Arizona remains No. 1 in AP Top 25, Michigan jumps UConn for No. 2
Arizona remained the unanimous No. 1 in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll Monday while Michigan jumped over UConn and into second place following wins over previously unbeaten Nebraska and rival Michigan State.
The Wildcats, who are off to a school-record 22-0 start, earned all 59 votes from a national media panel to stay atop the poll for the eighth consecutive week. UConn and Michigan were followed by Duke and Illinois in rounding out the top five.
“We value steadiness,” said Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, whose team visits Oklahoma State on Saturday before a four-game grinder against Kansas, Texas Tech, BYU and Houston. “A lot of of people talk about momentum, momentum, momentum. I understand what momentum is, but I think there’s way more value in being steady and consistent.”
If the Wildcats beat the Cowboys, they would set a school record with their 23rd consecutive win. This bunch is currently tied with Arizona teams from 1914-17 that won 22 in a row under its arena namesake, Pop McKale, over a three-year span.
Gonzaga remained at No. 6 while Iowa State and Houston climbed one spot apiece. The Huskers fell four spots to No. 9 after losses to Michiganand the Illini, while the Spartans fell three spots to No. 10 after beating Rutgers and their own loss to the Wolverines.
The losses by Nebraska left only Arizona and No. 23 Miami (Ohio) unbeaten in Division I men’s college basketball.
“Obviously, back-to-back losses, we just have to look at the film and learn from it,” Huskers forward Pryce Sandfort said. “Keep our heads high and flush it as we get ready for Rutgers this week.”
Kansas climbed three spots to No. 11 following its win over BYU on Saturday, while Purdue remained at No. 12 and Texas Tech — which played the Jayhawks on Monday night — was at No. 13. North Carolina and Vanderbilt rounded out the first 15.
BYU, Florida, Virginia, Saint Louis and Clemson were next. The Billikens, who have won 15 consecutive games, have reached their best ranking since March 10, 2014, when they were at No. 18 the year they won the Atlantic 10 championship.
Arkansas, St. John’s, Miami (Ohio), Louisville and Tennessee held down the final five spots in the Top 25. The RedHawks bumped up one from last week and are at their highest point since they were No. 22 on Nov. 30, 1998.
“The further you go,” RedHawks coach Travis Steele said following a win over Northern Illinois on Saturday, “the harder it gets.”
Rising and falling
Kansas, Vanderbilt and St. John’s made up the most ground this week, climbing three spots apiece, while the Volunteers — who were ranked as high as No. 13 this season — climbed back into the poll at No. 25 after two weeks out of it.
Tennessee returned at the expense of Alabama. The Crimson Tide had the fifth-longest active poll streak snapped at 42.
Update on the NET
The latest NET rankings released Sunday, which the NCAA uses to help select its tournament field, installed Duke at No. 1 with the Wildcats second and Michigan third. The rest of the rankings largely mirrored the AP poll with one notable exception: The RedHawks were at No. 53 in the NET rankings by virtue of a soft schedule that has produced no Quad 1 win.
Conference watch
The Big 12 led with six teams in the Top 25, while the Big Ten and ACC had five apiece — though the Big Ten had four of its five in the top 10. The SEC had four ranked teams, the Big East had two and the West Coast, A-10 and MAC had one apiece.
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