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Let's jump right in here:
AP Poll
| Rank | Team | Record | Pts | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan State Spartans (64) | 13-0 | 1623 | 1 |
| 2 | Kansas Jayhawks (1) | 10-1 | 1534 | 2 |
| 3 | Oklahoma Sooners | 11-0 | 1498 | 3 |
| 4 | Maryland Terrapins | 11-1 | 1428 | 4 |
| 5 | Virginia Cavaliers | 10-1 | 1351 | 5 |
| 6 | Xavier Musketeers | 12-0 | 1296 | 6 |
| 7 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 11-2 | 1219 | 7 |
| 8 | Arizona Wildcats | 12-1 | 1081 | 8 |
| 9 | Butler Bulldogs | 10-1 | 984 | 9 |
| 10 | Kentucky Wildcats | 10-3 | 963 | 10 |
| 11 | Iowa State Cyclones | 10-1 | 938 | 11 |
| 12 | Providence Friars | 12-1 | 923 | 12 |
| 13 | Miami-Florida Hurricanes | 10-1 | 867 | 13 |
| 14 | Purdue Boilermakers | 12-1 | 818 | 14 |
| 15 | Duke Blue Devils | 9-2 | 781 | 15 |
| 16 | Villanova Wildcats | 9-2 | 643 | 16 |
| 17 | SMU Mustangs | 11-0 | 636 | 17 |
| 18 | Louisville Cardinals | 11-2 | 516 | 18 |
| 19 | West Virginia Mountaineers | 10-1 | 500 | 19 |
| 20 | Texas A&M Aggies | 9-2 | 371 | 20 |
| 21 | Utah Utes | 10-2 | 224 | 21 |
| 22 | Cincinnati Bearcats | 10-3 | 199 | 22 |
| 23 | Baylor Bears | 9-2 | 195 | 23 |
| 24 | South Carolina Gamecocks | 11-0 | 175 | 24 |
| 25 | UCLA Bruins | 9-5 | 51 | 25 |
| Others Receiving Votes: Connecticut 49, Oregon 45, Gonzaga 44, Pittsburgh 42, Geo. Wash. 40, Dayton 19, Colorado 15, Monmouth 11, Northwestern 11, Vanderbilt 10, Iowa 7, Texas Tech 6, Texas 4, Florida 4, St. Joseph's 2, Mississippi 1, St. Mary's 1 | ||||
USA Today Coaches Poll
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan St (26) | 13-0 | 746 |
| 2 | Oklahoma (3) | 11-0 | 707 |
| 3 | Kansas (1) | 10-1 | 691 |
| 4 | Maryland | 11-2 | 661 |
| 5 | Virginia | 10-1 | 627 |
| 6 | Xavier | 12-0 | 590 |
| 7 | Arizona | 12-1 | 526 |
| 8 | North Carolina | 1-2 | 513 |
| 9 | Iowa St. | 10-1 | 465 |
| 10 | Butler | 10-1 | 452 |
| 10 | Kentucky | 10-2 | 452 |
| 12 | Duke | 9-2 | 422 |
| 13 | Providence | 12-1 | 380 |
| 14 | Purdue | 12-1 | 367 |
| 15 | Miami-Florida | 10-1 | 353 |
| 16 | Villanova | 9-2 | 299 |
| 17 | West Virginia | 10-1 | 290 |
| 18 | Louisville | 11-2 | 242 |
| 19 | Texas A&M | 9-2 | 212 |
| 20 | South Carolina | 11-0 | 153 |
| 21 | Baylor | 9-2 | 140 |
| 22 | Utah | 10-2 | 89 |
| 23 | Cincinnati | 10-3 | 87 |
| 24 | Gonzaga | 10-3 | 79 |
| 25 | Pittsburgh | 10-1 | 49 |
| Others Receiving Votes Connecticut 46; George Washington 25; UCLA 18; Oregon 17; Notre Dame 15; Vanderbilt 10; Dayton 7; Colorado 5; Texas 4; California 3; Indiana 3; Monmouth 2; Texas Tech 1; Southern California 1; Saint Mary?s 1 | |||
Since the last time a poll dropped, it seems like everyone above Xavier was down big or on the ropes, but they all managed to pull their respective Yuletide contests out, so the top is fairly static. On the flip side of that coin, Xavier was also down big against Wake before coming alive and ruining the hopes of everyone ranked #7 or below, so I guess that's just how things go.
This is probably the biggest first week of conference play in Xavier history, playing at 16/16 Villanova before hosting 9/10 Butler. Winning either of those games would be a pretty big ask in isolation, but that's what you would expect of a team that's actually as good as we hope Xavier to be. If the Muskies sweep this week, their case for some #1 votes will be pretty hard to ignore.