The Buckeye basketball team is in the midst of finals right now, and thanks to a number of tests passed this season — including a 74-49 win at No. 7 North Carolina on Wednesday — Ohio State (9-0) climbed to No. 3 in this week’s AP Poll.
The Buckeyes were ranked No. 6 last week and last played Saturday afternoon where they secured a 106-74 win over conference foe Penn State.
The Buckeyes are one of three Big Ten teams in the top five, as they are followed by Maryland (10-0) and Michigan (8-1) at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively. Louisville (9-0) still holds the top spot and Kansas (7-1) remains at No. 2.
North Carolina (6-3) has dropped to No. 17, which is one spot below Michigan State (6-3), who is the only other ranked Big Ten team.
The last time Ohio State was ranked in the Top 5 was January of 2014 when they were ranked No. 3 in the nation. Four weeks later, however, they were out of the rankings entirely following four consecutive losses, and losses in five of six games.
AP TOP 25 POLL
| RANK | TEAM | PV RANK | POINTS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 |
Louisville (9-0) | 1 | 1,591 | ||
| 2 |
 |
Kansas (7-1) | 2 | 1,486 | ||
| 3 |
 |
Ohio State (9-0) | 6 | 1,464 | ||
| 4 |
 |
Maryland (10-0) | 3 | 1,428 | ||
| 5 |
 |
Michigan (8-1) | 4 | 1,286 | ||
| 6 |
 |
Gonzaga (10-1) | 9 | 1,235 | ||
| 7 |
 |
Duke (9-1) | 10 | 1,232 | ||
| 8 |
 |
Kentucky (7-1) | 8 | 1,170 | ||
| 9 |
 |
Virginia (8-1) | 5 | 1,060 | ||
| 10 |
 |
Oregon (7-2) | 13 | 905 | ||
| 11 |
 |
Baylor (7-1) | 18 | 872 | ||
| 12 |
 |
Auburn (8-0) | 14 | 836 | ||
| 13 |
 |
Memphis (8-1) | 15 | 756 | ||
| 14 |
 |
Dayton (7-1) | 19 | 672 | ||
| 15 |
 |
Arizona (9-1) | 12 | 654 | ||
| 16 |
 |
Michigan State (6-3) | 11 | 637 | ||
| 17 |
 |
North Carolina (6-3) | 7 | 615 | ||
| 18 |
 |
Butler (9-0) | 24 | 529 | ||
| 19 |
 |
Tennessee (7-1) | 21 | 455 | ||
| 20 |
 |
Villanova (7-2) | 23 | 285 | ||
| 21 |
 |
Florida State (8-2) | 17 | 253 | ||
| 22 |
 |
Seton Hall (6-3) | 16 | 250 | ||
| 23 |
 |
Xavier (9-1) | 216 | |||
| 24 |
 |
Colorado (7-1) | 20 | 210 | ||
| 25 |
 |
San Diego State (10-0) | 197 | |||
Utah State 160, Washington 144, Purdue 130, Indiana 13, Marquette 11, Liberty 9, Saint Mary’s 8, Texas 6, Florida 5, Penn State 5, Georgia 4, West Virginia 3, Richmond 3, LSU 2, Duquesne 1, DePaul 1, Virginia Commonwealth 1