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The Big Ten conference had an impressive opening weekend of basketball as the division went a combined 13-1 on the weekend, the one loss belonging to the Michigan St. Spartans (0-1) who faced the No. 1 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels.
The Ohio St. Buckeyes (1-0) remain the highest ranked Big Ten basketball team with a No. 3 slotting. The Wisconsin Badgers (1-0, No. 14) and the Michigan Wolverines (1-0, No. 17) have both moved up a rank since their preseason rankings of 15 and 18, respectively.
The Illinois Fighting Illini (1-0, not in Top 25) were tied for a 44th rank in the AP preseason poll and started their 2011-2012 season with a strong 67-49 win over the Loyola of Chicago Ramblers. The fighting Illini will be in action again tonight, facing the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars at 7:30 PM CST.
| AP Top 25 | |||
| RK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS |
| 1 | North Carolina (62) | 2-0 | 1,620 |
| 2 | Kentucky | 1-0 | 1,519 |
| 3 | Ohio State (1) | 1-0 | 1,486 |
| 4 | Connecticut (2) | 1-0 | 1,429 |
| 5 | Syracuse | 1-0 | 1,358 |
| 6 | Duke | 2-0 | 1,274 |
| 7 | Florida | 1-0 | 1,132 |
| 8 | Louisville | 2-0 | 1,122 |
| 9 | Pittsburgh | 2-0 | 1,084 |
| 10 | Memphis | 0-0 | 1,017 |
| 11 | Baylor | 2-0 | 962 |
| 12 | Kansas | 1-0 | 835 |
| 13 | Xavier | 1-0 | 806 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | 1-0 | 801 |
| 15 | Arizona | 3-0 | 607 |
| 16 | Alabama | 1-0 | 497 |
| 17 | Michigan | 1-0 | 475 |
| 18 | Vanderbilt | 1-1 | 454 |
| 19 | Texas A&M | 2-0 | 444 |
| 20 | Cincinnati | 1-0 | 410 |
| 21 | Marquette | 1-0 | 406 |
| 22 | Gonzaga | 1-0 | 311 |
| 23 | California | 2-0 | 295 |
| 24 | Missouri | 1-0 | 200 |
| 25 | Florida State | 1-0 | 132 |