Maryland men’s basketball drops to No. 9 in latest AP Top 25 poll

For the first time in over a month, Maryland men’s basketball comes into a Monday rankings release coming off a defeat.

After a 1-1 week — capped off by a 79-72 loss to then-No. 25 Ohio State Sunday in Columbus — the Terps fall to No. 9, sliding backwards in the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since the Week 11 poll released on Jan. 13.

Maryland kicked off its week with a 76-67 win over Northwestern, extending the team’s winning streak to a whopping nine straight games. But the Big Ten leaders couldn’t make it double-digits, as the loss to the Buckeyes put an end to the run of dominance.

Despite the defeat, the Terps still hold a two-game lead in the Big Ten standings over Penn State with four to play, as they’re inching closer and closer to a conference championship — which would be the program’s first since grabbing the ACC title in 2004.

Five other Big Ten teams — No. 16 Penn State, No. 18 Iowa, No. 19 Michigan, No. 23 Ohio State and No. 24 Michigan State — join Maryland in this week’s poll. Illinois and Wisconsin are also receiving votes.

The Terps will have two more chances to get back in the win column this week, with the first coming on Wednesday night against the Minnesota in Minneapolis. And then on Saturday, they’ll host College Gameday for the first time in 15 years before an 8 p.m. ET tip against the No. 24-ranked Spartans.

Check out the rest of the poll here.