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College Basketball AP Poll, Dec. 19: Instant Reactions

By Chris Stone

Dec 17, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Malik Monk (5) celebrates after the Wildcats defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 103-100 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 17, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Malik Monk (5) celebrates after the Wildcats defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 103-100 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports /
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The AP Poll is out. Here’s what caught our eye.

Mondays are always a big day in the college basketball universe because it’s the day when the Associated Press releases its weekly poll of media members around the country. The poll identifies the top 25 teams in the country based on a wide variety of interpretations according to each voter. We thought it would be fun, then, to share some reactions to the poll each week after it goes public. Here’s what we’ve come up with based on the Dec. 19 poll.

1. It’ll be tough to move up the top of the rankings this season

The top six teams in the poll — Villanova, UCLA, Kansas, Baylor, Duke and Kentucky — remain unchanged, which might be a bit of a disappointment for Big Blue Nation. On Saturday, the Wildcats took down North Carolina in a thrilling 103-100 slugfest, picking up the biggest win of their season so far. Even on a neutral site, the win wasn’t enough to propel Kentucky up the rankings. Whether it’s because college hoops is simply loaded at the top this season or because voters are notoriously unwilling to move teams down unless they lose, the Wildcats will have to wait at least another week until they can crack the top five.

2. But it won’t be hard to fall

After losing to Kentucky, the Tarheels only fell one spot in the newly released poll, but other teams weren’t so lucky. South Carolina, a fringe top 25 squad, dropped a full six spots from 16 to 22 after losing a functional road game to Seton Hall last Monday. The Gamecocks were also without leading scorer Sindarius Thornwell in the three-point defeat. Similarly, Indiana also took a tumble, sliding from nine to 15 after a neutral court loss at Butler on Saturday. The Bulldogs are a top 15 team in their own right, which makes this drop a bit perplexing. Given the circumstances of both losses, it feels like voters were a little quick to pull the trigger, especially after they didn’t treat North Carolina the same way.

3. Undefeated teams still looking for respect

There are six undefeated teams left in college basketball. Of those six, three of them — Villanova, UCLA and Baylor — are ranked in the top five of the latest AP Poll. Three others — Gonzaga, Creighton and USC — are still looking for a bit more respect. Of those three, the Bulldogs have the best case to be a top five team so far. Gonzaga has neutral site wins over Arizona, Florida and Iowa State plus one of the most difficult offenses to guard in the country.

Next: College basketball week 6: 5 biggest takeaways

Meanwhile, Creighton and USC have both played sub-200 non-conference schedules, according to KenPom, so they may need to pick up a few big wins during Big East and Pac-12 play, respectively, before voters think about moving them up their ballots.