Borges Top 25: Gonzaga drops 5 spots after loss

There will be a new No. 1 atop the AP Top 25 rankings early Monday afternoon, thanks to Gonzaga’s loss to Tennessee on Sunday.

We had the Zags at No. 2, anyway, and we drop them to No. 7 following the loss. Seems harsh, especially when you consider Gonzaga is the only team to beat Duke thus far and manhandled Creighton on the road last week.

But the top seven or eight teams are all bunched up on our ballot (and many others), so one slip-up and you’re bound to lose a bit of ground. Can’t really penalize Virginia, Nevada, Michigan, Tennessee (obviously) and even Duke after they all took care of business this week.

We keep Kansas at No. 1 and move Michigan all the way up to No. 2. Elsewhere, we were pretty harsh on Kansas State, dropping the Wildcats from No. 10 to out of the rankings after a two-loss week that included an ugly,

47-46 setback at Tulsa (a good win for the American Athletic Conference, mind you). Arizona is also out, while a pair of Big East teams — Marquette and Villanova — are in.

1. Kansas: Jayhawks struggled to beat New Mexico State Saturday night. Big showdown with Villanova on Saturday.

2. Michigan: We slide Wolverines up to No. 2 because we feel they are (at least) the second-best team in the country right now. How’s that for logic?

3. Virginia: Slow and steady wins the race. Or something like that.

4. Duke: Coach K had nothing but praise for Yale and coach James Jones after crushing Bulldogs by 33 on Saturday.

5. Nevada: After stirring comeback win over Arizona State, Wolf Pack struggles to get by Dan Majerle’s Grand Canyon U.

6. Tennessee: Vols pop off No. 1 Gonzaga on neutral court on Sunday. We’re starting to believe.

7. Gonzaga: It doesn’t get any easier, heading to Chapel Hill to face Tar Heels on Saturday.

8. Auburn: Career-high 34 points for Bryce Brown in win over Dayton on Saturday.

9. Florida State: And all this without last year’s leading scorer, Phil Cofer, who should be back soon. We’re impressed.

10. Michigan State: Cassius Winston has 24 assists and three turnovers in his last three games.

11. North Carolina: Showdown with ’Zags will be interesting on Saturday.

12. Virginia Tech: A palpable Buzz (Williams) in Blacksburg? Sorry.

13. Buffalo: Bulls play at Syracuse and Marquette over next two weeks.

14. Marquette: Golden Eagles win battle of Milwaukee on Saturday ...

15. Wisconsin: ... but we can’t penalize Badgers too much.

16. Kentucky: Despite halfcourt shot, ’Cats fall to Seton Hall at Garden on Saturday.

17. Ohio State: With Coach Urb’s retirement, do Buckeye fans even know hoops team had two-win week?

18. St. John’s: Quinnipiac transfer Mikey Dixon getting some burn (6.3 ppg) for Red Storm.

19. Syracuse: Thanks to Tyus, Orange win an oldfashioned “Battle” over Georgetown on Saturday.

20. Arizona State: Bobby Hurley’s bunch blows big lead to Nevada on Friday night.

21. Texas Tech: One of only nine unbeaten teams left in country.

22. Iowa: Win over Iowa State halts two-game losing streak.

23. Villanova: Only team to beat Florida State so far.

24. Houston: Only third Cougar team in school history to start 8-0, and first in 21 years.

25. Furman: Paladins ranked for first time in program history last week. Shouldn’t change this week.