Following Saturday's 88-67 victory over Rider, Jay Wright's Villanova basketball squad remains #8 in the country in the newest poll released by the AP sportswriters on Monday.
After sharing the eighth spot with Duke last week, the Wildcats and their 11-0 record took sole possession of the position in this week's edition. Arizona (12-0) received 63 of 65 First-Place votes from the panel. Villanova's next opponent, Syracuse, received the other two.
'Nova remains the lone member of the Big East conference ranked this week.
On to the voters. Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News remains our bestie, again ranking the 'Cats 3rd in the country. A slew of voters put the Wildcats 4th - Joe Rexrode (Detroit Free Press), Jon Wilner (San Jose Mercury News), Kevin Lyttle (Austin American-Statesman), Mark Berman (The Roanoke Times) and Matt Vautour (Daily Hampshire Gazette).
Kevin Gorman of the Tribune-Review is the least impressed voter, ranking the Wildcats 16th, but at least he has the common sense to rank Villanova above Kansas. The same can't be said for Randy Rosetta of The Times-Picayune, who despite moving Villanova up to 15th (from 22nd), still has them 4 spots behind the 3-loss Kansas team they beat on a neutral court.
The full rankings are below.
AP Top 25
Rank | Team | Points | Previous |
1 | Arizona Wildcats (63) | 1,623 | 1 |
2 | Syracuse Orange (2) | 1,528 | 2 |
3 | Ohio St. Buckeyes | 1,462 | 3 |
4 | Wisconsin Badgers | 1,390 | 4 |
5 | Michigan St. Spartans | 1,336 | 5 |
6 | Louisville Cardinals | 1,274 | 6 |
7 | Oklahoma St. Cowboys | 1,221 | 7 |
8 | Villanova Wildcats | 1,116 | 8 |
9 | Duke Blue Devils | 1,108 | 8 |
10 | Wichita St. Shockers | 981 | 11 |
11 | Baylor Bears | 970 | 12 |
12 | Oregon Ducks | 914 | 13 |
13 | Florida Gators | 881 | 16 |
14 | Iowa St. Cyclones | 804 | 17 |
15 | Connecticut Huskies | 661 | 10 |
16 | Kansas Jayhawks | 659 | 18 |
17 | Memphis Tigers | 630 | 15 |
18 | Kentucky Wildcats | 414 | 19 |
19 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 413 | 14 |
20 | San Diego St. Aztecs | 378 | 24 |
21 | Colorado Buffaloes | 345 | 20 |
22 | Iowa Hawkeyes | 278 | 25 |
23 | UMass Minutemen | 154 | 22 |
24 | Gonzaga Bulldogs | 79 | 21 |
25 | Missouri Tigers | 69 | 23 |
Others receiving votes: Oklahoma 65, Illinois 53, Texas 47, George Washington 43, Toledo 27, Florida State 23, Michigan 15, UCLA 14, Harvard 14, Saint Mary's 8, Pittsburgh 6, Creighton 5, LSU 1, Southern Methodist 1
Dropped from rankings: None
The USA TODAY Coaches poll
Rank | School |
---|---|
1 | Arizona |
2 | Syracuse |
3 | Ohio State |
4 | Louisville |
5 | Michigan State |
6 | Wisconsin |
7 | Oklahoma State |
8 | Wichita State |
9 | Duke |
10 | Oregon |
11 | Villanova |
12 | Baylor |
13 | Iowa St. |
14 | Florida |
15 | Connecticut |
16 | Kansas |
17 | Memphis |
18 | Kentucky |
19 | North Carolina |
20 | San Diego State |
21 | Gonzaga |
22 | UMass |
23 | Iowa |
24 | Colorado |
25 | Missouri |