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Spartan basketball falls out of the AP rankings

November 28, 2016
Members of the men's basketball team huddle up during a game against Florida Gulf Coast on Nov. 20, 2016 at Breslin Center. The Spartans defeated the Eagles, 78-77.
Members of the men's basketball team huddle up during a game against Florida Gulf Coast on Nov. 20, 2016 at Breslin Center. The Spartans defeated the Eagles, 78-77.

After winning two out of their three games in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament and capturing the third place title, the MSU men's basketball team has fallen out of the AP poll.

The Spartans made it tough on the voters, with their three losses coming from ranked teams in Arizona, Kentucky and Baylor. However, it was not enough for the voters to keep a 4-3 team in the poll.

Three other teams fell out of the polls as well, No. 22 Texas and University of Michigan and Florida State, which were tied for No. 25.

For the second straight week, the Kentucky Wildcats and defending national champions Villanova are the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation, respectively. Kentucky received 40 first place votes while Villanova received 20.

After handily winning the Maui Invitational, defeating then-No. 16 Wisconsin, head coach Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels moved up one spot to become the No. 3 team in the nation and received four first place votes.

Rounding out the top 5 are the Kansas Jayhawks who moved up one to attain the No. 4 spot in the rankings and the injury-riddled Duke Blue Devils, the No. 5 team in the nation.

After capturing the Battle 4 Atlantis title and defeating two ranked teams in then-No. 24 MSU and then-No. 10 Louisville on their way, the Baylor Bears (6-0) became the No. 9 team in the poll and received one first place vote. Baylor made the largest jump out of any team, moving up 11 spots this week.

This weeks poll also featured Butler, South Carolina and Florida. All three of these teams are making their first appearance in the Top 25 this season. South Carolina defeated then-No. 25 U-M last week.

Here is the full AP Top 25 poll for week four (First place votes in parentheses):

1. Kentucky (40)

2. Villanova (20)

3. North Carolina (4)

4. Kansas

5. Duke

6. Virginia

7. Xavier

8. Gonzaga

9. Baylor (1)

10. Creighton

11. UCLA

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12. Saint Mary's

13. Indiana

14. Louisville

15. Purdue

16. Arizona

17. Wisconsin

18. Butler

19. Iowa State

20. South Carolina

21. Rhode Island

22. Syracuse

23. Oregon

24. Florida

25. West Virginia

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