AP College Basketball Poll 2020: Complete Week 3 Rankings Released

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Fans didn't get the dream No. 1 versus No. 2 matchup last week as anticipated, but there was plenty of drama to shake up the rankings ahead of the Week 3 Associated Press poll. 

The game between Gonzaga and Baylor was postponed as a result of positive COVID-19 tests, although both teams proved they deserve their lofty rankings with big wins earlier in the week. Michigan State was also a big winner after earning a victory at Duke as part of the Champions Classic.

Kentucky is going in the other direction after a rare three-game losing streak.

Here are the latest rankings as the 2020-21 college basketball season continues.

AP Top 25

1. Gonzaga

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2. Baylor

3. Iowa

4. Michigan State

5. Kansas

6. Illinois

7. Houston

8. Creighton

9. Villanova

10. Duke

11. West Virginia

12. Tennessee

13. Wisconsin

14. Texas

15. Virginia Tech

16. North Carolina

17. Texas Tech

18. Virginia

19. Richmond

20. Florida State

21. Rutgers

22. Ohio State

23. Arizona State

24. San Diego State

25. Louisville

Gonzaga didn't play Baylor, but the Bulldogs still had a good week thanks to their 87-82 neutral-court win over West Virginia. 

The squad has a lot of players capable of taking over games, and this time Joel Ayayi led the way with 21 points along with four steals. The earlier win over Kansas also still looks good, giving Gonzaga a solid resume to begin the season even without the matchup against Baylor.

The Bears also played well with a win over Illinois, which entered the week at No. 5 before dropping to No. 6.

Defense is the key for Baylor this year, and the Bears held Illinois All-America candidate Ayo Dosunmu to just 6-of-18 shooting. Fighting Illini center Kofi Cockburn also made a minimal impact, while Baylor rode Adam Flagler off the bench to a Top 10 win.

Iowa also only played once this week, but Luka Garza put together another dominant showing with 35 points and 10 rebounds in a victory over Western Illinois.

Michigan State had a very strong week, earning three wins, including a road victory over Duke. The Spartans dominated the second half and showed there are a lot of exciting pieces on the roster to overcome the losses of Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman Sr.

Aaron Henry had 14 points, five rebounds, five assists, three blocks and three steals against Duke, while Rocket Watts scored at least 20 points in two games this week. Add Joey Hauser to the equation (three double-doubles in five games), and this is a dangerous team that has reached No. 4 in the rankings.

Duke dropped from No. 6 to No. 10.

Also falling in the rankings was Wisconsin, which went from fourth in the country all the way to No. 13 after a narrow loss to rival Marquette. The Golden Eagles played excellent defense throughout the game and sealed the win on a Justin Lewis tip-in at the buzzer.

Kentucky fell out of the Top 25 after two losses: a narrow defeat against Kansas and then an embarrassing loss to Georgia Tech.

The Wildcats were competitive against Kansas in the Champions Classic but struggled with the outside shot (3-of-21) in the 65-62 loss. There were no excuses against the Yellow Jackets, who pulled away before halftime and never looked back in a 79-62 win.

"There's a lot of stuff we're working on, and losing games makes it harder," Kentucky coach John Calipari told reporters after the game.

The 1-3 Wildcats are unranked for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

There could be even more movement next week with several notable matchups on the schedule. The Big Ten-ACC Challenge features No. 6 Illinois versus No. 10 Duke, No. 16 North Carolina against No. 3 Iowa, and No. 4 Michigan State at No. 18 Virginia. No. 8 Creighton will also be tested against No. 5 Kansas, while No. 19 Richmond can prove itself again versus No. 11 West Virginia.