Thanks to losses by Michigan State and Missouri, UConn jumps up two spots, from No. 8 to 6, in my top 25 poll this week.

I've dropped Sparty from No. 4 to 7 following their 84-79 loss to Duke. While it's not fair to punish a team too much from losing a close game to the consensus No. 1 team in the country, you can make a strong argument that I should have had MSU ranked behind UConn already, based on the Huskies' head-to-head win in Maui.

As for Mizzou, it drops from No. 7 to 9 after its 111-102, overtime loss to Georgetown. Again, can't penalize the Tigers too much ... but certainly can reward the Hoyas, who prove they can play any type of style. They're up from No. 20 to 14 in my poll.

Also showing some love to San Diego State (from No. 17 to 13) and Illinois (11 to 8) while punishing Kentucky (10 to 16) and Florida (15 to 25).

Only one team (Richmond) exits my top 25, making room for Notre Dame.

Here's what I've submitted to the AP tonight (don't have to wait for tonight's Texas game. I don't have the Longhorns ranked. They duped me badly last year, and they're going to have to prove themselves a little more to me this time around):

1. Duke
2. Ohio State
3. Pittsburgh
4. Kansas
5. Kansas State
6. UConn
7. Michigan State
8. Illinois
9. Missouri
10. Villanova
11. Brigham Young
12. Syracuse
13. San Diego State
14. Georgetown
15. Memphis
16. Kentucky
17. Baylor
18. UNLV
19. Washington
20. Tennessee
21. Purdue
22. Louisville
23. Minnesota
24. Notre Dame
25. Florida
Oh, and remember UMBC? They made Sporcle today in a good quiz for college sports fans. (I got 66 of 68 and I'm pretty proud of it.)

"And if all the hippies, cut their hair/I don't care ..."