BTN.com staff, November 18, 2013

Michigan State received 51 of 70 first-place votes and now sits atop of the AP Top 25. Michigan State (3-0) hasn't been No. 1 since Jan. 1, 2001 – a few months after winning the most recent of its two NCAA titles – and took over No. 1 after holding on for a 78-74 win over then No. 1 Kentucky on Tuesday in Chicago. Michigan State plays visiting Portland tonight (game preview) at 7 p.m. on BTN/BTN2Go.

Michigan State was also voted No. 1 this week in the USA Today Coaches Top 25, winning 22 out of 32 first-place votes (full poll here).

In the AP poll, Kansas is at No. 2 after receiving seven first-place votes, the same number as No. 3 Louisville. Kentucky falls to No. 4 ahead of No. 5 Arizona.

Michigan State Stats
Player G MIN RPG APG PPG
G. Harris 3 96 5.0 2.7 17.0
A. Payne 3 81 8.0 0.7 17.0
K. Appling 3 92 5.0 6.0 12.0
B. Dawson 3 91 9.3 3.3 9.3
D. Valentine 3 72 2.7 2.7 9.0

For Michigan State, Portland faces its first top-ranked opponent since a 104-62 loss at Duke on Nov. 25, 2001. The Pilots (1-1) have also dropped 11 in a row against Top 25 teams by an average of 21.8 points.

"I think it's a privilege," Izzo told The AP on Monday, several hours before Michigan State hosted Portland. "If we handle it well, we'll see how long we can hang on. And if we don't, we'll learn something from that. We don't get a banner or a ring for this, but it's good for our program. It's also good for the guys on this team to add to their collection of accomplishments."

After playing the Pilots of West Coast Conference on Monday night, Michigan State will play Virginia Tech on Friday night in Brooklyn, N.Y. and then Oklahoma or Seton Hall the following night. The Spartans' next marquee game will be Dec. 4 at home against No. 24 North Carolina. Read the full AP story here.

The complete AP poll is below. Bookmark our AP and Coaches polls page for updates all season long.

AP Rankings
Rankings as of 11/18/2013
Rank School Record Votes Prev Rank
1 Michigan State Spartans 3-0 1608 (51) 2
2 Kansas Jayhawks 2-0 1523 (7) 5
3 Louisville Cardinals 3-0 1511 (7) 3
4 Kentucky Wildcats 3-1 1410 1
5 Arizona Wildcats 3-0 1339 (5) 6
6 Duke Blue Devils 2-1 1320 4
7 Oklahoma State Cowboys 3-0 1198 8
8 Ohio State Buckeyes 3-0 1172 10
9 Syracuse Orange 3-0 1135 9
10 VCU Rams 3-0 928 14
11 Memphis Tigers 1-0 871 13
12 Wisconsin Badgers 3-0 763 20
13 Gonzaga Bulldogs 3-0 710 15
14 Michigan Wolverines 2-1 705 7
14 Wichita State Shockers 4-0 705 16
16 Florida Gators 2-1 619 11
17 Oregon Ducks 2-0 613 18
18 Connecticut Huskies 4-0 600 19
19 New Mexico Lobos 2-0 353 22
20 Baylor Bears 3-0 342 23
21 Iowa State Cyclones 3-0 296 NR
22 UCLA Bruins 2-0 291 24
23 Creighton Bluejays 3-0 246 NR
24 North Carolina Tar Heels 2-1 213 12
25 Marquette Golden Eagles 2-1 144 17
ALSO RECEIVING VOTES:
Iowa Hawkeyes 4-0 122 NR
Indiana Hoosiers 4-0 109 NR
Virginia Cavaliers 2-1 77 25
Harvard Crimson 3-0 72 NR
Boise State Broncos 2-0 28 NR
Belmont Bruins 3-1 18 NR
Arizona State Sun Devils 3-0 13 NR
Villanova Wildcats 3-0 11 NR
Xavier Musketeers 3-0 10 NR
Tennessee Volunteers 1-1 9 NR
Pittsburgh Panthers 3-0 7 NR
Colorado Buffaloes 3-1 6 NR
Missouri Tigers 3-0 5 NR
Florida State Seminoles 3-0 4 NR
Minnesota Golden Gophers 3-0 4 NR
Saint Louis Billikens 3-0 4 NR
Cincinnati Bearcats 3-0 3 NR
BYU Cougars 4-0 2 NR
Indiana State Sycamores 2-1 2 NR
Massachusetts Minutemen 3-0 2 NR
George Washington Colonials 3-0 1 NR
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 2-1 1 21