Winners and Losers of AP College Basketball Top 25 Poll in Week 14

Top-ranked college basketball teams are dropping like flies, but Gonzaga remains undefeated at 24-0 and is closing in on becoming the unanimous No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25. The Bulldogs now have 59 of the 65 first-place votes.

For the second consecutive week, the biggest winners were simply the teams that didn't lose. That may seem like stating the obvious, but there are times when you need quality wins to move up in the polls and others where you just need non-negative results. Case in point, Louisville climbed four spots when it beat Kentucky in December and moved up two spots this week for beating lowly Boston College.

Things weren't quite as chaotic as Week 12 when ranked teams suffered a combined 18 losses, but six of the top nine teams went down on Saturday—a couple of them in blowout fashion. Thus, the teams in the top 15 that avoided the taste of defeat had a good showing in today's AP Top 25.

That isn't to say every team that moved up did so by beating up on weak opponents. Oregon and Florida made big jumps for destroying Top 10 teams. Purdue played and defeated a pair of ranked opponents. Both Duke and North Carolina won games against Notre Dame. There were plenty of quality wins. They just weren't a requirement.

Read on for the rest of this week's winners and losers.

Winner: Oregon Ducks

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Chris Boucher and the Ducks are almost back to where they started the season.

There was no way to see Oregon's thrashing of Arizona coming.

Just two days prior to the 85-58 blowout, the Ducks needed Dillon Brooks to catch fire in order to eke out a one-point home win over 11-13 Arizona State. And on their road trip to the Pac-12's representatives from the Rocky Mountain states, they barely beat Utah and lost to Colorado. All told, Oregon had been outscored 211-209 over its previous three games. It shot a combined 24-of-75 (32.0 percent) from three-point range, which comes out to an average day of shooting 8-of-25.

Yet, against Arizona, the Ducks almost couldn't miss, draining 16 of 25 shots from beyond the arc while assisting on 26 of 30 made field goals. During one stretch late in the first half, Oregon made threes on five consecutive possessions while holding Arizona scoreless, turning a 10-point game into a rout in the blink of an eye.

We thought what Arizona did to UCLA a few weeks ago was incredible, but Oregon was even more efficient against Arizona (1.33 points per possession) than the Wildcats were against the Bruins (1.28 PPP).

Though Oregon entered this (no) contest as winners in 18 of its previous 19 games, the AP voters had been waiting for the Ducks to make some sort of statement that they have arrived. Home wins over UCLA and USC were nice but evidently not enough to fully atone for that early loss to Georgetown.

But between Oregon getting that signature win and Top 10 teams dropping games left and right, it was a great week for the Ducks to soar. They climbed eight spots to No. 5 in the AP poll. And if they continue their winning ways on the road against UCLA and USC in the next six days, they'll be in great position for another No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Loser: Big 12

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It was a confusing week for Bob Huggins and the Big 12.

Until Saturday afternoon, it looked like we could be headed for three Big 12 teams in the Top Five of the AP poll. No. 2 Baylor and No. 3 Kansas waged war in a rare game where it felt like both teams came away with a win, and No. 7 West Virginia went into Hilton Coliseum and emerged with a 13-point win over Iowa State—the first time since January 2010 that the Cyclones lost a home game in regulation by a double-digit margin.

But that all went up in smoke when each of those three teams lost home games within the span of about three hours.

Kansas came first, blowing a 14-point halftime lead before falling in overtime to Iowa State. The combination of 21 turnovers by the Jayhawks and 18 made three-pointers by the Cyclones was too much for Frank Mason and company to overcome. But because they beat Baylor on Wednesday, they didn't pay much of a price. They did lose each of their nine first-place votes from last Monday, but they're still ranked No. 3.

Baylor wasn't nearly as lucky after getting swept by the Kansas schools. The Bears trailed Kansas State by as many as 19 points in the first half before storming all the way back for a chance to win in the closing seconds. However, they missed three shots in the final 12 seconds of a 56-54 loss. Johnathan Motley (17 points, 14 rebounds) had a solid game, but no one else was able to get anything going. For the pair of losses, the Bears dropped four spots to No. 6.

Closing out the evening of Big 12 chaos, West Virginia lost a home game in which its starters scored a combined 28 points. Lamont West (21) and Tarik Phillip (15) kept things interesting with their scoring off the bench, but the Mountaineers were unable to score enough to keep pace with Oklahoma State, which shot 62.5 percent from the field, 61.5 percent from three and 88.9 percent from the free-throw line. Despite the big win over Iowa State earlier in the week, West Virginia dropped six spots to No. 13.

At least it was a great week for the Big 12 bubble. TCU went 2-0 against Kansas State and Texas, and each of the "State" schools picked up a huge road win. The AP voters didn't see fit to move any of those teams into the Top 25, but it's looking like this could be a seven-bid league for a fourth straight year.

Winner: Purdue Boilermakers

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Biggie and the Boilermakers scored two more big wins.

Has there been a more up-and-down team in the country than Purdue?

