Michigan State up to No. 4 in AP college basketball poll

Michigan State went 3-0 last week and improved to No. 4 from No. 8 in the Associated Press college basketball poll, released Monday.

The Spartans (5-0) defeated Duke, Detroit Mercy and Western Michigan.

For the second consecutive week, Michigan (4-0) is just outside the top 25.

Gonzaga and Baylor remained atop the poll after their hotly anticipated weekend game in Indianapolis was called off about 90 minutes before tipoff because of positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing within the Bulldogs’ program.

Gonzaga received 54 of 61 first-place votes from a national media panel while the Bears had the other seven. Iowa remained third after Luka Garza’s monster week powered the Hawkeyes to a pair of easy victories.

Illinois allowed the Big Ten to keep three teams in the top six after then-No. 4 Wisconsin took a tumble with a last-second loss to Marquette. The Illini were followed by Houston, Creighton, Villanova and Duke.

More: Joey Hauser's fine-tuned shot levels Western Michigan in lopsided Michigan State victory

There were plenty of high-impact matchups during college basketball’s second full week, but none as widely anticipated as Gonzaga-Baylor at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Zags already had knocked off the Jayhawks and No. 11 West Virginia along with Auburn while the Bears were soaring after a win over Illinois.

But when two members of the Bulldogs’ traveling party, including one player, produced a positive coronavirus test before their game was to tip on Saturday, it forced public health officials and school officials to call it off.

While both teams hope to reschedule the game, they are also left looking ahead to more tests. The Bulldogs have canceled their next four games as they continue to deal with the virus, leaving their next game a high-profile matchup with the Hawkeyes on Dec. 17. Baylor will soon open Big 12 play against No. 13 Texas.

Kentucky not only fell from No. 20 out of the poll after its third straight loss, this time a blowout at the hands of Georgia Tech, but coach John Calipari’s bunch didn’t receive a single vote. Kentucky (1-3) is off to its worst start since the 2000-01 season, when it went 24-10 under Tubby Smith.

AP poll

1. Gonzaga, 3-0 record, 1518 points (last week: 1)

2. Baylor, 3-0, 1470 (2)

3. Iowa, 3-0, 1385 (3)

4. Michigan State, 5-0, 1296 (8)

5. Kansas, 4-1, 1195 (7)

6. Illinois, 3-1, 1104 (5)

7. Houston, 4-0, 1090 (10)

8. Creighton, 3-0, 1068 (9)

9. Villanova, 4-1, 1033 (12)

10. Duke, 2-1, 954 (6)

11. West Virginia, 4-1, 918 (11)

12. Tennessee, 0-0, 767 (13)

13. Wisconsin, 3-1, 750 (4)

13. Texas, 4-1, 750 (17)

15. Virginia Tech, 4-0, 688 (16)

16. North Carolina, 3-1, 547 (14)

17. Texas Tech, 4-1, 541 (17)

18. Virginia, 3-1, 474 (15)

19. Richmond, 2-0, 419 (19)

20. Florida State, 1-0, 350 (22)

21. Rutgers, 3-0, 293 (24)

22. Ohio State, 3-0, 287 (23)

23. Arizona State, 3-1, 218 (25)

24. San Diego State, 4-0, 123 (NR)

25. Louisville, 4-0, 122 (NR)

►First-place votes: Gonzaga 54, Baylor 7.

►Others receiving votes: Michigan 107, Saint Louis 94, Florida 90, Indiana 40, Oregon 26, Oklahoma State 26, Marquette 22, Missouri 19, UConn 12, Xavier 9, Clemson 7, Alabama 5, Washington State 3, Maryland 2, UCLA 1, SMU 1, Oklahoma 1.