Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Villanova, Virginia, Purdue stay 1-2-3 in AP Top 25
RALEIGH, N.C. » Villanova, Virginia and Purdue are making themselves comfortable atop the AP Top 25. And with the way they’re playing, they might stay there for a while longer, too.
The Wildcats are ranked No. 1 in Monday’s latest poll, followed by the secondranked Cavaliers and the third-ranked Boilermakers. It marked the fourth straight week that with the trio sitting 1-2-3 in the poll as they continue extended winning streaks while avoiding the upsets that hit national powers Duke, Kansas, Arizona and Kentucky last weekend.
Villanova (22-1, 9-1 Big East) has won nine straight and hasn’t lost in the 2018 calendar year.
Virginia (22-1, 11-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) has won 14 straight games and leads the rest of the tradition-rich league by at least three games in the loss column. Its defense ranks No. 1 nationally in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency rankings (82.2 points allowed per 100 possessions), and the Cavaliers are coming off a game in which they held Syracuse to 44 points — the Orange’s lowest output ever in the Carrier Dome.
“The guys are playing at a high level, for sure,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said afterward. “They understand how they have to play . ... I like what our guys are doing.”
Then there’s Purdue (232, 12-0 Big Ten). The Boilermakers have the nation’s longest winning streak at 19 games with the only hiccups coming in a two-day blip in November’s Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas.
“If there is a better team inside and out in the country, I haven’t seen them yet,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said after his team’s Saturday loss to the Boilermakers. TOP-10 CHANGES » Several teams reached first-time-inyears perches in the top 10.
Cincinnati (21-2) followed No. 4 Michigan State and No. 5 Xavier, reaching No. 6 for its highest ranking since January 2004. Next came No. 7 Texas Tech (194), which reached its highest ranking since hitting No. 7 in March 1996. And eighth-ranked Auburn (212) has its highest ranking since January 2000.
Ninth-ranked Duke and No. 10 Kansas rounded out the top 10, each sliding along with fellow national powers Arizona (No. 13) and Kentucky (No. 24) after losses in an upset-filled weekend.