CBKB: Connecticut stays No. 1 in AP poll
By JIM O’CONNELL
AP Basketball Writer
The monthlong run of new No. 1s is over.
Connecticut held the top spot in The Associated Press' college basketball for a second straight week after a run that saw a different team on top for four straight weeks.
The Huskies (22-1) beat Louisville and Michigan last week to again be a runaway No. 1, receiving 67 of 72 first-place votes from a national media panel.
Oklahoma (23-1) and North Carolina (21-2) held second and third place in the rankings with the Sooners getting three first-place votes, while the Tar Heels were No. 1 on two ballots.
The run of No. 1s started when Pittsburgh finished its two-week stint on top. Wake Forest and Duke each were up there for a week before Connecticut moved in.
The changes in the Top 25 started after the first three following a week that saw 14 teams — six in the top 10 — lose at least one game.
Pittsburgh jumped from sixth to No. 4, while Louisville remained fifth after rebounding from a home the loss to Connecticut with a road win over St. John's.
Duke, which lost by 27 points to Clemson then beat Miami in overtime, dropped from fourth to sixth. Wake Forest, which lost by 27 points to Miami before snapping a two-game losing streak with a win over Boston College, held seventh place.
Memphis, which beat Gonzaga in a matchup of ranked teams, moved from 14th to eighth, while Michigan State moved from 13th to No. 9. Marquette, which fell to South Florida for its first Big East loss, dropped two spots to 10th.
UCLA was No. 11 followed by Clemson, Villanova, Xavier, Butler, Kansas, Missouri, Arizona State, Gonzaga and Purdue.
The last five ranked teams were Utah State, Illinois, Syracuse, Ohio State and Florida State.
Missouri and Ohio State both moved back into the Top 25 after being ranked earlier this season while Florida State is ranked for the first time since January 1998.
Texas (15-7), which lost to Missouri and Nebraska last week to extend its losing streak to three games, dropped out from 16th. The Longhorns were No. 7 in the preseason poll and reached as high as fifth.
Minnesota (18-5) lost to Michigan State and Ohio State this week and fell out from 19th one week after returning to the poll. Washington (16-6) dropped out from 22nd after losing to California and beating Stanford.
The other Top 10 teams to lose last week were Xavier, to Duquesne, and Clemson, to Florida State. Purdue, which fell from 12th to No. 20, lost to Ohio State and Illinois last week.
Missouri (20-4) was ranked for one week in December and fell out right away after losing to Illinois. The Tigers have won 11 of 13 since then and jumped in at No. 17.
Ohio State (17-5) was ranked for four weeks earlier this season, reaching as high as No. 15. The Buckeyes returned having won four straight after losing two in a row.
Florida State (18-5) moved in for the first time in 11 years off the big win at Clemson, a game it trailed in by 19 points. The Seminoles have won three of four with the loss to North Carolina.
Nineteen of the Top 25 come from four conferences: Big East (6), Big Ten (5), Atlantic Coast Conference (5) and Big 12 (3).