Kansas University’s split against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State last week resulted in a move up one spot to No. 7 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 men’s basketball poll.
The Jayhawks (21-4 overall) rose a spot from No. 8 in last week’s poll, jumping ahead of the Cowboys, who fell from No. 4 to No. 8 after losing to KU on Sunday. Kansas has the second-longest active streak in the polls (91 weeks), behind only Duke (164).
Illinois was No. 1 in poll, the Illini’s 13th straight week on top and their fifth consecutive poll as a unanimous choice.
The Illini (28-0) beat Northwestern in their only game last week. Coupled with a loss by Michigan State, that was enough for them to win their second straight Big Ten title.
The 13-week run at No. 1 is the longest since Kansas was on top for 15 straight polls in 1996-97. Five weeks as a unanimous choice of the 72-member national media panel is the longest such streak since Duke’s five-week run in 2001-02.
North Carolina (24-3) beat North Carolina State and Maryland last week to remain No. 2.
Kentucky, which beat Alabama in a key Southeastern Conference game on Saturday, moved up two spots to third. Wake Forest made the same jump to fourth, while Boston College, which lost at Villanova last Wednesday, dropped from No. 3 – the highest ranking in school history – to fifth.
Duke moved up one spot to sixth and has been ranked in every poll since the preseason Top 25 of the 1996-97 season. The record is UCLA’s run of 221 consecutive polls that started with the preseason voting in 1966-67 and ended on Jan. 8, 1980.
Kansas, which has the second-longest active streak at 91 straight polls, moved from eighth to No. 7. Oklahoma State, the team the Jayhawks beat to end their three-game losing streak, dropped from fourth to No. 8.
Louisville and Washington rounded out the Top Ten.
Arizona was 11th and was followed by Gonzaga, Syracuse, Michigan State, Connecticut, Utah, Pacific, Charlotte, Villanova and Oklahoma.
Alabama, Cincinnati, Wisconsin, Pittsburgh and Nevada were the last five ranked teams.
Pittsburgh (18-7) lost home games to West Virginia and Connecticut last week to extend its losing streak to three games. The Panthers’ fall from 18th to 24th was the biggest drop of the week, and is their lowest ranking since they started their run of 59 straight polls on Feb. 11, 2002.
Washington, which beat Arizona State and Arizona, and Villanova, which beat Georgetown in addition to the win over Boston College, both had the week’s biggest jump at four places.
There are four games with two ranked teams this week – Pittsburgh at Boston College on Monday; Charlotte at Louisville on Thursday; Syracuse at Connecticut on Saturday, and Duke at North Carolina on Sunday.
Wins over Nebraska and Missouri last week vaulted KU back into the top 20 in Monday’s Associated Press Top 25. The Jayhawks (20-7) moved up three spots to No. 18 three days before the start of the Big 12 Conference Tournament.
Other ranked Big 12 teams included No. 7 Oklahoma State and No. 11 Texas.
Saint Joseph’s, the Philadelphia school with an enrollment of 3,400 and not much sports history to brag about, was No. 1 in the pol for the first time.
“It’s a dream come true,” Hawks senior guard Jameer Nelson said. “At the same time, we have to take care of business these last few games. We’ll still approach each game and practice the same way.”
The Hawks (27-0) are the only unbeaten team in Division I, now that previously top-ranked Stanford was upset by Washington.
Saint Joseph’s needs three victories in the Atlantic 10 tournament to become the first team since UNLV in 1991 to enter the NCAA tournament without a loss.
“All along, we have discussed the idea of having a great program,” Saint Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli said. “Obviously, we have a great team, and now we can talk about a great program, and this can be a springboard.”
A national basketball power in the 1960s, the Hawks were ranked in the Top 10 consistently. They made their only Final Four appearance in 1961, then reached No. 2 in the rankings twice in December 1965.
“It’s a significant feat for the longtime followers of this program,” Martelli said. “Schools like ours have been overlooked for years by things like the BCS and the football powers.”
The coach doesn’t think he has to worry about his team looking past the conference tournament and thinking ahead to a probable No. 1 seeding in the NCAA tournament field.
