Thoughts on the AP Poll Week 17

Though Indiana has clung tight to its perch atop the AP Poll, other top-ranked teams continue to falter. With the regular season drawing closer and closer to its finish, here's a look at the latest AP Poll.

Indiana and Gonzaga top the polls

Indiana is ranked in the top slot for the fourth week in a row and seems to be separating themselves from the rest of the pack as the clear national championship favorite. The Hoosiers won on the road against then-No. 4 Michigan State in their only game of the week, and received all but one first place vote. Gonzaga came in behind Indiana at No. 2, the highest ranking the Bulldogs have ever achieved. They also become the first team from a non-power conference to be ranked this high since Memphis did so in 2008. Gonzaga has looked dominant in WCC play and sit undefeated in conference play at 14-0.

Duke moves back into the top-three

Duke looked as dominant as they have all year in two blowout ACC victories over Virginia Tech and Boston College, allowing them to move up three spots to No. 3. With the news that Ryan Kelly will be back at some point this season, things are looking as bright as they have in weeks for the Blue Devils. Freshmen Rasheed Sulaimon and Amile Jefferson both set career highs in points on Sunday—27 for Sulaimon and 14 for Jefferson—and Mason Plumlee bounced back from a slump by posting back-to-back double doubles this week. After Miami’s loss to Wake Forest on Saturday, there is still hope for at least chance at the share of the ACC title, especially if Duke can knock off the No. 5 Hurricanes in Cameron this coming Saturday. That should be an exciting top-five matchup this weekend.

Winners and losers from this week

Surprising Saint Louis was the biggest mover in the polls this week, going from unranked to No. 18 after two wins against ranked opponents in VCU and Butler—with the latter coming in Hinkle Fieldhouse. Georgetown moved up four spots to No. 7 after an impressive road victory at Syracuse this weekend. Michigan State followed their tough loss to Indiana with another loss to Ohio State and dropped five spots to No. 9, the largest fall of the week. Other top-10 teams that lost this week were Florida and the aforementioned Syracuse, making them fall to No. 8 and No. 12 respectively.