North Carolina made a massive jump, while Kansas suffered a pretty significant drop in this week’s AP Top 25 poll.
The previously unranked Tar Heels were No. 12 in Monday’s poll, extending to 37 their record of consecutive seasons with a ranking. Not bad for a team that went 8-20 in 2001-02.
Meanwhile, Kansas, which fell to North Carolina and Florida at the Preseason NIT, went from No. 2 to No. 14. It’s KU’s lowest ranking since the end of the 1999-00 season, when it was unranked. At this stage of the season, it’s KU’s lowest ranking since 1990-91.
“I prefer not to be ranked. I don’t care about rankings,” Carolina coach Matt Doherty said Monday. “I just care about getting better every day in practice. Rankings are things we can’t control and it’s a potential distraction.”
KU coach Roy Williams also doesn’t care about rankings, but did express surprise when a Sports Illustrated reporter asked him if he was “embarrassed” dropping two games in New York as the country’s No. 2 team.
“I was stunned,” Williams said matter-of-factly on Monday’s “Hawk Talk” radio show. “I said, ‘No. I’m not embarrassed. You are the daggum guys who picked us No. 2. Are you embarrassed?’
“I said all along we had some problems – problems with depth. We weren’t as good as our ranking, but we work as hard as we can every single day. I thought it was a stupid comment by that guy. I wasn’t the one who picked us up there. He was and he asked me if I was embarrassed.”
A week of shockers and games between ranked teams at tournaments led to shuffling in the Top 25, with two teams falling 12 places each – KU from No. 2, and Michigan State from No. 9 – and four schools dropping out altogether.
No. 1 Arizona (2-0) received all but one of the 72 first-place votes from the national media panel.
Texas (4-0) moved up one spot to second, its best ranking ever. The Longhorns visit Tucson, Ariz., on Dec. 15, in a potential 1 vs. 2 matchup.
Alabama (4-0) climbed a place to No. 3, matching the Crimson Tide’s highest ranking. Alabama was also No. 3 for two weeks in January 1977. Duke (3-0) jumped from sixth to fourth, while Pittsburgh (3-0) received the other No. 1 vote and held fifth.
The rest of the Top 10 was Oklahoma, Oregon, Florida, defending national champion Maryland, and Indiana, which had the week’s biggest jump among ranked teams. The Hoosiers (4-0) – who moved from 19th to No. 10 after winning the Maui Invitational – play Maryland tonight in a rematch of last season’s NCAA title game.
Connecticut was 11th, followed by North Carolina, Marquette, Kansas, Missouri, Xavier, Stanford, Kentucky, Tulsa and Minnesota.
Michigan State, Virginia, Wisconsin, Mississippi State and Illinois completed the rankings.
In addition to North Carolina, Stanford, Virginia, and Illinois joined the Top 25.
North Carolina made a massive jump, while Kansas suffered a pretty significant drop in this week’s AP Top 25 poll.
The previously unranked Tar Heels were No. 12 in Monday’s poll, extending to 37 their record of consecutive seasons with a ranking. Not bad for a team that went 8-20 in 2001-02.
Meanwhile, Kansas, which fell to North Carolina and Florida at the Preseason NIT, went from No. 2 to No. 14. It’s KU’s lowest ranking since the end of the 1999-00 season, when it was unranked. At this stage of the season, it’s KU’s lowest ranking since 1990-91.
“I prefer not to be ranked. I don’t care about rankings,” Carolina coach Matt Doherty said Monday. “I just care about getting better every day in practice. Rankings are things we can’t control and it’s a potential distraction.”
KU coach Roy Williams also doesn’t care about rankings, but did express surprise when a Sports Illustrated reporter asked him if he was “embarrassed” dropping two games in New York as the country’s No. 2 team.
“I was stunned,” Williams said matter-of-factly on Monday’s “Hawk Talk” radio show. “I said, ‘No. I’m not embarrassed. You are the daggum guys who picked us No. 2. Are you embarrassed?’
“I said all along we had some problems – problems with depth. We weren’t as good as our ranking, but we work as hard as we can every single day. I thought it was a stupid comment by that guy. I wasn’t the one who picked us up there. He was and he asked me if I was embarrassed.”
A week of shockers and games between ranked teams at tournaments led to shuffling in the Top 25, with two teams falling 12 places each – KU from No. 2, and Michigan State from No. 9 – and four schools dropping out altogether.
No. 1 Arizona (2-0) received all but one of the 72 first-place votes from the national media panel.
Texas (4-0) moved up one spot to second, its best ranking ever. The Longhorns visit Tucson, Ariz., on Dec. 15, in a potential 1 vs. 2 matchup.
Alabama (4-0) climbed a place to No. 3, matching the Crimson Tide’s highest ranking. Alabama was also No. 3 for two weeks in January 1977. Duke (3-0) jumped from sixth to fourth, while Pittsburgh (3-0) received the other No. 1 vote and held fifth.
The rest of the Top 10 was Oklahoma, Oregon, Florida, defending national champion Maryland, and Indiana, which had the week’s biggest jump among ranked teams. The Hoosiers (4-0) – who moved from 19th to No. 10 after winning the Maui Invitational – play Maryland tonight in a rematch of last season’s NCAA title game.
