois.
The Fighting Illini are still ranked despite their 5-3 record, residing as the only three-loss ranked squad in the nation. The voters weren't kind to Michigan State following its 79-65 blowout loss at Northwestern last night, dropping it eight spots from No. 4 in the nation to No. 12.
The rest of the top five remained largely the same, with Gonzaga and Baylor still residing at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Kansas was the beneficiary of Iowa's loss to the Bulldogs, jumping it to move from No. 5 to No. 3.
Villanova entered the top five as a result of Michigan State's descent, meanwhile, rising from No. 7 to No. 5 and leaping No. 6 Houston in the process. Michigan's next game will be at Nebraska on Christmas Day, before heading to College Park, Md., for a New Year's Eve showdown with the Terrapins.
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