NCAA Basketball Top 25 Straw Poll: Week 17

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For once, there was not too much of a shakeup at the top of the rankings. Indiana defeated Michigan State to keep the No.1 spot, and Gonzaga, Michigan and Duke all rose to the top four thanks for Miami's loss at Wake Forest.

Read on to see the complete Top 25.

Voters: Jesse Kramer, Joe Tansey, Scott Henry, Thad Novak, Dan Vasta, Ryan Satsky, Robert Pace, Hayden Deitrick

Others Receiving Votes

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VCU, 7 points

UNLV, 6 points

Illinois, 4 points

North Carolina, 4 points

Wichita State, 4 points

Villanova, 4 points

Akron, 3 points

Connecticut, 2 points

UCLA, 2 points

Kentucky, 1 point

San Diego State, 1 point

St. Mary's, 1 point

25. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

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Points: 10

Record: 25-4, 17-1 Sun Belt

Last Week's Rank: Not Ranked

Notable Wins: Central Florida (Road), Ole Miss (Home)

Middle Tennessee cracked the Top 25 this week after blowing out South Alabama and Louisiana-Monroe.

The Blue Raiders are ranked No. 27 in RPI, and they have not lost since January 3.

24. Colorado State Rams

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Points: 21

Record: 21-6, 8-4 MWC

Last Week's Rank: 20

Notable Wins: UNLV (Home), San Diego State (Home)

Colorado State's chances at winning the Mountain West regular season title are now slim since the it lost to New Mexico on Saturday, but the Rams still sit in second place in the conference.

This week, they will face Fresno State and Boise State.

23. Marquette Golden Eagles

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Points: 28

Record: 19-7, 10-4 Big East

Last Week's Rank: 21

Notable Wins: Wisconsin (Home), UConn (Home), Georgetown (Home), Pitt (Road, Home)

Marquette was upset by Villanova on Saturday, dropping the Golden Eagles into a three-way tie for second place in the Big East.

With a loss to Syracuse on Monday, Marquette would drop into third place at best.

22. Pittsburgh Panthers

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Points: 31

Record: 21-7, 9-6 Big East

Last Week's Rank: T-17

Notable Wins: Georgetown (Road), Syracuse (Home), Cincinnati (Road)

Pittsburgh beat a tough St. John's team in Madison Square Garden on Sunday to move into seventh place in the Big East.

The Panthers have a relatively easy finish in the Big East with games against South Florida, Villanova and DePaul.

21. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

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Points: 34

Record: 22-6, 10-5 Big East

Last Week's Rank: 25

Notable Wins: Cincinnati (Road), Louisville (Home), Pitt (Road), Cincinnati (Home)

Notre Dame has won four of its last five games to stay within reach of the Big East regular season title.

The Fighting Irish are 1.5 games out of first place, and they will have to face Marquette and Louisville on the road before the end of the regular season.

20. Butler Bulldogs

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Points: 35

Record: 22-6, 9-4 A10

Last Week's Rank: 16

Notable Wins: Marquette (Neutral), UNC (Neutral), Indiana (Neutral), Gonzaga (Home)

For the second time in four games, Butler lost at home. The Bulldogs fell to Saint Louis on Saturday, dropping them to third place in the Atlantic 10.

The road does not get much easier for Butler with a game at Virginia Commonwealth this week.

19. Memphis Tigers

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Points: 50

Record: 24-3, 13-0 C-USA

Last Week's Rank: 19

Notable Wins: Southern Miss (Road)

With the win over Southern Miss on Saturday, Memphis locked up the No. 1 seed in the Conference USA tournament.

All the Tigers need to do to win the regular season conference title outright is beat Central Florida, UTEP or UAB in their last three games.

18. Saint Louis Billikens

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Points: 56

Record: 21-5, 10-2 A10

Last Week's Rank: 23

Notable Wins: New Mexico (Home), Butler (Home, Road), VCU (Home)

Saint Louis has been perfect in February, and with wins over Virginia Commonwealth and Butler last week it moved into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic 10.

