Ohio State is to No. 1 ... again.

The Buckeyes moved into the top spot of The Associated Press' college basketball poll after Duke lost last week, earning 45 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel -- including Michael Rothstein of AnnArbor.com.

This is the third consecutive week there has been a new No. 1. Ohio State was No. 1 for four weeks before dropping to No. 2 for the past two weeks.

Rothstein's complete ballot and some thoughts follow:

Michael Rothstein's AP Top 25 ballot (With last week's ranking in parenthesis)

1. Ohio State (3) 2. Kansas (7) 3. BYU (5) 4. Pittsburgh (2) 5. Purdue (8) 6. Duke (1) 7. Texas (6) 8. San Diego State (4) 9. Notre Dame (12) 10. Wisconsin (9) 11. Louisville (13) 12. St. John’s (16) 13. Syracuse (20) 14. North Carolina (19) 15. Florida (10) 16. Connecticut (14) 17. Villanova (18) 18. Vanderbilt (17) 19. Kentucky (21) 20. Georgetown (15) 21. Missouri (22) 22. George Mason (NR) 23. Texas A&M (23) 24. Virginia Tech (NR) 25. Utah State (24)

Dropped out: No. 11 Arizona, No. 25 Belmont.

Michael Rothstein’s take: The Buckeyes are back on top and considering the way they've played, they probably should be there the rest of the season.

The top tier of teams in college basketball this year is deeper than in most seasons. Judging from the topsy-turvy way my ballot, and the poll in general, has moved this season, any of 12 teams (not necessarily the top 12 in this week’s poll) could win the national title.

As for the poll, George Mason moves in after a good season in the always-strong Colonial Athletic Association and Virginia Tech makes an appearance after upsetting then-No. 1 Duke.