Three straight losses have Ohio State slipping in the polls.
The Buckeyes, after holding steady at No. 4 in the Associated Press top-25 poll a week ago, dropped three spots to No. 7 on Monday. It's their lowest ranking since they were No. 7 in the Feb. 1 poll.
Ohio State has only one game remaining in the regular season – against Illinois on Saturday – before the Big Ten tournament gets underway next week. As head coach Chris Holtmann said after Sunday's loss to Iowa, he hopes to use the break before then to both get healthier and to work on fixing what has gone wrong to lead to a three-game skid that also includes losses to Michigan and Michigan State. Currently, the Buckeyes sit in fifth place in the Big Ten, though they still remain a top-10 team nationally.
Five other teams in this conference earned spots in this week's top-25 poll: No. 2 Michigan, No. 4 Illinois, No. 5 Iowa, No. 23 Purdue and No. 25 Wisconsin.
The top-10 game against the Illini will tip off at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Schottenstein Center.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS | PREV | CONFERENCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GONZAGA | 24–0 | 1,571 (59) | 1 | West Coast |
| 2 | MICHIGAN | 18–1 | 1,512 (4) | 3 | Big Ten |
| 3 | BAYLOR | 18–1 | 1,450 | 2 | Big 12 |
| 4 | ILLINOIS | 18–6 | 1,350 | 5 | Big Ten |
| 5 | IOWA | 18–7 | 1,266 | 9 | Big Ten |
| 6 | WEST VIRGINIA | 17–6 | 1,210 | 10 | Big 12 |
| 7 | OHIO STATE | 18–7 | 1,163 | 4 | Big Ten |
| 8 | ALABAMA | 19–6 | 1,130 | 6 | Southeastern |
| 9 | HOUSTON | 20–3 | 1,109 | 12 | American Athletic |
| 10 | VILLANOVA | 15–4 | 942 | 8 | Big East |
| 11 | FLORIDA STATE | 14–4 | 897 | 11 | Atlantic Coast |
| 12 | ARKANSAS | 19–5 | 847 | 20 | Southeastern |
| 13 | KANSAS | 18–8 | 785 | 17 | Big 12 |
| 14 | CREIGHTON | 17–6 | 669 | 13 | Big East |
| 15 | TEXAS | 14–7 | 650 | 14 | Big 12 |
| 16 | OKLAHOMA | 14–7 | 584 | 7 | Big 12 |
| 17 | OKLAHOMA STATE | 16–6 | 553 | – | Big 12 |
| 18 | TEXAS TECH | 15–8 | 494 | 18 | Big 12 |
| 19 | SAN DIEGO STATE | 19–4 | 406 | 22 | Mountain West |
| 20 | LOYOLA CHICAGO | 21–4 | 367 | 21 | Missouri Valley |
| 21 | VIRGINIA | 15–6 | 362 | 15 | Atlantic Coast |
| 22 | VIRGINIA TECH | 15–5 | 335 | 16 | Atlantic Coast |
| 23 | PURDUE | 16–8 | 192 | – | Big Ten |
| 24 | COLORADO | 19–7 | 150 | – | Pacific 12 |
| 25 | WISCONSIN | 16–9 | 106 | 23 | Big Ten |
