Illinois, Minnesota gain in rankings

Big Ten members Illinois and Minnesota made the biggest gains Monday but conference rival Indiana continues to lead the USA Today Coaches' basketball poll. After a week in which the Top 25-ranked teams went a combined 43-1 -- the only loss was Illinois' win over Gonzaga in a battle of two ranked teams -- there was little real movement in the rankings. No team dropped out this week and the only changes in the first 15 spots finds Illinois moving from 14th to No. 10, switching places with Gonzaga. Minnesota gains five places to 16th and the next biggest move was by Kentucky, which slips a further three spots to No. 22. Indiana (9-0) leads the poll voting with 25 first-place mentions. The other five No. 1 votes went to second-ranked Duke (9-0). Michigan (9-0) is third followed by Syracuse (10-0) and Florida (7-0), in fourth and fifth, respectively. Louisville (8-1) comes in sixth ahead of Ohio State (6-1) with Arizona (7-0) in eighth and Kansas (7-1) at No. 9 while Illinois (10-0) moves into the Top 10. Missouri (8-1) holds steady at 11th while 12th-ranked Cincinnati (9-0) and No. 13 Creighton (9-1) also keep the same spots as a week ago. Gonzaga (7-1), at 14th, is voted in front of No. 15 San Diego State (7-1). Minnesota's 10-1 start earns it the No. 16 position. Nevada-Las Vegas (7-1) is up one slot to 17th, but No 18 North Carolina (7-2) and 19th-ranked Michigan State (8-2) are both off two. New Mexico (10-0) is again 20th. Georgetown (7-2) is up two to 21st but Kentucky (6-3) is now 22nd and Oklahoma State (7-1) drops from 22nd to No. 23. Notre Dame (8-1) moves up one place to 24th, pushing North Carolina State (6-2) to No. 25.