Source: aseaofblue.com / The top 8 teams in country have really started to distance themselves from the rest of the pack. Duke, Tennessee, Virginia, Gonzaga, Michigan, Nevada, Kentucky, and Houston have all established themselves as legit contenders.

College Hoops Top 25 3rd Edition: The Top 8 Distance Themselves

We had some awesome matchups this past week including a showdown in the ACC last night. Duke had another big week and it was enough to move them up into the top spot. No knock on Tennessee, who remains the top 1-loss team in the country, but Duke's impressive victory over Virginia this past week gives the Blue Devils a season-sweep of the Cavaliers & solidified their impressive resume. Virginia only has two losses to date- both to Duke, so it's hard to fault them. UVA knocked off North Carolina in Chapel Hill yesterday, notching another impressive victory and remain in the top 5 at #3 this week.

Source: usatoday.com / Duke knocked off Virginia for a second time this past week, bolstering their impressive resume even more.

The 3-7 spots all held firm this week as Virginia, Gonzaga, Michigan, Nevada, and Kentucky all stayed the course and continue to look impressive. Houston was the big addition to the top 10 this week, jumped up 3 spots and finally breaking into the top 10 at #8. The Cougars are followed by UNC once again at 9, and Marquette, who got a big victory over Villanova, and rounds out the top 10.

Michigan State and Kansas both suffered set-backs this week and slid out of the top 10 to 11 & 12, respectively. Villanova and Purdue stayed pat at 13 and 14, and Kansas State moved up a couple of spots to #15 after taking over the top spot in the Big XII conference standings. Iowa State and Texas Tech are still lurking close behind and check-in at #19 and 20 respectively this week.

Source: jconline.com / Purdue continues to keep scrapping their way to victories. The Boilermakers rank in the top 10 in both RPI and overall strength of schedule.

Virginia Tech slid down one spot to 16, and are followed by LSU, up a couple of spots to 17 and Wisconsin, who got a big come-from-behind win over Maryland during the week before falling at Michigan over the weekend.

Fellow Big TEN foe Iowa had a crazy comeback themselves, rallying from 13 down late in the second half on Sunday to defeat Northwestern at the buzzer. The Hawkeyes moved up a spot to 21 this week. Rounding out the top 25 are Florida State, up a couple of spots to 22 after knocking off Louisville during the week, that same Louisville squad at 23, sliding down 7 spots this week, Maryland at 24 and Buffalo, back into the top 25 this week at 25. Cincinnati's loss at Houston on Sunday slid the Bearcats just out of the rankings - for this week anywho. Without further ado here is this week's updated top 25:

Source: spokesman.com / Houston slid up 3 spots and into the top 10 this week. The Cougars improved to 23-1 on the season with a big victory over Cincinnati on Sunday.

TOP 25

1 DUKE (21-2)

2 TENNESSEE (22-1)

3 VIRGINIA (21-2)

4 GONZAGA (23-2)

5 MICHIGAN (22-2)

6 NEVADA (23-1)

7 KENTUCKY (20-3)

8 HOUSTON (23-1)

9 NORTH CAROLINA (19-5)

10 MARQUETTE (20-4)

11 MICHIGAN STATE (19-5)

12 KANSAS (19-6)

13 VILLANOVA (19-5)

14 PURDUE (17-6)

15 KANSAS STATE (18-5)

16 VIRGINIA TECH (18-5)

17 LSU (19-4)

18 WISCONSIN (17-7)

19 IOWA STATE (18-6)

20 TEXAS TECH (19-5)

21 IOWA (18-5)

22 FLORIDA STATE (18-5)

23 LOUISVILLE (17-7)

24 MARYLAND (18-6)

25 BUFFALO (20-3)*

* - new to the rankings this week

Dropped out: 25 CINCINNATI (20-4)

Cincinnati (20-4), Washington (19-5), Syracuse (17-7), Wofford (21-4), Mississippi State (16-7), and Hofstra (21-4) are the next group of teams just outside of the top 25. Continue to keep an eye on mid-majors Wofford and Hofstra, as both just keep on winning. The Washington Huskies continue to lead the Pac-12, but the conference just doesn't have much of anything to offer in terms of quality wins this season, and that continues to keep the Huskies out of the top 25 for the moment. Cincinnati is a good team and really shouldn't be faulted for losing to Houston. The problem is, the Bearcats are sufficiently lacking in overall quality wins, and for the moment, that has them just outside the top 25.

Source: gohuskies.com / Washington sits atop the Pac 12, but the conference is having an awful season as a whole, preventing the Huskies from cracking the top 25.

Look no further than later today for a number of high caliber matchups including - Duke vs Louisville in the ACC, LSU vs Kentucky in the SEC, and Wisconsin vs Michigan State in the Big TEN. Kansas State visits Texas in an important game for the Longhorns in the Big XII as well.

Of course that is just what's in-store tonight, there is plenty of action ahead of us this week, enjoy all of the games and be sure to check back next week for another updated top 25!