Duke strengthens No. 1 spot after Michigan State win

Nov 20, 2017 - 7:19 PM Duke strengthened its hold on the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press college basketball poll after beating then-No. 2 Michigan State last week.

The Blue Devils received 54 of the 65 first-place votes, with the other 11 going to Arizona, which moved up one spot to No. 2. Duke picked up 20 more first-place selections than last week.

Michigan State, which lost 88-81 to the Blue Devils at the Champions Classic in Chicago on Tuesday, dropped to No. 4, one spot behind Kansas. Villanova stayed put at No. 5.

Much of the rest of the poll was virtually unchanged. Only one team -- Northwestern, which lost to Creighton and Texas Tech last week after being ranked 20th -- fell out. Alabama slipped in at No. 25.

Wichita State remains No. 6, followed by Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina and USC to round out the top 10. Kentucky dropped one spot after losing to Kansas last week at the Champions Classic.

The next seven teams stayed the same -- Miami, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Xavier, Texas A&M and Gonzaga. No. 18 Purdue and No. 19 Louisville switched spots. Seton Hall is No. 20.

The final five are Saint Mary's, Baylor, West Virginia and UCLA (tied at 23rd), and Alabama.

There could be plenty of shake-up in next week's poll following potentially big matchups in holiday tournaments.

Duke, Michigan State, Florida, North Carolina and Gonzaga are among the 16 teams at the PK80-Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Ore., which starts Thursday. Wichita State and Notre Dame are playing in the Maui Invitational, which ends Wednesday. Arizona and Villanova could meet in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament on Paradise Island, Bahamas, which is held Wednesday through Friday.