Huskies earn every vote for No. 1 spot
UConn became the first unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll this season, while Washington State jumped into the rankings Monday at No. 21 to end a 302-week drought stretching back to the 2007-08 season.
The Huskies remained atop the poll for the sixth consecutive week after a blowout of DePaul and an impressive 81-53 win over then-No. 4 Marquette over the weekend. They received all 62 first-place votes from a panel of national media members, scooping up the 16 first-place votes that Purdue lost when it fell to Ohio State on Sunday.
UConn is riding the second-longest streak at No. 1 in school history behind a 10week stay during the 199899 season, when the team coached by Jim Calhoun and led by Richard Hamilton and Khalid El-Amin beat Duke for the national championship.
“All we can control is taking a championship approach to the next game,” said UConn Coach Dan Hurley, whose team was the No. 2 overall seed behind Purdue in the first look provided by the NCAA Tournament selection committee over the weekend.
UConn has won 14 straight games, the longest streak in men’s Division I basketball, and is aiming for the first repeat national championship since Florida in 2006-07.
“We just talk about a championship-level approach, mentality, execution,” Hurley said. “We’re not going to talk about standings. There’s no reason to talk about that.”
Houston rode an easy win against Texas over the weekend into the second spot ahead of Purdue, while Arizona moved up one spot into fourth and Tennessee climbed three spots to round out the top five.
Iowa State ran its winning streak to four straight in the rugged Big 12 with wins over Cincinnati and Texas Tech last week, and that sent the Cyclones up four spots to No. 6. That’s the highest the program has been ranked since Dec. 14, 2015.
Marquette dropped three spots following its loss to the Huskies and was seventh. Duke was eighth, Kansas fell three positions to ninth after a lopsided loss to Texas Tech and a win over Oklahoma, and North Carolina rounded out the top 10.
Baylor was 11th and was
followed by Illinois, Alabama, Auburn and Creighton. Dayton stayed put at No. 16, with Kentucky up five spots to No. 17. Saint Mary’s was next after extending its winning streak to 13 games, and San Diego State leaped back into the poll at No. 19. South Carolina fell nine spots to No. 20 after losses to Auburn and LSU.
There were four newcomers or returning teams among the final five on Monday: Washington State at No. 21, followed by Colorado State, Texas Tech and Florida. BYU fell six spots but held down the final position in the Top 25.
The Cougars, who have won seven straight, returned to the poll for the first time since they were No. 21 in the final ranking of the 2007-08 season. That team reached the Sweet 16 before losing to Final Four participant North Carolina.
Their first test as a ranked team will be a trip to No. 4 Arizona on Thursday night.
“It’s the hardest place to play in the country,” Washington State Coach Kyle Smith said. “They’re going to have a really good crowd. You’re going to have to handle the onslaught. There’s going to be a lot of juice in the building. That’s the No. 1 challenge — can we handle that environment? But it’s a privilege. Pressure is a privilege.”