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The Villanova Wildcats (8-1, 3-0) have maintained their #3 ranking in the newest AP Poll released on Monday despite not playing a single basketball game since December 23rd.
Gonzaga remains the nation’s #1 collecting 63 of the 64 First Place votes; Baylor, at #2, tallied the other First Place vote to stay at #2 for the seventh consecutive week. Texas and Iowa round out the Top 5.
BIG EAST frenemies Creighton dropped to #8 and Connecticut entered the poll at #25; the Huskies’ first inclusion in the AP Top 25 since 2016-17. Xavier also represents the Conference in the “Also Receiving Votes” category.
Ohio State returned to the rankings at #21, while Rutgers and Florida State dropped out of the poll.
The Villanova program is on its second mandatory COVID hiatus due to positive tests by two players. ‘Nova is next set to play on January 19th when they host Seton Hall.
January 11, 2021 AP Poll
| RK | TEAM | REC | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | REC | PTS |
| 1 | Gonzaga (63) | 12-0 | 1599 |
| 2 | Baylor (1) | 11-0 | 1536 |
| 3 | Villanova | 8-1 | 1436 |
| 4 | Texas | 10-1 | 1422 |
| 5 | Iowa | 11-2 | 1322 |
| 6 | Kansas | 10-2 | 1220 |
| 7 | Michigan | 10-0 | 1161 |
| 8 | Creighton | 10-2 | 1151 |
| 9 | Wisconsin | 10-2 | 1110 |
| 10 | Tennessee | 9-1 | 1093 |
| 11 | Houston | 10-1 | 993 |
| 12 | Clemson | 9-1 | 747 |
| 13 | West Virginia | 9-4 | 701 |
| 14 | Illinois | 9-4 | 694 |
| 15 | Texas Tech | 10-3 | 689 |
| 16 | Louisville | 8-1 | 464 |
| 17 | Missouri | 7-2 | 436 |
| 18 | Virginia | 7-2 | 403 |
| 19 | Duke | 5-2 | 397 |
| 20 | Virginia Tech | 9-2 | 286 |
| 21 | Ohio State | 9-3 | 280 |
| 22 | Oregon | 9-2 | 264 |
| 23 | Minnesota | 10-4 | 233 |
| 24 | Saint Louis | 7-1 | 220 |
| 25 | UConn | 6-1 | 181 |