Ohio State moved up three spots in Monday’s latest AP Top 25 Poll to enhance its ranking from No. 7 to No. 4 following a week in which the Buckeyes defeated then-No. 8 Iowa to extend their winning streak to four games.

The Buckeyes’ upward trajectory was also aided by several losses among the top six teams in the nation this past week.

Villanova, which started the week at No. 3, dropped a road game at St. John’s by a double-digit margin, No. 5 Houston lost to East Carolina this past Wednesday and No. 6 Texas lost its second and third games in a row, as No. 2 Baylor and Oklahoma State each got the better of the Longhorns.

After losing to Ohio State, Iowa –– the third-highest-ranked team in the Big Ten entering this week –– lost to Indiana to give the Hawkeyes four losses in their past five games. Iowa dropped to No. 15 in the poll on Monday.

RELATED: Game Preview: Buckeyes vie for fifth-straight win Monday at Maryland

Michigan, which stayed at No. 4 last week and improved to No. 3 on Monday, has not played a game since Jan. 22 due to COVID-19 issues, and is not scheduled for another contest until Sunday, when the Wolverines are slated to take on Wisconsin.

Elsewhere in the Big Ten, Illinois climbed to No. 6 after tallying wins against Indiana and Wisconsin this week, while the Badgers went 1-1 in the past seven days and moved to No. 21 in Monday’s poll.

Purdue made its first appearance in the AP Poll last week, debuting at No. 24, but the Boilermakers lost to Maryland in their first game with a ranking next to their name. However, Purdue bounced back to beat Northwestern and remain at No. 24 in the poll on Monday.

Rutgers also found itself back in the poll Monday, coming in at No. 25 after spending the past four weeks unranked. The Scarlet Knights were as high as No. 11 earlier in the season.

Ohio State has two games in the week to come, with a 9 p.m. road matchup with Maryland taking place on Monday night, and a Saturday home meeting with Indiana taking place on Saturday.