Connecticut was 11th, followed by North Carolina, Marquette, Kansas, Missouri, Xavier, Stanford, Kentucky, Tulsa and Minnesota.
Michigan State, Virginia, Wisconsin, Mississippi State and Illinois completed the rankings.
In addition to North Carolina, Stanford, Virginia, and Illinois joined the Top 25.
North Carolina made a massive jump, while Kansas suffered a pretty significant drop in this week’s AP Top 25 poll.
The previously unranked Tar Heels were No. 12 in Monday’s poll, extending to 37 their record of consecutive seasons with a ranking. Not bad for a team that went 8-20 in 2001-02.
Meanwhile, Kansas, which fell to North Carolina and Florida at the Preseason NIT, went from No. 2 to No. 14. It’s KU’s lowest ranking since the end of the 1999-00 season, when it was unranked. At this stage of the season, it’s KU’s lowest ranking since 1990-91.
“I prefer not to be ranked. I don’t care about rankings,” Carolina coach Matt Doherty said Monday. “I just care about getting better every day in practice. Rankings are things we can’t control and it’s a potential distraction.”
KU coach Roy Williams also doesn’t care about rankings, but did express surprise when a Sports Illustrated reporter asked him if he was “embarrassed” dropping two games in New York as the country’s No. 2 team.
“I was stunned,” Williams said matter-of-factly on Monday’s “Hawk Talk” radio show. “I said, ‘No. I’m not embarrassed. You are the daggum guys who picked us No. 2. Are you embarrassed?’
“I said all along we had some problems – problems with depth. We weren’t as good as our ranking, but we work as hard as we can every single day. I thought it was a stupid comment by that guy. I wasn’t the one who picked us up there. He was and he asked me if I was embarrassed.”
A week of shockers and games between ranked teams at tournaments led to shuffling in the Top 25, with two teams falling 12 places each – KU from No. 2, and Michigan State from No. 9 – and four schools dropping out altogether.
No. 1 Arizona (2-0) received all but one of the 72 first-place votes from the national media panel.
Texas (4-0) moved up one spot to second, its best ranking ever. The Longhorns visit Tucson, Ariz., on Dec. 15, in a potential 1 vs. 2 matchup.
Alabama (4-0) climbed a place to No. 3, matching the Crimson Tide’s highest ranking. Alabama was also No. 3 for two weeks in January 1977. Duke (3-0) jumped from sixth to fourth, while Pittsburgh (3-0) received the other No. 1 vote and held fifth.
The rest of the Top 10 was Oklahoma, Oregon, Florida, defending national champion Maryland, and Indiana, which had the week’s biggest jump among ranked teams. The Hoosiers (4-0) – who moved from 19th to No. 10 after winning the Maui Invitational – play Maryland tonight in a rematch of last season’s NCAA title game.
Connecticut was 11th, followed by North Carolina, Marquette, Kansas, Missouri, Xavier, Stanford, Kentucky, Tulsa and Minnesota.
Michigan State, Virginia, Wisconsin, Mississippi State and Illinois completed the rankings.
In addition to North Carolina, Stanford, Virginia, and Illinois joined the Top 25.
North Carolina made a massive jump, while Kansas suffered a pretty significant drop in this week’s AP Top 25 poll.
The previously unranked Tar Heels were No. 12 in Monday’s poll, extending to 37 their record of consecutive seasons with a ranking. Not bad for a team that went 8-20 in 2001-02.
Meanwhile, Kansas, which fell to North Carolina and Florida at the Preseason NIT, went from No. 2 to No. 14. It’s KU’s lowest ranking since the end of the 1999-00 season, when it was unranked. At this stage of the season, it’s KU’s lowest ranking since 1990-91.
“I prefer not to be ranked. I don’t care about rankings,” Carolina coach Matt Doherty said Monday. “I just care about getting better every day in practice. Rankings are things we can’t control and it’s a potential distraction.”
KU coach Roy Williams also doesn’t care about rankings, but did express surprise when a Sports Illustrated reporter asked him if he was “embarrassed” dropping two games in New York as the country’s No. 2 team.
“I was stunned,” Williams said matter-of-factly on Monday’s “Hawk Talk” radio show. “I said, ‘No. I’m not embarrassed. You are the daggum guys who picked us No. 2. Are you embarrassed?’
“I said all along we had some problems – problems with depth. We weren’t as good as our ranking, but we work as hard as we can every single day. I thought it was a stupid comment by that guy. I wasn’t the one who picked us up there. He was and he asked me if I was embarrassed.”
A week of shockers and games between ranked teams at tournaments led to shuffling in the Top 25, with two teams falling 12 places each – KU from No. 2, and Michigan State from No. 9 – and four schools dropping out altogether.
No. 1 Arizona (2-0) received all but one of the 72 first-place votes from the national media panel.
Texas (4-0) moved up one spot to second, its best ranking ever. The Longhorns visit Tucson, Ariz., on Dec. 15, in a potential 1 vs. 2 matchup.
