Associated Press Top 25 men's basketball poll: Jerry Carino's ballot

1.    Gonzaga (20-0)

2.    Baylor (17-0)

3.    Michigan (14-1)

4.    Ohio State (17-4)

5.    Illinois (14-5)

6.    Virginia (15-3)

7.    Villanova (13-3)

8.    Houston (17-2)

9.    Alabama (17-5)

10.  Oklahoma (13-5)

11.  Texas (13-5)

12.  Iowa (15-6)

13.  West Virginia (14-6)

14.  Texas Tech (14-6)

15.  Creighton (16-5)

16.  Florida State (11-3)

17.  Virginia Tech (14-4)

18.  USC (17-3)

19.  Loyola Chicago (18-4)

20.  Tennessee (14-5)

21.  Wisconsin (15-7)

22.  Arkansas (16-5)

23.  Missouri (13-5)

24.  Kansas (15-7)

25.  Rutgers (12-7)

NCAA:  White basketball player; historically black college

Ranked:  Top 50 NJ college basketball coaches ever, ranked

Dropped out: No. 23 Oklahoma State (13-6) after losing to Kansas by 12; No. 24 Purdue (13-8) after losing to Minnesota.

Entered: Arkansas (Kenpom: 25) at 22 after winning at No. 10 Missouri and moving into second in the SEC standings; Kansas (Kenpom: 24) after beating No. 23 Oklahoma State by 12.

Also considered: San Diego State (15-4).

Analysis: One of my guidelines for this is don’t punish a ranked team for losing to another ranked team on the road. Hence Villanova dropping just two spots after the wipeout at Creighton and Rutgers holding ground at No. 25 after falling decisively at Iowa…Loyola Chicago (Kenpom: 10) actually moves up after splitting at Drake (winning the first by 27, losing the second by 1). It is so hard to beat a good team on back-to-back days, as we’re seeing in mid-major leagues around the country…the biggest riser is Creighton, which moves up four spots after romping Nova…the biggest loser is Missouri, which plummets 13 spots after losing twice, including a 21-point disaster at Ole Miss…the Big Ten gets a lot of pub but the Big 12 is just as good if not better at the top, with five teams ranked in the top 15.

By conference: Big Ten (6), Big 12 (6), SEC (4), ACC (3), Big East (2), West Coast (1), American (1), Pac-12 (1), Missouri Valley (1).

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.