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The Villanova Wildcats took a slight stumble in the polls down to #17 after last night’s loss to St. John’s. The four spot drop is a small setback, but doesn’t put the Wildcats out of striking range for one of the coveted Top 16 overall seeds in the NCAA tournament.
Despite winning their only game against DePaul, #11 Marquette also dropped a spot in the polls after being jumped by Michigan State. St. John’s, now 3-1 against the top two teams in the Big East, jumped back into the receiving votes category.
Outside of the Big East, the big news was the change at the top of the poll. With Tennessee’s blowout loss to Kentucky over the weekend, #1 Duke reclaimed the top spot in the poll but shares first place votes with #2 Gonzaga.
#17 Villanova will look to return to their winning ways this Wednesday at Georgetown.
2018-19 AP Poll: Week 16
| Rank | Team | Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | Record | Points |
| 1 | Duke | 23-2 | 1,594 (58) |
| 2 | Gonzaga | 25-2 | 1,502 (6) |
| 3 | Virginia | 22-2 | 1,476 |
| 4 | Kentucky | 21-4 | 1,383 |
| 5 | Tennessee | 23-2 | 1,376 |
| 6 | Nevada | 24-1 | 1,240 |
| 7 | Michigan | 23-3 | 1,150 |
| 8 | North Carolina | 20-5 | 1,129 |
| 9 | Houston | 25-1 | 1,085 |
| 10 | Michigan State | 21-5 | 1,046 |
| 11 | Marquette | 21-4 | 987 |
| 12 | Kansas | 20-6 | 801 |
| 13 | LSU | 21-4 | 773 |
| 14 | Texas Tech | 21-5 | 733 |
| 15 | Purdue | 18-7 | 699 |
| 16 | Florida State | 20-5 | 525 |
| 17 | Villanova | 20-6 | 519 |
| 18 | Louisville | 18-8 | 507 |
| 19 | Iowa State | 19-6 | 426 |
| 20 | Virginia Tech | 20-5 | 408 |
| 21 | Iowa | 20-5 | 389 |
| 22 | Wisconsin | 17-8 | 250 |
| 23 | Kansas State | 19-6 | 249 |
| 24 | Maryland | 19-7 | 211 |
| 25 | Buffalo | 22-3 | 164 |
Others Receiving Votes: Cincinnati 99, Wofford 32, Auburn 21, Washington 20, St. John’s 2, Mississippi St. 2, Mississippi 1, Yale 1
Polling History
Some interesting Villanova AP Poll facts from College Poll Archive and College Poll Tracker:
- It’s Villanova’s 380th ranking in the AP Poll (17th All-Time)
- It’s Villanova’s 6th consecutive week in the AP Poll (Tied for 16th longest active streak)
- The only AP voter to rank Villanova all season has been Jeff Call
Additional Polling Data
Some would argue these “experts” are more relevant than the AP Poll.
KenPom: Nova is 22nd overall, 11th in Adj. Offense, and 75th in Adj. Defense
Sagarin: Nova is 14th overall, 17th in Predictive, 12th in Golden Mean, and 22nd in Recent
Massey: Nova is 24th overall, 19th in Power Rating, 41st in Offense, and 15th in Defense
NET: Nova is 20th overall, previously 19th
Kendrick: Anna Kendrick was featured in the September 2016 edition of #Seventeen Magazine Mexico
And if you’re looking for another set of rankings to care about, try reading Rankings 101.