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AP rankings update: Ohio State falls to No. 7

The Buckeyes have fallen out of the top five for the first time since Feb. 1.
The Buckeyes have fallen out of the top five for the first time since Feb. 1. (USA Today Sports)

Ohio State stayed at No. 4 in the AP Top 25 Poll for the past three weeks, but that was bound to change after three-straight losses in the past eight days.

The Buckeyes dropped three spots to fall to No. 7 in Monday’s updated poll after losing to Michigan State and Iowa this past week, making Ohio State the fourth-highest-ranked team in the Big Ten.

Ohio State slid to fifth place in the conference standings with its 73-57 loss to Luka Garza and Iowa at home on Sunday, and the Hawkeyes moved up to No. 5 from their previous No. 9 spot in the AP Poll.

Big Ten teams in AP Poll
Rank Team Record Previous rank

No. 2

Michigan

18-1

3

No. 4

Illinois

18-6

5

No. 5

Iowa

18-7

9

No. 7

Ohio State

18-7

4

No. 23

Purdue

16-8

N/A

No. 25

Wisconsin

16-9

23

Illinois, which has only lost one game since losing to the Buckeyes back on Jan. 16, jumped Ohio State in the rankings to slot in at No. 4 in the poll on Monday. The Fighting Illini had previously been just behind the Buckeyes at No. 5 for the past two weeks.

Ohio State hosts Illinois at home on Saturday for each program’s regular season finale.

Michigan ascended to its highest rank of the season on Monday, moving to No. 2 on the strength of blowout wins against Iowa and Indiana this past week. Baylor, the previous No. 2, lost its first game of the year to Kansas in a double-digit defeat on Saturday.

The Wolverines and Fighting Illini, the first and second-place teams in the Big Ten, will match up for the first time this year on Tuesday in Ann Arbor.

Gonzaga remained atop the AP Poll, where it has been since the preseason, as the Bulldogs stretched their undefeated streak to 24 games this past week.

Elsewhere in the Big Ten, Wisconsin dropped from No. 23 to No. 25 after going 1-1 this past week, with a win over Northwestern and a loss to Illinois. Wisconsin has not won back-to-back games since Jan. 20, and is now 4-6 in its past 10 games.

Purdue has climbed back into the rankings at No. 23 on the heels of a three-game win streak. The Boilermakers have been unranked since Feb. 15.

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