Louisville and Gonzaga each had a lofty spot in the poll earlier this season, and both are headed in the wrong direction now.
The 16th-ranked Bulldogs dropped their third consecutive game for only the second time in eight years with a 66-65 loss to Utah on Wednesday night. The 18th-ranked Cardinals fell to UNLV 56-55.
The loss sends the Cardinals reeling into their annual showdown with archrival Kentucky and continues their free fall that started with an upset by Western Kentucky four weeks ago. Louisville (8-3) was ranked No. 3 in November but heads into the New Year searching for answers.
``We've lost three games now and we've got the meat of our schedule coming up in a very tough conference,'' Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. ``Our backs are to the wall and we've got to come out fighting.''
Gonzaga (8-4), which lost four games in a row from Dec. 16, 2006-Jan. 3, 2007, hadn't dropped three consecutive games before that since 2000.
``We need to toughen up in there and step up and make some shots, especially Josh (Heytvelt) and Austin (Daye). They are taking a lot of them, they're just not making them,'' Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.
In other games involving ranked teams, it was: No. 1 North Carolina 84, Nevada 61; No. 3 Pittsburgh 78, Rutgers 72; No. 5 Duke 92, Loyola of Maryland 51; No. 7 Notre Dame 92, DePaul 82; No. 10 Michigan State 70, Minnesota 58; No. 19 Baylor 113, Jackson State 78; No. 22 Xavier 78, Robert Morris 57; Wisconsin 73, No. 23 Michigan 61; and No. 24 Ohio State 68, Iowa 65.
In Salt Lake City, Gonzaga had two chances to pull out the win in the final seconds when Matt Bouldin stole an inbounds pass. He missed a runner and Austin Daye couldn't convert the rebound.
Luke Nevill scored 15 points and Luka Drca had 14 points and seven assists for Utah (8-5).
In Louisville, Oscar Bellfield hit an acrobatic layup with 16.1 seconds remaining to lift UNLV to the victory.
Bellfield beat Samardo Samuels to the basket and banked the ball over the outstretched hands of the 6-foot-9 center to give the Runnin' Rebels the lead. Louisville's Terrence Williams missed a layup with 3 seconds remaining and UNLV (12-2) grabbed the rebound to hold on.
At Reno, Nev., Tyler Hansbrough scored 22 points to keep North Carolina undefeated with a school-record 13th straight win by double figures.
Wayne Ellington added 15 points and Ty Lawson had 11 points and seven assists for North Carolina (13-0), which trailed early but put together a 10-1 run midway through the first half capped by Hansbrough's 3-pointer to take control of the game.
Luke Babbitt had 22 points, Armon Johnson 15 and Malik Cooke 13 for Nevada (7-6).
At Piscataway, N.J., Sam Young had 18 points and Brad Wanamaker scored 13 of his career-high 15 in the second half to help Pittsburgh beat Rutgers in the Big East opener for both teams.
The Panthers (13-0) kept up their best start since going 15-0 in the 2005-06 season.
Rutgers led 55-50 midway through the second half. Wanamaker then scored five points in a 9-0 run as the Panthers rallied.
Mike Rosario had 22 points for Rutgers (9-5).
At Durham, N.C., Kyle Singler scored 20 points to help Duke get the win despite playing much of the game without starting point guard Nolan Smith.
Gerald Henderson added 19 points for the Blue Devils (11-1), who had no trouble winning their first game after an 11-day break for Christmas. But Duke lost Smith midway through the first half to an apparent left knee injury, leaving the sophomore to spend most of the day sitting on the bench with an ice bag on his knee.
Still, Duke had too much depth and size against the smaller Greyhounds (4-9), taking a double-digit lead in the first 6 minutes.
At Rosemont, Ill., Luke Harangody had 26 points and 16 rebounds and Zach Hillesland scored a career-high 17 to lead Notre Dame to the win in the Big East opener for both teams.
All five starters finished in double figures in scoring for the Fighting Irish (10-2).
Dar Tucker scored 24 and Mac Koshwal finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds for DePaul (8-6).
At Minneapolis, Kalin Lucas scored a career-high 24 points, Chris Allen added 13 and Michigan State handed Minnesota its first loss of the season.
In the Big Ten opener for both teams, Michigan State (10-2) wore down Minnesota by repeatedly attacking the basket and clogging the lane defensively. The Spartans outrebounded the Gophers 49-27 and outscored them 28-18 in the paint.
Minnesota (12-1) shot a season-low 39.6 percent from the floor.
At Waco, Texas, Kevin Rogers scored 21 and Henry Dugat had 20 to help Baylor beat Jackson State.
LaceDarius Dunn added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Josh Lomers had 14 points and Tweety Carter scored 12 for Baylor (12-1).
Jeremy Caldwell scored 25 for Jackson State (1-11).
At Cincinnati, Jason Love scored a career-high 15 points to lead Xavier over Robert Morris.
Xavier (10-2) was coming off back-to-back losses that sapped the Musketeers' confidence. They were sloppy and sluggish in a 74-65 home loss to Butler on Saturday that prompted coach Sean Miller to make a lineup change against Robert Morris (6-7).
Jeremy Chappell led Robert Morris with 17 points.
At Ann Arbor, Mich., Marcus Landry and Trevon Hughes each scored 16 points for Wisconsin.
Jon Leuer added 12 points for the Badgers (10-3, 1-0 Big Ten), coming off a five-point loss to then-No. 9 Texas last week. Wisconsin has not lost consecutive games since falling to Ohio State and Michigan State in February 2007.
Freshman Zack Novak scored a season-high 20 points and DeShawn Sims had 14 for the Wolverines (10-3, 0-1).
At Columbus, Ohio, Jon Diebler scored a career-high 27 points and Evan Turner hit three late free throws to lead Ohio State to the win.
In a physical game between two of the nation's top defensive teams, the Buckeyes (10-1, 1-0 Big Ten) built an early lead, lost it, regained it, and then barely had enough to hang on at the finish.
Matt Gatens, who led the Hawkeyes (10-4, 0-1) with 22 points, missed a tying 3-pointer with 9 seconds remaining. After a wild scramble for the loose ball, the Buckeyes grabbed it and made a long pass to melt away the final few seconds.
