Gonzaga-Baylor remain 1-2 in AP Top 25; Texas rises to No. 4

Updated Jan. 4, 2021 1:41 p.m. ET

Associated Press

While Gonzaga and Baylor remain firmly atop The Associated Press men's college basketball poll, Shaka Smart and fourth-ranked Texas are making a push into the rankings' top tier, too.

The top-ranked Zags and second-ranked Bears remained 1-2 in

“If this is the peak on Jan. 2, that would be really, really disappointing,” Smart said

Texas (8-1) started the year at No. 19 and hadn't cracked the top 10 under Smart before this season. The Longhorns hadn't cracked the top five since spending three weeks at No. 3 followed by a week at No. 5 in February 2011 under former coach Rick Barnes.

THE TOP TIER

Mark Few’s Bulldogs earned 63 of 64 first-place votes in Monday's poll, while Scott Drew’s Bears received the other vote. Gonzaga and Baylor have been 1-2 in all seven polls so far this season.

Villanova climbed one spot to No. 3 on the same day the program announced a pause in team activities, including having three games postponed through Jan. 13, due to coronavirus issues.

Iowa, Kansas, Creighton, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Michigan rounded out the top 10, while No. 11 Houston and No. 14 West Virginia slid out from that group from last week.

RISING

The Wolverines (9-0) had the week's biggest jump, rising six spots after wins against

Iowa, No. 16 Minnesota and No. 19 Virginia Tech each climbed five spots, while No. 17 Oregon joined Texas and Creighton in rising four spots.

In all, 10 teams climbed from last week's rankings.

SLIDING

No. 25 Florida State had the week's biggest tumble, falling seven spots after

Houston and No. 23 Michigan State each fell six spots, while No. 18 Texas Tech joined West Virginia in sliding five spots.

No. 6 Kansas fell three spots after the Texas loss, bringing the total of teams that fell from last week's rankings to 11.

STATUS QUO

Gonzaga and Baylor were the only teams to hold their positions from last week.

WELCOME

No. 19 Clemson was back in the poll for the second time this season, tying fellow Atlantic Coast Conference team Virginia Tech. The other new addition was St. Louis, with the Billikens tying Michigan State at No. 23 to make their first AP Top 25 appearance since the 2013-14 season.

FAREWELL (FOR NOW)

Northwestern (No. 19) and Ohio State (No. 25) fell out of the poll to make room for Clemson and St. Louis.

CONFERENCE WATCH

The Big Ten continues to have the biggest haul of ranked teams, though the Big 12 has a strong showing in the poll's top tier.

The Big Ten has seven ranked teams, including three in the top 10 along with No. 12 Illinois and No. 15 Rutgers. But the Big 12 has three of the top six teams in Baylor, Texas and Kansas and five teams overall.

The ACC also has five teams, but again it's a backloaded bunch. The Tigers and Hokies are the highest ranked of that quintet at No. 19, followed by Duke, No. 22 Virginia and No. 25 FSU.

The Big East (Villanova and Creighton) and the Southeastern Conference (Tennessee and No. 13 Missouri) are the only other leagues with multiple ranked teams.

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More AP college basketball: http://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25

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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap