BUFFALO, NY – MARCH 18: Head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats reacts against the Wisconsin Badgers during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at KeyBank Center on March 18, 2017 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Traditionally, Christmas Day has never been particularly notable for viewing and enjoying a full slate of college hoops. Nevertheless, the tireless members of the AP Poll committee diligently released their consensus rankings for fanatically college basketball fans to ponder over. With North Carolina, Miami and Kentucky all succumbing to lesser opponents last week, there was some shakeup in the top-10. Although this perceived chaos was actually quite easy to rearrange rankings wise, it was simply a matter of deciding where to move the next teams in line. This week, Texas A&M moved up three spots to claim a coveted spot in the top five. Between their size and defensive capabilities, the Aggies have been able to utilize their sheer physicality to overwhelm the opposition.
Top 25 College Basketball Rankings 2017: Week 8
In terms of programs that fell down the rankings, none experienced a precipitous drop quite like that of the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Falling from 12th to 20th, the offensively efficient yet defensively inconsistent Bulldogs lost a heartbreaker on the road to a competitively gritty albeit unranked opponent in San Diego State. Despite the loss, the Bulldogs are still worthy of being a top-25 team as they are one the most well-coached and unselfish programs in the country. However, the Zags need to establish a much more well-balanced presence if they hope to regain footing in the rankings as a national powerhouse program.
| Ranking | Team (1st place votes) |
| 1 | Villanova (43) |
| 2 | Michigan State (16) |
| 3 | Arizona State (6) |
| 4 | Duke |
| 5 | Texas A&M |
| 6 | Xavier |
| 7 | West Virginia |
| 8 | Wichita State |
| 9 | Virginia |
| 10 | TCU |
| 11 | Kansas |
| 12 | Oklahoma |
| 13 | North Carolina |
| 14 | Purdue |
| 15 | Miami |
| 16 | Kentucky |
| 17 | Arizona |
| 18 | Baylor |
| 19 | Tennessee |
| 20 | Gonzaga |
| 21 | Cincinnati |
| 22 | Texas Tech |
| 23 | Seton Hall |
| 23 | Florida State |
| 25 | Creighton |
Despite being one of the few undefeated programs in the country, the Horned Frogs have yet to crack into the top-10. To be fair, their strength of schedule has not exactly been impressive as their only victory over a ranked opponent was against the Nevada Wolfpack who were ranked 22nd at the time (are currently unranked as of this week). However, if TCU can win their next three games against ranked Big 12 opponents (Oklahoma, Baylor, Kansas), they will quickly skyrocket up the rankings to become one of the many successful surprises in college basketball this season.
Dropped from rankings:
Others receiving votes that did not make the poll: Arkansas 85, Clemson 55, Notre Dame 40, Louisville 26, Texas 21, UCLA 12, Oklahoma State 8, SMU 5, St. Bonaventure 5, Auburn 5, New Mexico State 4, Rhode Island 2, Nevada 1, Stephen F. Austin 1, Florida 1, Michigan 1, Minnesota 1
