In a bit of a head-scratching move, the Michigan Wolverines' basketball team remained outside the Associated Press top 25 today, despite Wednesday's blowout win over Ball State and last night's 80-58 destruction of Central Florida.

The Maize and Blue didn't move at all following the two victories, having entered the week at No. 26 nationally and remaining there today. Two clubs who hadn't been ranked leapfrogged Michigan to jump into the top 25, with Louisville entering at No. 25 and San Diego State at No. 24.

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Why? That's a great question. The Aztecs' week consisted of an 83-41 win over St. Katherine and a 65-60 triumph over Pepperdine, while the Cardinals' week saw the team blow out Western Kentucky, 75-54.

It's safe to say U-M's 80-58 annihilation of UCF was more impressive than any of those three aforementioned victories from San Diego State and Louisville. Nevertheless, the Big Ten still has six teams rated inside the AP top 25, with Iowa at No. 3, Michigan State at No. 4, Illinois at No. 6, Wisconsin at No. 13, Rutgers at No. 21 and Ohio State at No. 22.

The Wolverines aren't the only league member on the verge of the top 25, with Indiana also lurking at No. 29. This is due to impressive blowout wins over Providence and Stanford in the Maui Invitational last week, though a 66-44 loss to Texas last Tuesday is what's keeping the Hoosiers out.

There was significant movement among the nation's top five teams, though Gonzaga, Baylor and Iowa all remained ranked as the top three, respectively. Michigan State, however, jumped from No. 8 to No. 4 thanks in large part to its 75-69 win at Duke, while Kansas jumped Duke and Illinois to ascend to No. 5.

The voters didn't punish the Fighting Illini significantly for their 82-69 loss to Baylor on Wednesday, only dropping them one spot to No. 6 nationally. The committee wasn't kind to Wisconsin, however, dropping the Badgers nine spots from No. 4 to No. 13 following their last-second loss at Marquette on Friday night.

The Wolverines will have another chance to add to their resume when they host NC State Wednesday night at Crisler Center (assuming the game gets played), before conference action tips off Sunday with a visit from the Penn State Nittany Lions.

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