The Billikens have cracked the top 30 in KenPom, and they are projected to win their last four games.

17. New Mexico Lobos

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Points: 76

Record: 23-4, 10-2 MWC

Last Week's Rank: T-17

Notable Wins: UConn (Neutral), Cincinnati (Road), UNLV (Home), Colorado State (Home, Road)

New Mexico upended Colorado State on the road behind Kendall Williams' 46 points. It was the Rams' first loss at home since November of last season.

The Lobos can lock the No. 1 seed in the Mountain West tournament with wins in two or more of their last four games.

16. Wisconsin Badgers

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Points: 81

Record: 19-8, 10-4 Big Ten

Last Week's Rank: 22

Notable Wins: Illinois (Road, Home), Indiana (Road), Minnesota (Home), Michigan (Home), Ohio State (Home)

Wisconsin's last two wins over Ohio State and Northwestern have come by an average of 25 points.

The Badgers control their own destiny for the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament.

15. Oklahoma State Cowboys

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Points: 89

Record: 20-6, 10-4 Big 12

Last Week's Rank: 12

Notable Wins: NC State (Neutral), Kansas (Road), Oklahoma (Home)

Oklahoma State fell to third place in the Big 12 with a double-overtime loss to Kansas, but it rebounded with a 16-point win at West Virginia on Saturday.

If the Cowboys win all four of their remaining Big 12 games, they are guaranteed a top-two seed in the Big 12 tournament.

14. Ohio State Buckeyes

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Points: 97

Record: 20-7, 10-5 Big Ten

Last Week's Rank: 15

Notable Wins: Michigan (Home), Wisconsin (Home), Minnesota (Home), Michigan State (Home)

Ohio State picked up a huge win over Michigan State on Sunday, adding to a resume that already includes victories over Michigan and Wisconsin.

But the Buckeyes are still without a quality win on the road. Unless they can win at Indiana on March 5, that hole in their resume will remain entering the Big Ten tournament.

13. Kansas State Wildcats

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Points: 101

Record: 22-5, 11-3 Big 12

Last Week's Rank: 14

Notable Wins: Florida (Neutral), Oklahoma State (Home), Oklahoma (Home, Road)

Kansas State has won three games in a row since getting blown out by Kansas on February 11.

The Wildcats control their own destiny to win a share of the conference title, but to claim it outright, they need Kansas to lose at least once.

12. Arizona Wildcats

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Points: 104

Record: 23-4, 11-4 Pac-12

Last Week's Rank: 13

Notable Wins: Florida (Home), Miami-FL (Neutral), San Diego State (Neutral)

Arizona has won three straight games and is still tied with Oregon for first place in the Pac-12.

The Wildcats will take a trip to California this week to face USC and UCLA.

11. Syracuse Orange

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Points: 117

Record: 22-5, 10-4 Big East

Last Week's Rank: 8

Notable Wins: San Diego State (Neutral), Louisville (Road), Cincinnati (Home), Notre Dame (Home)

Despite having a record crowd at the Carrier Dome, Syracuse lost to Georgetown on Saturday, 57-46. It was the Orange's worst offensive performance of the 2012-13 season.

Three of Syrcause's final four games are against nationally ranked teams.

10. Louisville Cardinals

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Points: 136

Record: 22-5, 10-4 Big East

Last Week's Rank: 9

Notable Wins: Missouri (Neutral), Memphis (Road), UConn (Road), Pitt (Home), Marquette (Home)

Louisville has won three games in a row kin six of its last seven to move into a tie for second place in the Big East. Last week, the Cardinals defeated Seton Hall.

With a win at Syracuse on Saturday, the Cardinals would control their destiny for the No. 2 seed in the Big East tournament.

