My AP basketball ballot

Here’s this week’s Associated Press ballot of Kevin Dunleavy (Washington Examiner).

1. Duke (8-0)

Tight, veteran-laden rotation accounts for early-season success. But will it sustain into March?

2. Indiana (9-0)

Sheehey, Oladipo, and Zeller were a combined 24 of 38 in rout of North Carolina.

3. Syracuse (5-0)

No BCS conference schools among the eight on schedule this month.

4. Ohio State (5-1)

Offense sputtered at Duke, hitting 33.8 percent from floor and only six assists on 23 baskets.

5. Louisville (6-1)

Cool Hand Luke? Try frigid. Hancock is shooting 26 percent from floor, 23.1 percent from arc.

6. Florida (6-0)

Have blasted Wisconsin by 18 and Marquette by 33.

7. Michigan (7-0)

Plenty of quality wins already – Pitt, Kansas State, N.C. State, and at Bradley.

8. Arizona (5-0)

Will finally be tested in its next three – Southern Miss (6-1), at Clemson (4-2), and Florida (6-0).

9. Missouri (6-1)

Transfers Ross (Auburn), Bell (Pepperdine) and Oriakhi (UConn) have compensated for losses – graduation and otherwise (Dixon).

10. Kansas (6-1) – Saint Louis (14), WSU (40)

Withey’s triple double (18 points, 12 rebounds, 12 blocks) vs. San Jose State was second in program history.

11. Gonzaga (8-0)

Leads nation in field goal shooting (53.3 percent) behind beefy trio — 7-1, 305 Karnowski (68.5 percent), 6-9, 255 Dower (63.0 percent) and 6-7, 240 Harris (55.7 percent).

12. New Mexico (8-0)

Teams from the Mountain West have a 51-11 record, the best conference mark in the NCAA. Are we still calling it a mid-major?

13. Illinois (8-0)

Led by Brandon Paul (22) and D.J. Richardson (22), Illini have more 3-pointers (90) than any team in the nation.

14. Cincinnati (7-0)

The only sport where +/- matters is golf. Nevertheless, Cincy’s Kilpatrick is No. 2 in nation with a 24.7 average +/- per game, trailing Murphy Holloway (25.0) of undefeated Ole Miss.

15. UNC (6-2)

Tempted to drop them out of rankings, but they are North Carolina.

16. UConn (5-1)

Tempted to drop them out of rankings, but they are UConn.

17. Michigan St. (6-2)

Tempted to drop them out of rankings, but they are Michigan State.

18. San Diego State (5-1)

Have won 26 straight against teams from California after victory over UCLA.

19. Creighton (7-1)

Smoked by Boise St. G Marks (35 points on 13 of 19 shooting) in 83-70 loss.

20. Notre Dame (7-1)

Irish G Atkins (Mount St. Joe) is No. 6 in the nation in Roland. In related development, ND coach Brey ranks No. 1 in Van Gundy (looking sharp in mock turtleneck).

21. Pittsburgh (7-1)

Top two rebounders Zanna (McNamara) and Taylor (National Christian) played at P.G. County private schools.

22. Wichita State (8-0)

Rumor has it they play in the Missouri Valley Conference.

23. Virginia Tech (7-0)

PG Green on way ACC player of the year? Johnson on way ACC coach of year?

24. Georgetown (5-1)

Five of 19 NCAA football games this weekend generated more points than Hoyas’ 37-36 throwback win over Tennessee. Afterward, John Thompson, Jr.: “I couldn’t be prouder of my son.”

25. Oklahoma State (5-1)

Ford and Cowboys have lost four times in three seasons to Virginia Tech.

Next five:

Minnesota

A nice five-days work – neutral-site wins over Memphis, Stanford, then at FSU.

Maryland

Ready to rank them, but losing close to Kentucky is no longer a plus on resume.

VCU

All the losses by single digits and quality – Duke, Mizzou, Wichita State.

Alabama

Only loss by two points at Cincinnati.

Oregon