AP Poll: Michigan Rebounds to the No. 7 Spot, Back Atop Big Ten

After sweeping Nebraska and Maryland last week, Michigan moved to the No. 7 spot in this week’s AP Poll.

The Wolverines ripped the Cornhuskers 82-53 on Thursday’s Senior Night, then gutted out a huge road victory in College Park to stay in the hunt for the Big Ten regular season title.

Michigan State got punished for its 1-point loss at Indiana Saturday and returned to ninth. Wisconsin dropped to No. 21 after splitting contests with the Hoosiers and Penn State.

Purdue inched higher to rank No. 11.

The 24th-ranked Terrapins nearly fell out of the Top-25 after getting swept this week, including a 17-point blowout in Happy Valley. Iowa tumbled out of the rankings after double-digit losses to Ohio State and Rutgers.

John Beilein and company trail a top-five comprised of (from one to five): Gonzaga, Virginia, North Carolina, Duke and Tennessee.

It’s phase two of the Battle for Michigan, as the Wolverines get a chance at revenge this Saturday at Breslin Center (8 p.m. EST, ESPN).

Here is the complete AP Top 25:

1. Gonzaga
2. Virginia
3. North Carolina
4. Duke
5. Tennessee
6. Kentucky
7. Michigan
8. Texas Tech
9. Michigan State
10. LSU
11. Purdue
12. Houston
13. Kansas
14. Florida State
15. Virginia Tech
16. Marquette
17. Nevada
18. Kansas State
19. Buffalo
20. Cincinnati
21. Wisconsin
22. Wofford
23. Villanova
24. Maryland
25. UCF