clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Villanova is #1. Some history behind that AP Ranking.

By Mike J.
Jim Rogash/Getty Images

Villanova entered uncharted waters on Monday. The Wildcats' Basketball program has a National Title under its belt, but February 8, 2016 marks the first time in 1120 AP Polls that 'Nova has been ranked #1.

DID YOU KNOW
Villanova was ranked #9 in the first ever AP Poll in 1949?

In a tumultuous year, 'Nova becomes the 6th school to hold the #1 ranking; one shy of the record 7 different schools who were ranked at the top during the 1983 season.

Villanova has been in the AP Poll 326 weeks (23rd most for a program). The 'Cats had reached the #2 ranking on five previous occasions- most recently in the penultimate poll of 2015. In total, Villanova has been in the Top 5 fifty-four times (4.8% of the time) since the poll started in 1949. Thirty schools have been in the Top 5 more frequently; including BIG EAST foes Georgetown (86), Marquette (83) and, yes, DePaul (64).

On the achievement, head coach Jay Wright said, "We’re honored and humbled to have been voted No.1 by the writers in the Associated Press poll and the coaches in the USA Today Coaches poll. There’s still a lot of basketball left to be played and handling this will be another challenge for our team. We look forward to it."

In reaching the apex, 'Nova now becomes the 58th school to hold the top spot; eight of which only held on to the #1 spot for a single week (Tennessee most recently in 2008).

Villanova next travels to DePaul on Tuesday and hosts St. John's at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.

Weeks at #1 in the AP Poll

RK Team Conference App
1 UCLA Bruins Pac-12 134
2 Duke Blue Devils ACC 127
3 Kentucky Wildcats SEC 122
4 North Carolina Tar Heels ACC 110
5 Kansas Jayhawks Big 12 60
6 Indiana Hoosiers Big Ten 54
7 Cincinnati Bearcats American 45
8 Arizona Wildcats Pac-12 37
8 Ohio State Buckeyes Big Ten 37
10 UNLV Runnin' Rebels Mountain West 32
11 Connecticut Huskies American 29
11 San Francisco Dons West Coast 29
13 Michigan Wolverines Big Ten 22
14 Illinois Fighting Illini Big Ten 17
14 Syracuse Orange ACC 17
16 Stanford Cardinal Pac-12 16
17 DePaul Blue Demons Big East 15
17 Massachusetts Minutemen Atlantic 10 15
19 Florida Gators SEC 14
20 North Carolina State Wolfpack ACC 13
21 Arkansas Razorbacks SEC 12
21 Georgetown Hoyas Big East 12
21 Virginia Cavaliers ACC 12
24 Houston Cougars American 11
24 Michigan State Spartans Big Ten 11
26 Kansas State Wildcats Big 12 8
26 Oklahoma Sooners Big 12 8
26 St. John's Red Storm Big East 8
26 West Virginia Mountaineers Big 12 8
30 Memphis Tigers American 6
30 Missouri Tigers SEC 6
30 Seton Hall Pirates Big East 6
30 Temple Owls American 6
34 Bradley Braves Missouri Valley 5
34 Holy Cross Crusaders Patriot 5
34 Notre Dame Fighting Irish ACC 5
34 Oregon State Beavers Pac-12 5
38 Indiana State Sycamores Missouri Valley 4
38 La Salle Explorers Atlantic 10 4
38 Loyola-Chicago Ramblers Missouri Valley 4
41 Gonzaga Bulldogs West Coast 3
41 Marquette Golden Eagles Big East 3
41 Pittsburgh Panthers ACC 3
41 Wake Forest Demon Deacons ACC 3
45 Alabama Crimson Tide SEC 2
45 Duquesne Dukes Atlantic 10 2
45 Louisville Cardinals ACC 2
45 Saint Louis Billikens Atlantic 10 2
45 Texas Longhorns Big 12 2
50 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets ACC 1
50 Iowa Hawkeyes Big Ten 1
50 Oklahoma State Cowboys Big 12 1
50 Saint Joseph's (PA) Hawks Atlantic 10 1
50 South Carolina Gamecocks SEC 1
50 Tennessee Volunteers SEC 1
50 Villanova Wildcats Big East 1
50 Wichita State Shockers Missouri Valley 1
50 Wisconsin Badgers Big Ten 1

Stats with the help of College Poll Archive

More From VU Hoops