9. Georgetown Hoyas

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Points: 149

Record: 21-4, 11-3 Big East

Last Week's Rank: 11

Notable Wins: UCLA (Neutral), Notre Dame (Road), Louisville (Home), Marquette (Home), Cincinnati (Road), Syracuse (Road)

Georgetown defeated Syracuse, ending the Orange's 38-game home winning streak, to take complete control of first place in the Big East.

With this win, the Hoyas can now make a case for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament with four top-50 wins on the road.

8. Michigan State Spartans

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Points: 150

Record: 22-6, 11-4 Big Ten

Last Week's Rank: 2

Notable Wins: Kansas (Neutral), Ohio State (Home), Wisconsin (Road), Illinois (Home), Minnesota (Home), Michigan (Home)

Michigan State suffered a pair of losses last week to Indiana and Ohio State.

After entering the week tied for first place in the Big Ten, the Spartans are now in danger of falling as low as fifth place before the end of the regular season.

T-6. Florida Gators

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Points: 153

Record: 22-4, 12-2 SEC

Last Week's Rank: 3

Notable Wins: Wisconsin (Home), Mid. Tenn. (Home), Marquette (Home), Missouri (Home)

Florida lost at Missouri to start the week, but the Gators then triumphed over Arkansas on Saturday. They still hold a comfortable two-game lead in the SEC.

The Gators are still in the running for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, but they cannot afford to lose to Tennessee or Alabama this week if they want that accomplishment.

T-6. Kansas Jayhawks

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Points: 153

Record: 23-4, 11-3 Big 12

Last Week's Rank: 10

Notable Wins: Saint Louis (Neutral), Ohio State (Road), Kansas State (Road, Home), Oklahoma (Home), Oklahoma State (Road)

Kansas made a pair of statements last week.

First, the Jayhawks won in double overtime at Oklahoma State to take control of their own destiny in the Big 12. Then, they blew out Texas Christian, which had surprisingly upset Kansas on February 6, making the Jayhawks look like they were not actually part of the elite teams in college basketball this year.

5. Miami (FL) Hurricanes

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Points: 155

Record: 22-4, 13-1 ACC

Last Week's Rank: 5

Notable Wins: Michigan State (Home), Duke (Home), NC State (Road)

The inevitable finally happened to Miami.

The Hurricanes struggled against Florida State, Clemson and Virginia in their last three wins, and then on Saturday, they lost Wake Forest, 80-65.

Miami still leads Duke by two games in the ACC, but it has to play the Blue Devils on the road on Saturday.

4. Duke Blue Devils

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Points: 168

Record: 24-3, 11-3 ACC

Last Week's Rank: 7

Notable Wins: Minnesota (Neutral), VCU (Neutral), Louisville (Neutral), Ohio State (Home), NC State (Home)

Duke responded to its upset loss at Maryland with wins over Virginia Tech and Boston College last week.

The Blue Devils have as tough a finish as anyone in the ACC, with games against Virginia, Miami and North Carolina.

3. Michigan Wolverines

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Points: 177

Record: 23-4, 10-4 Big Ten

Last Week's Rank: 6

Notable Wins: Pitt (Neutral), K-State (Neutral), NC State (Home), Minnesota (Road), Illinois (Road, Home), Ohio State (Home)

Michigan knocked off Illinois on Sunday, ending the Fighting Illini's five-game winning streak.

The Wolverines can move into second place in the Big Ten with wins over Penn State and Michigan State this week.

2. Gonzaga Bulldogs

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Points: 191

Record: 27-2, 14-0 WCC

Last Week's Rank: 4

Notable Wins: Oklahoma (Neutral), Kansas State (Neutral), Oklahoma State (Road)

Gonzaga has its highest ranking of the season after it blew out Santa Clara and San Diego last week.

Although the Zags play in the West Coast Conference, they can keep up with the best teams in the nation. They are 10-2 against the RPI Top 100, and their only losses are to Illinois and Butler on a buzzer beater.