AP College Basketball Poll 2012: Complete Week 9 Standings Released

The first days of 2013 will not be very different from the last of 2012 in the world of college basketball. The Duke Blue Devils remain on top of the AP Top 25 Rankings, with the Michigan Wolverines right behind them. 

Duke did hit a speed bump against Santa Clara last week before turning on the jets late in the second half to pull away and keep its perfect record intact. 

Rounding out the top five is Arizona, Louisville and Indiana. Now is the time when we are going to start seeing more fluctuation with the rankings, because teams will begin conference play very soon. 

So far, the season has had a few marquee games, but for the most part, teams have played cupcakes to prepare themselves for their conference schedule. 

Really, there aren't a lot of changes in this week's ranking. The only significant movers are the Missouri Tigers and Cincinnati Bearcats. 

Missouri played a disastrous game against UCLA, not showing any defensive effort and allowing UCLA to hang around and eventually steal it in overtime.

Cincinnati also fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 55-54 loss against New Mexico. The Bearcats offense was held in check that entire game, forcing their defense to step up. They were up to the task, but it wasn't enough to get them a victory. 

Changes are coming in college basketball very soon. Right now, the standings look like a little bit more of the same. 

Here are the AP Top 25 Rankings for the week of Dec. 31-Jan. 6.

AP TOP 25 RANKINGS
1. Duke
2. Michigan
3. Arizona
4. Louisville
5. Indiana
6. Kansas
7. Syracuse
8. Ohio State
9. Minnesota
10. Gonzaga
11. Illinois
12. Missouri
13. Florida
14. Cincinnati
15. Georgetown
16. Creighton
17. Butler
18. Michigan State
19. San Diego State
20. New Mexico
21. Notre Dame
22. Oklahoma State
23. North Carolina State
24. Pittsburgh
25. Kansas State

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