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AP College Basketball Poll 2021: Complete Week 7 Rankings Released
December 20, 2021
Baylor remains the No. 1 team in the Associated Press men's poll going into Week 7 after improving to 10-0.
It's the Bears' second week in a row with top ranking, breaking a streak of four straight changes at No. 1. It was a quiet week when it came to upsets, leaving the top three spots intact from the last poll while Gonzaga and UCLA swapped places.
Here is the full Top 25 heading into the holidays.
AP Poll
1. Baylor
2. Duke
3. Purdue
4. Gonzaga
5. UCLA
6. Arizona
7. Kansas
8. USC
9. Iowa State
10. Alabama
11. Michigan State
12. Auburn
13. Houston
14. Ohio State
15. Seton Hall
16. Texas
17. LSU
18. Xavier
19. Tennessee
20. Kentucky
21. Colorado State
22. Providence
23. Villanova
24. Wisconsin
25. Texas Tech
The top teams took care of business this week, with Baylor surviving a tough test against Oregon. The defending champions trailed by four at halftime but shot lights-out in the second on the way to a 78-70 road victory.
The Bears finished 12-of-23 from beyond the arc, making them a difficult team to put away.
Duke cruised to three victories over South Carolina State, Appalachian State and Elon, but it was the team's first action since it lost to Ohio State in November. The start of ACC play this week will represent a bigger test for the Blue Devils.
Gonzaga also got back on track with an impressive win over Texas Tech.
Not everyone had an easy week, however.
Alabama was one of the hottest teams in the country after wins over Gonzaga and Houston, but Memphis put the squad back in its place with a 92-78 victory.
The Tigers' athleticism was especially on display in the upset.
Memphis Basketball @Memphis_MBB.<a href="https://twitter.com/iamyoungty1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@iamyoungty1</a> ➡️ <a href="https://twitter.com/MbkDmann?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MbkDmann</a> 😳<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoTigersGo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoTigersGo</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TunnelVision?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TunnelVision</a><br><br>📺 ESPN <a href="https://t.co/dPTapxq2WX">pic.twitter.com/dPTapxq2WX</a>
DeAndre Williams had 20 points as Memphis showed why expectations were high entering the season.
Alabama then barely held off Jacksonville State as it fell from No. 6 to No. 10 in the latest poll.
Villanova had an even worse week, following up its blowout loss to Baylor with a 79-59 defeat to Creighton. The Wildcats had three losses in their first 10 games, but all were against Top 10 opponents.
The latest defeat raises more question marks, especially after another poor shooting performance (33.3 percent from the field, 17.4 percent from three).
"Every guy, individually, is trying to get us going, and we are kind of losing our rhythm offensively," Villanova head coach Jay Wright told reporters after the game. "We have to learn from this, and we have to get that offensive rhythm back."
The Wildcats fell out of the Top 10 for the first time this year down to No. 23.
Several teams were limited by COVID-19 issues, while Kentucky rescheduled its game against Ohio State and instead ended up earning a 98-69 win over North Carolina on Saturday. After some poor performances earlier in the year, head coach John Calipari's squad showed its upside.
Providence also jumped into the Top 25 at No. 22 after improving to 11-1 with a road win over UConn.
Conference play will pick up around the country this week, although the most interesting battle could be between No. 6 Arizona and No. 19 Tennessee.