The Boilermakers entered this week with good wins over Wisconsin, Notre Dame and Michigan State, quality battles with Villanova and Louisville and head-scratching losses to Minnesota (at home), Iowa and Nebraska. One day, they'll look like a threat to win the national championship. One game later, they may appear to be destined for a third consecutive first-round exit from the NCAA tournament.

But this week was a two-game stretch which makes a Sweet 16 appearance seem like a minimal inevitability.

First, the Boilermakers obliterated Northwestern 80-59. The Wildcats didn't have leading scorer Scottie Lindsey, but they had their full complement of frontcourt players, against which Caleb Swanigan went for 24 points and 16 rebounds.

"Biggie" had another double-double in Saturday's comeback win over Maryland. Trailing by a dozen midway through the second half, Purdue needed every last one of Swanigan's 26 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and two blocks to escape with a 73-72 road win.

The big man fouled out of both games and committed a combined seven turnovers, but that's a small price to pay for everything he does for this team.

Purdue is now 3-0 against the three teams in the Big Ten with more than 16 wins and should be favored in every remaining regular-season game. The Boilermakers jumped seven spots to No. 16, but they could be headed for a spot in the Top 10 before long—if they can avoid picking up another bad loss.

Loser: Butler Bulldogs

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Tyler Wideman and head coach Chris Holtmann possibly discussing Butler's defensive shortcomings.

While Indiana-based Purdue had a great week, the other ranked teams from the Hoosier State weren't so lucky.

We'll get to Notre Dame in a bit, but Butler dropped five spots in last week's AP poll following a home loss to Georgetown and fell another six spots Monday, courtesy of a home loss to Creighton.

The Bluejays lost their star point guard for the season a few weeks ago, but they still know how to shoot. Khyri Thomas led the way with four triples as Creighton shot 13-of-21 from downtown in the upset. It was a great sign for Creighton, which proceeded to hit 13 of 28 three-point attempts in Saturday's game against Xavier. Greg McDermott's bunch has come a long way since that 1-of-18 game against Georgetown less than two weeks ago.

But for the Bulldogs, it was the continuation of a disturbing trend.

Through the first 18 games, Butler's opponents shot a combined 30.0 percent (106-of-353) from beyond the arc. Only twice in those contests did the Bulldogs allow a foe to make more than seven triples. But opponents are shooting 41.7 percent (48-of-115) in the past five games, and they have allowed at least 10 threes in four of those defensive efforts—or lack thereof.

Once one of the most efficient defenses in the country—they held Villanova to 58 points in their best win of the season—the Bulldogs suddenly can't stop anyone. Now No. 22 in the AP poll, they might be one more loss away from being unranked. The upcoming road trip against Marquette and Providence could be a problem.

Winners: Louisville and Wisconsin

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Led by Donovan Mitchell, Louisville has scored at least 85 points in five of its last seven games.

It was a rough week for what were supposedly the nation's best teams. No. 2 Baylor suffered a pair of losses. The top nine teams in the AP poll went a combined 10-7, despite just one head-to-head battle and only three games against ranked opponents.

But former No. 6 Louisville and No. 10 Wisconsin navigated that minefield with relative ease.

The Badgers jumped out to early double-digit leads against Illinois and Indiana and did not trail at any point in the past seven days—a far cry from last Saturday's near-disaster against Rutgers. Though they have only averaged 61.0 points and 64.0 possessions in their last three games, Ethan Happ just keeps on putting up Big Ten Player of the Year-worthy stat lines, averaging 22.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.0 steals, 2.0 assists and 1.7 blocks over his last three outings.

With help from a Purdue win over Maryland, the Badgers are now in sole possession of first place in the Big Ten and have emerged as a serious threat to reach the Final Four for a third time in four years. Though Wisconsin hasn't beaten a tournament-bound team in more than two weeks—you heard me, Indiana—the Badgers benefited from the carnage ahead of them in the poll, climbing three spots to No. 7.

It was a similar story for Louisville, which ran up a 10-0 lead against Boston College before cruising to a 90-67 win in its only game of the week.

People keep saying (with good reason) that the ACC is the best top-to-bottom league in the nation, but the Cardinals are making mincemeat of it lately. They have won four of their last five games by a margin of at least 23 points, steadily climbing from No. 9 to No. 2 in the KenPom rankings in the process of blowout after blowout.

Similar to Happ at Wisconsin, Donovan Mitchell has become an unstoppable force for Louisville. After opening the season shooting 28.8 percent from three-point range through his first 13 games, Mitchell has been on fire, draining 46.4 percent since New Year's Eve and 63.6 percent over his last three.

So much for this team not being able to score in the half-court offense. The Cardinals jumped two spots to No. 4 in the AP poll.

Loser: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

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Wins have been tough to find for Notre Dame lately.

Three weeks ago, Notre Dame was 16-2 overall and 5-0 in the ACC. The Fighting Irish were No. 15 in the AP poll and probably deserved better, given their only losses of the season came in games away from home against Villanova and Purdue in each of which they led by a double-digit margin.

Since then, though, they're 1-5 and have dropped out of the AP Top 25.