Alabama (4-0) climbed a place to No. 3, matching the Crimson Tide’s highest ranking. Alabama was also No. 3 for two weeks in January 1977. Duke (3-0) jumped from sixth to fourth, while Pittsburgh (3-0) received the other No. 1 vote and held fifth.
The rest of the Top 10 was Oklahoma, Oregon, Florida, defending national champion Maryland, and Indiana, which had the week’s biggest jump among ranked teams. The Hoosiers (4-0) – who moved from 19th to No. 10 after winning the Maui Invitational – play Maryland tonight in a rematch of last season’s NCAA title game.
Connecticut was 11th, followed by North Carolina, Marquette, Kansas, Missouri, Xavier, Stanford, Kentucky, Tulsa and Minnesota.
Michigan State, Virginia, Wisconsin, Mississippi State and Illinois completed the rankings.
In addition to North Carolina, Stanford, Virginia, and Illinois joined the Top 25.
Chicago ? Illinois-Chicago pounded out 11 hits in handing Kansas University a 5-3 baseball setback Wednesday afternoon.
The Flames (28-10) took an early lead with four hits and two runs in the bottom of the second inning. UIC’s Chris Kerpan drilled a double to score Kevin Nelson and Chuck Peters.
KU (18-24) managed just one hit through the first five innings until breaking through for two runs on three hits in the top of the sixth. Brandon Shepard led off with a single, followed by a Lance Hayes double. Matt Tribble then scored both runners with a single.
The Jayhawks rallied in the ninth with a hit batter, a pair of singles and a groundout by Ryan Baty to score a run, but Kevin Wheeler and Jason Appuhn struck out to end the game.
Illinois-Chicago 5, Kansas 3
Kansas 000 002 001 3 7 3
Illinois-Chicago 021 002 00x 5 11 0
WPScott Anderson (1-0). LPJeff Davis (5-4). SvDavid Maehnel. 2BKU: Lance Hayes; UIC: Chuck Peters 2, Chris Kerpan.
Chicago ? Illinois-Chicago pounded out 11 hits in handing Kansas University a 5-3 baseball setback Wednesday afternoon.
The Flames (28-10) took an early lead with four hits and two runs in the bottom of the second inning. UIC’s Chris Kerpan drilled a double to score Kevin Nelson and Chuck Peters.
KU (18-24) managed just one hit through the first five innings until breaking through for two runs on three hits in the top of the sixth. Brandon Shepard led off with a single, followed by a Lance Hayes double. Matt Tribble then scored both runners with a single.
The Jayhawks rallied in the ninth with a hit batter, a pair of singles and a groundout by Ryan Baty to score a run, but Kevin Wheeler and Jason Appuhn struck out to end the game.
Illinois-Chicago 5, Kansas 3
Kansas 000 002 001 3 7 3
Illinois-Chicago 021 002 00x 5 11 0
WPScott Anderson (1-0). LPJeff Davis (5-4). SvDavid Maehnel. 2BKU: Lance Hayes; UIC: Chuck Peters 2, Chris Kerpan.
Chicago ? Illinois-Chicago pounded out 11 hits in handing Kansas University a 5-3 baseball setback Wednesday afternoon.
The Flames (28-10) took an early lead with four hits and two runs in the bottom of the second inning. UIC’s Chris Kerpan drilled a double to score Kevin Nelson and Chuck Peters.
KU (18-24) managed just one hit through the first five innings until breaking through for two runs on three hits in the top of the sixth. Brandon Shepard led off with a single, followed by a Lance Hayes double. Matt Tribble then scored both runners with a single.
The Jayhawks rallied in the ninth with a hit batter, a pair of singles and a groundout by Ryan Baty to score a run, but Kevin Wheeler and Jason Appuhn struck out to end the game.
Illinois-Chicago 5, Kansas 3
Kansas 000 002 001 3 7 3
Illinois-Chicago 021 002 00x 5 11 0
WPScott Anderson (1-0). LPJeff Davis (5-4). SvDavid Maehnel. 2BKU: Lance Hayes; UIC: Chuck Peters 2, Chris Kerpan.
Chicago ? Illinois-Chicago pounded out 11 hits in handing Kansas University a 5-3 baseball setback Wednesday afternoon.
The Flames (28-10) took an early lead with four hits and two runs in the bottom of the second inning. UIC’s Chris Kerpan drilled a double to score Kevin Nelson and Chuck Peters.
KU (18-24) managed just one hit through the first five innings until breaking through for two runs on three hits in the top of the sixth. Brandon Shepard led off with a single, followed by a Lance Hayes double. Matt Tribble then scored both runners with a single.
The Jayhawks rallied in the ninth with a hit batter, a pair of singles and a groundout by Ryan Baty to score a run, but Kevin Wheeler and Jason Appuhn struck out to end the game.
Illinois-Chicago 5, Kansas 3
Kansas 000 002 001 3 7 3
Illinois-Chicago 021 002 00x 5 11 0
WPScott Anderson (1-0). LPJeff Davis (5-4). SvDavid Maehnel. 2BKU: Lance Hayes; UIC: Chuck Peters 2, Chris Kerpan.
