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Villanova Basketball holds at #10 in the AP Poll

The Wildcats head to #16 Ohio State this week.

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Army v Villanova Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

After defeating Army in their home opener, the Villanova Wildcats maintained their Top 10 ranking in the second week of the AP Poll. There was movement around them though, as Florida fell out of the Top 10 following a loss to unranked Florida State while Virginia jumped the ‘Cats on the strength of a road victory at Syracuse to make them 2-0. While Villanova may have stayed at #10. they did increase its point total in the poll from the preseason rankings.

The Wildcats will have their first big test of the season this week as they travel to #16 Ohio State on Wednesday as a part of the Gavitt Tip-Off Games which pits the Big East against the Big Ten. This will be Villanova’s first ranked opponent of the season, and the Buckeyes (2-0) have moved up two spots from their initial ranking at #18.

As for the Big East, Seton Hall also stayed put at #12 in the rankings. Despite the vote of confidence from the media, the Pirates will be without their All-American candidate, Myles Powell, for the foreseeable future after he suffered an ankle injury over the weekend. Xavier dropped two spots to #21 despite winning both of their games to open the season. Marquette (29th), Providence (31st), Georgetown (38th), and Creighton (41st) all remained in the “Others Receiving Votes” category.

2019-2020 AP Poll: Week 2

Rank Team (#1 Votes) Points
Rank Team (#1 Votes) Points
1 Kentucky (64) 1,622
2 Duke 1,538
3 Michigan State 1,451
4 Louisville (1) 1,425
5 Kansas 1,354
6 North Carolina 1,187
7 Maryland 1,166
8 Gonzaga 1,136
9 Virginia 1,134
10 Villanova 1,064
11 Texas Tech 888
12 Seton Hall 869
13 Memphis 828
14 Oregon 804
15 Florida 616
16 Ohio State 544
17 Utah State 507
18 Saint Mary's (Cal) 438
19 Arizona 415
20 Washington 373
21 Xavier 370
22 Auburn 247
23 LSU 237
24 Baylor 179
25 Colorado 151

Others Receiving Votes: VCU 137, Florida St. 112, Texas 95, Marquette 67, Tennessee 49, Providence 23, Purdue 21, Houston 18, Utah 14, Missouri 13, Arkansas 11, Mississippi St. 9, Georgetown 4, Liberty 3, San Diego St. 2, Creighton 1, Dayton 1, Northeastern 1, Vermont 1.

Polling History

Some interesting Villanova AP Poll facts from College Poll Archive and College Poll Tracker:

  • 385th ranking in the AP Poll (17th All-Time)
  • 5th consecutive week ranked in the AP Poll (10th longest active streak)
  • 214th ranking in the Top 10 (14th All-Time)
  • 2nd consecutive week ranked in the Top 10 (Tied for 6th longest active streak)
  • Chris Murray is the highest on Villanova at #3
  • Kevin McNamara is the lowest on Villanova at #15

Additional Polling Data

Some would argue these “experts” are more relevant than the AP Poll.

KenPom: Nova is 7th overall, 10th in Adj. Offense, and 10th in Adj. Defense

Sagarin: Nova is 11th overall, 10th in Predictor, 12th in Golden Mean, and 10t in Recent

Massey: Nova is 21st overall, 29th in Offense, 24th in Defense

NET: Not yet updated

Kendrick: If the Top 10 doesn’t move the needle for you, maybe you can get on board with one of Anna’s 10 second rants.

And if you’re looking for another set of rankings to care about, try reading Rankings 101.