Notre Dame battled well against the Tobacco Road schools this week, but an inability to rebound proved to be their downfall for a third and fourth consecutive time. The Fighting Irish were minus-16 on the glass in their home loss to Virginia, minus-eight at Georgia Tech, minus-12 against Duke and were out-rebounded by 19 against North Carolina on Sunday. Carry the one a couple of times and that sums up to a total rebounding margin of negative-55.

By itself, rebounding margin is one of the least useful and most over-used statistics in a box score. But Notre Dame has been struggling from the three-point line (31.7 percent over the last four games) and doesn't force many turnovers. Combining those nuggets with the poor rebounding margin means the Fighting Irish aren't executing or extending their offensive possessions and aren't finishing the defensive ones.

The biggest culprit in the past two games has been senior combo guard Steve Vasturia.

Against Duke and North Carolina, he shot 5-of-20 from the field and 0-of-9 from beyond the arc, scoring just 16 points with four rebounds and no steals. That's a rough output from a guy who has played at least 33 minutes in 15 consecutive games, and Notre Dame could be headed for a few more losses if Vasturia doesn't turn things around soon.

Winner: The 'Other' SEC Teams

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Despite a loss to Kentucky two weeks ago, South Carolina has moved into sole possession of first place in the SEC.

By the time conference play began, we expected a significant power struggle in most of the major conferences. The Big 12 had Baylor, Kansas and West Virginia. Likewise, the Pac-12 had a three-headed monster in Arizona, Oregon and UCLA. The Big Ten was Wisconsin and Purdue with several other contenders lurking. The Big East had four legitimate Final Four applicants. And everyone except for Boston College and Georgia Tech was a candidate to win the ACC.

But the SEC? No drama there. It was just a matter of time before Kentucky won the conference by a multi-game margin and waltzed its way to a No. 1 seed.

Or so we thought.

Following an 88-66 loss to Florida over the weekend, Kentucky has now lost three of its last four games. And if you're looking for some kind of solace in the one win, you won't find it. The Wildcats needed overtime to win a home game against Georgia. Sure, De'Aaron Fox didn't play, but, yikes. This team is a shell of the one that took part in December classics against UCLA, North Carolina and Louisville. The Wildcats dropped seven spots to No. 15 in the AP poll and slipped into a tie for second place in the SEC.

First place belongs to South Carolina, which crushed LSU on the road before eking out a two-point home win over Georgia. (Florida needed overtime to win a home game against Georgia earlier this season. When did the Bulldogs get so tough to beat?)

The Gamecocks still have not been beaten this season when both Sindarius Thornwell and PJ Dozier are playing. Both parts of that duo and Duane Notice each scored at least 15 points in both games this week, keeping South Carolina at No. 19, despite getting passed by Duke, Purdue and Florida.

The big leaper was former No. 24 Florida, thanks to the aforementioned destruction of Kentucky. While it seems like every non-Gonzaga team in the country has either suffered a loss or had a few close calls in the past 14 days, the Gators have been kicking butt and taking names. That 22-point win over Kentucky was the closest of their last four games, during which they have outscored their opposition by a combined total of 128 points.

Following the home loss to Vanderbilt on Jan. 21, it seemed like the Gators were just a decent team with a resume that was benefiting from all the road and neutral-site games played in the first seven weeks of the season. Based on recent events, though, the new No. 17 team in the AP Top 25 might need to be taken seriously as a title contender.

Loser: Virginia Cavaliers

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Virginia's inability to protect a lead is one of the more puzzling things about this unpredictable season.

Is there any possible NCAA tournament draw against which you would feel comfortable picking Virginia to reach the Final Four?

The Cavaliers are the No. 3 team on KenPom.com and may well become the favorites to win the ACC regular-season title if they can win Monday night's home game against Louisville. But we've now seen Virginia choke away a significant lead five times in its last 23 games.

It started in last year's Elite Eight loss to Syracuse. The Wahoos led by as many as 16 points in the second half and were up by 14 with 10 minutes remaining before giving it all away in the span of four minutes.

Thus far this season, they led by 11 in an eventual nine-point loss to West Virginia, had a nine-point lead at home against Florida State before losing, led Villanova by 13 in the second half prior to tasting defeat and suffered arguably their worst collapse of the bunch Saturday, coughing up a 12-point halftime lead in a loss to Syracuse.

At some point in the past few seasons, it became a thing for announcers to say that trying to come back from a 10-point deficit against Tony Bennett's defense is like trying to come back from a 20-point deficit against any other team. But closing the gap against the Cavaliers has almost become par for the course lately, as they can't seem to hang on to any lead.

Virginia was already facing an uphill battle for expectations after failing to live up to its seed line in each of the last three NCAA tournaments. Give away another big lead before Selection Sunday and the Cavaliers just might become this year's trendy No. 2 or No. 3 seed to pick against in the first round.

That's still five weeks away, though. For now, they fell three spots in the AP Top 25 to No. 12.

Stats are courtesy of WarrenNolan.com, KenPom.com and Sports-Reference.com.

Kerry Miller covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter: @kerrancejames.