Ohio State is the second team to hold the No. 1 spot in The Associated Press Top 25 this season.
The Buckeyes (18-0) moved up one spot to replace Duke, which was No. 1 in the preseason Top 25 and the first nine polls of the regular season, including six weeks as the unanimous pick of the 65-member national media panel.
The Blue Devils' loss at Florida State on Wednesday opened the way for the Buckeyes, who are No. 1 for the third time in school history. Ohio State was No. 1 for all of 1960-61 and 1961-62, a run of 27 straight polls, and for the last three weeks of 2006-07.
The Buckeyes received 49 first-place votes Monday. Kansas, which was No. 1 on six ballots, and Syracuse, which got eight first-place votes, each moved up one spot to second and third.
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Jan. 16, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week's ranking:
