Ohio State's rise in the rankings continued on Monday.
After beating North Carolina and Penn State in the past week, the Buckeyes moved up from No. 6 to No. 3 in the latest Associated Press top-25 poll. They earned five first-place votes, the second-most among all teams.
In the 25-point thrashing of the Tar Heels, the Buckeyes handed Roy Williams his worst loss at the Dean E. Smith Center in his career as North Carolina's head coach. Three days later, they beat the Nittany Lions by 32 points, scoring more than 100 points for the first time since 1991. Ohio State now has four wins against teams in the top 50 of KenPom's ratings, with three of the victories coming by at least 20 points.
Three other Big Ten teams – No. 4 Maryland, No. 5 Michigan and No. 16 Michigan State – join the Buckeyes in the top 25.
Villanova, which lost to Ohio State by 25 points nearly a month ago, is No. 20 in the AP poll. Louisville remains No. 1. The Cardinals lost to the Buckeyes in a closed-doors exhibition before the season began.
Ohio State has an extended layoff before heading on the road to take on Minnesota on Sunday. Six days later, it'll take on No. 8 Kentucky in Las Vegas as part of the CBS Sports Classic.
| Rank | Team | Conference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louisville (9-0) | ACC | 1,591 (55) |
| 2 | Kansas (7-1) | Big 12 | 1,486 (4) |
| 3 | Ohio State (9-0) | Big Ten | 1,464 (5) |
| 4 | Maryland (10-0) | Big Ten | 1,428 |
| 5 | Michigan (8-1) | Big Ten | 1,286 |
| 6 | Gonzaga (10-1) | West Coast | 1,235 |
| 7 | Duke (9-1) | ACC | 1,232 |
| 8 | Kentucky (7-1) | SEC | 1,170 |
| 9 | Virginia (8-1) | ACC | 1,060 |
| 10 | Oregon (7-2) | Pac-12 | 905 |
| 11 | Baylor (7-1) | Big 12 | 872 |
| 12 | Auburn (8-0) | SEC | 836 |
| 13 | Memphis (8-1) | AAC | 756 |
| 14 | Dayton (7-1) | A-10 | 672 |
| 15 | Arizona (9-1) | Pac-12 | 654 |
| 16 | Michigan State (6-3) | Big Ten | 637 |
| 17 | North Carolina (6-3) | ACC | 615 |
| 18 | Butler (9-0) | Big East | 529 |
| 19 | Tennessee (7-1) | SEC | 455 |
| 20 | Villanova (7-2) | Pac-12 | 285 |
| 21 | Florida State (8-2) | SEC | 253 |
| 22 | Seton Hall (6-3) | Big East | 250 |
| 23 | Xavier (9-1) | Big East | 216 |
| 24 | Colorado (7-1) | Pac-12 | 210 |
| 25 | San Diego State (10-0) | Mountain West | 197 |
