After two straight weeks of climbing in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, Ohio State took its first step back in the 2018 calendar year.
Following an 82-79 loss to Penn State on Thursday, the Buckeyes fell four spots to No. 17 in the AP poll on Monday. The loss to the Nittany Lions also put Ohio State (18-5, 9-1) one game behind No. 3 Purdue (21-2, 10-0) in the Big Ten standings.
The Boilermakers and Buckeyes were joined by Michigan State (No. 5) and Michigan (No. 24) in the AP poll. The Spartans have won four in a row since dropping a 10-point decision to the Wolverines on Jan. 13, while Michigan is coming off of a four-point loss to Purdue on Jan. 25.
Despite the loss to the Nittany Lions, Ohio State did collect a 64-59 win over Nebraska earlier in the week, which had extended its win streak to eight games.
Chris Holtmann's squad is set to return to action Tuesday against Indiana (12-10, 5-5) before taking on Illinois (11-11, 1-8) Sunday with both games coming at home.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS | 1st VOTES | PREV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VILLANOVA | 20-1 | 1,607 | 47 | 1 |
| 2 | VIRGINIA | 20-1 | 1,572 | 17 | 2 |
| 3 | PURDUE | 21-2 | 1,501 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 | DUKE | 18-3 | 1,372 | – | 4 |
| 5 | MICHIGAN STATE | 20-3 | 1,347 | – | 6 |
| 6 | XAVIER | 19-3 | 1,278 | – | 8 |
| 7 | KANSAS | 17-4 | 1,224 | – | 5 |
| 8 | CINCINNATI | 19-2 | 1,208 | – | 9 |
| 9 | ARIZONA | 18-4 | 1,103 | – | 11 |
| 10 | TEXAS TECH | 17-4 | 987 | – | 14 |
| 11 | AUBURN | 19-2 | 882 | – | 19 |
| 12 | OKLAHOMA | 15-5 | 840 | – | 12 |
| 13 | SAINT MARY'S (CAL) | 21-2 | 753 | – | 16 |
| 14 | GONZAGA | 19-4 | 750 | – | 15 |
| 15 | WEST VIRGINIA | 16-5 | 709 | – | 7 |
| 16 | WICHITA STATE | 17-4 | 635 | – | 17 |
| 17 | OHIO STATE | 18-5 | 566 | – | 13 |
| 18 | TENNESSEE | 15-5 | 512 | – | 22 |
| 19 | NORTH CAROLINA | 16-6 | 470 | – | 10 |
| 20 | CLEMSON | 17-4 | 414 | – | 18 |
| 21 | KENTUCKY | 16-5 | 344 | – | – |
| 22 | RHODE ISLAND | 17-3 | 327 | – | 24 |
| 23 | FLORIDA | 15-6 | 172 | – | 20 |
| 24 | MICHIGAN | 17-6 | 103 | – | 25 |
| 25 | ARIZONA STATE | 16-5 | 100 | – | 21 |
