PHOENIX, AZ – MARCH 22: (R-L) Draymond Green #23 and Brandon Wood #30 of the Michigan State Spartans react in the first half while taking on the Louisville Cardinals during the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball West Regional Semifinal game at US Airways Center on March 22, 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
With the top-ranked Villanova Wildcats losing to Butler last week, it only made sense to promote the fiercely well-rounded Michigan State Spartans to the top spot in the AP Poll. Interestingly, the highly compelling Sun Devils only dropped one spot from third to fourth despite losing on the road to the Arizona Wildcats. This slight movement appears to be the AP Poll Committees way of expressing their respect for a program that has not been this elite in decades, which is a refreshing sentiment when you consider how quickly teams can fall from stardom after just one loss to a perceived underdog.
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Amongst the more surprising movements in the rankings or lack thereof was the Florida State Seminoles holding on to the 24th spot in the poll despite losing to Duke on Saturday. While the Seminoles were highly competitive and shot the basketball exceptionally well in loss to the Blue Devils, it’s somewhat unusual for a team ranked 20th-25th to lose a game and still remain ranked in the AP Poll. Beyond that, Arkansas’ ascendancy from being unranked to making their first AP Poll appearance at 22nd in the rankings was well deserved. A prolific offense that has been on a tear when it comes to shooting the basketball, the Razorbacks are finally receiving some recognition for their explosive scoring squad (90.4 PPG).
| Ranking | Team (1st place votes) |
| 1 | Michigan State (43) |
| 2 | Duke (21) |
| 3 | Villanova (1) |
| 4 | Arizona State |
| 5 | Xavier |
| 6 | West Virginia |
| 7 | Oklahoma |
| 8 | Virginia |
| 9 | Wichita State |
| 10 | Kansas |
| 11 | Texas A&M |
| 12 | North Carolina |
| 13 | Purdue |
| 14 | Arizona |
| 15 | Miami |
| 16 | TCU |
| 17 | Kentucky |
| 18 | Texas Tech |
| 19 | Cincinnati |
| 19 | Gonzaga |
| 21 | Seton Hall |
| 22 | Arkansas |
| 23 | Tennessee |
| 23 | Florida State |
| 25 | Clemson |
Although there are plenty of notable programs to admire and respect in the Big 12 Conference, the Mountaineers have looked like the most versatile and dominant program of the successful bunch. Possessing an opportunistic defense and a prolific offense, the well-balanced Mountaineers have the elite personnel and exceptional skill sets necessary to be potent on both sides of the court. With a compelling showdown against Oklahoma this weekend, the Mountaineers will get a grand opportunity to prove that they are for real as a top-ranked program.
Dropped from rankings: Baylor 18, Creighton 25
Others receiving votes that did not make the poll: Baylor 83, Creighton 54, Notre Dame 37, Butler 23, UCLA 14, Texas 10, St. Bonaventure 7, SMU 5, Syracuse 4, Auburn 4, Rhode Island 2, Nevada 2, Alabama 1, Mississippi State 1, New Mexico State 1, NC State 1
