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The Associated Press has released their Men’s Basketball Top 25 Poll for the seventh week of the 2016-17 season and the Villanova Wildcats remain at the top spot for the third consecutive week.
Jay Wright’s squad collected 56 of 65 first place votes as the Wildcats (11-0) defeated the Temple Owls by 21 in a one-game week as the student athletes prepared for semester exams. The victory marked a sweep of the Philadelphia Big 5 for the fourth straight year; a feat that had never been accomplished previously.
UCLA, Kansas, Baylor, and Duke round out the top 5.
The BIG EAST was also represented by Creighton at #9, Butler at #13 (jumping up five spots), and Xavier at #17.
Villanova next returns to the court on Wednesday to take on American in the team’s penultimate non-conference game of the season.
AP Top 25
| RANK | SCHOOL | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RANK | SCHOOL | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
| 1 | Villanova (56) | 11-0 | 1,614 | 1 |
| 2 | UCLA (3) | 12-0 | 1,514 | 2 |
| 3 | Kansas | 10-1 | 1,450 | 3 |
| 4 | Baylor (6) | 11-0 | 1,439 | 4 |
| 5 | Duke | 10-1 | 1,385 | 5 |
| 6 | Kentucky | 10-1 | 1,337 | 6 |
| 7 | Gonzaga | 11-0 | 1,211 | 8 |
| 8 | North Carolina | 10-2 | 1,170 | 7 |
| 9 | Creighton | 11-0 | 1,058 | 10 |
| 10 | Louisville | 10-1 | 1,044 | 11 |
| 11 | West Virginia | 9-1 | 937 | 12 |
| 12 | Virginia | 9-1 | 886 | 13 |
| 13 | Butler | 10-1 | 821 | 18 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | 10-2 | 781 | 14 |
| 15 | Purdue | 9-2 | 754 | 15 |
| 16 | Indiana | 8-2 | 719 | 9 |
| 17 | Xavier | 9-2 | 542 | 17 |
| 18 | Arizona | 10-2 | 501 | 19 |
| 19 | Saint Mary's (Calif.) | 8-1 | 389 | 20 |
| 20 | Oregon | 10-2 | 299 | 22 |
| 21 | Florida State | 11-1 | 290 | 23 |
| 22 | South Carolina | 9-1 | 218 | 16 |
| 23 | Southern California | 10-0 | 212 | 24 |
| 24 | Cincinnati | 9-2 | 202 | 25 |
| 25 | Notre Dame | 9-2 | 188 | 21 |