The A-10 tournament starts Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio.
“We’re going there to fight,” Martelli said.
The Hawks moved up from No. 2 thanks to the loss by Stanford (26-1) Saturday. That ended the Cardinal’s three-week run atop the AP poll.
Saint Joseph’s received 67 first-place votes and 1,795 points from the national media panel. Second-ranked Stanford was No. 1 on two ballots and had 1,648 points.
Gonzaga (26-2) moved up one spot to No. 3, the highest ranking in school history, and received one first-place vote. Mississippi State (25-2) moved up one place to fourth, switching positions with Duke (25-4), which was No. 1 on two ballots after losing to Georgia Tech and beating North Carolina.
Air Force moved into the Top 25 for the first time in school history. The Falcons (22-5), the No. 1 defensive team in the country, won the Mountain West regular season title.
Pittsburgh, Oklahoma State, Kentucky and Connecticut held sixth through ninth from last week, while Wisconsin moved up six places to No. 10, its highest ranking of the season.
Texas was No. 11, followed by Illinois, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Kansas, Syracuse and Providence.
The last five ranked teams were Arizona, Utah State, Memphis, Southern Illinois and Air Force.
Louisville (19-8) fell out from 25th after being ranked for the last 12 weeks, reaching No. 4. The Cardinals lost 81-80 at Marquette on Saturday, their seventh loss in 10 games.
Saint Joseph’s is the sixth team to reach No. 1 this season, joining Connecticut, Kansas, Florida, Duke and Stanford.
“Being ranked No. 1 is a sign of steady improvement and the hard work we’ve put in all season,” Saint Joseph’s junior forward Pat Carroll said. The NCAA “tournament will prove who really is the No. 1 team in the nation, but right now, it’s a good feeling to have that ranking in front of us.”
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The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ men’s college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through March 7, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking:
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| Record | Pt | Pv | |
| 1. Saint Joseph’s (67) | 27-0 | 1,795 | 2 |
| 2. Stanford (2) | 26-1 | 1,648 | 1 |
| 3. Gonzaga (1) | 26-2 | 1,604 | 3 |
| 4. Mississippi St. | 25-2 | 1,557 | 5 |
| 5. Duke (2) | 25-4 | 1,519 | 4 |
| 6. Pittsburgh | 27-3 | 1,451 | 6 |
| 7. Oklahoma St. | 24-3 | 1,410 | 7 |
| 8. Kentucky | 23-4 | 1,370 | 8 |
| 9. Connecticut | 24-6 | 1,158 | 9 |
| 10. Wisconsin | 21-6 | 927 | 16 |
| 11. Texas | 21-6 | 914 | 10 |
| 12. Illinois | 22-5 | 898 | 18 |
| 13. Cincinnati | 21-6 | 844 | 13 |
| 14. Georgia Tech | 22-8 | 817 | 19 |
| 15. Wake Forest | 19-8 | 672 | 11 |
| 16. North Carolina | 18-9 | 665 | 14 |
| 17. N.C. State | 19-8 | 654 | 17 |
| 18. Kansas | 20-7 | 607 | 20 |
| 19. Syracuse | 21-6 | 593 | 23 |
| 20. Providence | 20-7 | 521 | 12 |
| 21. Arizona | 19-8 | 400 | 21 |
| 22. Utah St. | 25-2 | 322 | 24 |
| 23. Memphis | 21-6 | 310 | 22 |
| 24. S. Illinois | 25-4 | 264 | 15 |
| 25. Air Force | 22-5 | 73 | – |
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Others receiving votes: Michigan St. 70, Charlotte 48, DePaul 42, Louisville 41, Boston College 36, Washington 36, Seton Hall 34, W. Michigan 31, Nevada 20, ETSU 10, Texas Tech 10, Florida 6, Dayton 5, Manhattan 4, South Carolina 3, Boise St. 2, UTEP 2, Alabama 1, BYU 1, Marquette 1, Oklahoma 1, Pacific 1, Princeton 1, Va. Commonwealth 1.
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