UM’s 10-1 start leads to first ranking of season at No. 25

The University of Miami men’s basketball team, which reached the Elite Eight last March despite never being ranked all season, is finally earning national respect after starting this season 10-1.

The Hurricanes were ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, both of which came out on Monday.

It was the first time since March 2018 that UM had an in-season top-25 ranking.

Miami (10-1, 2-0 ACC) went from 29 points in the AP Poll to 100 this week after a 107-105 win over Cornell and a comefrom-behind win over ACC foe N.C. State.

UM guard Jordan Miller, who transferred to UM from George Mason last season, was asked after the win over the Wolfpack whether he felt the Canes should be ranked.

He said: “I would love to be ranked, I have been in college five years and haven’t been ranked, so I want to be, but it’s not something we’re focused on. Just as quickly as you get ranked you can get unranked, too. Would it be rewarding for all the hard work? Yes. But we have bigger goals in mind than just being ranked.”

The program’s last in-season ranking came on March 12, 2018, when Miami placed No. 22 in the AP Poll and No. 25 in the Coaches Poll entering that season’s NCAA Tournament.

The Hurricanes return to the court Saturday at noon for a home game against St. Francis and then play No. 2 ranked Virginia at home on Tuesday night.

— MICHELLE KAUFMAN Elsewhere: Purdue climbed to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the second straight season. Wins over Hofstra and Nebraska last week, combined with a loss by Houston, were enough to lift the Boilermakers to the top spot. Purdue moved up three spots, receiving 27 firstplace votes from a 62person media panel. No. 2 Virginia received 19 firstplace votes to move up a spot, No. 3 Connecticut received 15 and No. 6 Tennessee also got one. Alabama and Houston rounded out the top five. … In the women’s poll, South Carolina remained the unanimous No. 1 team. … Chris Beard, who coached Texas Tech to the 2019 NCAA championship game and was hired away by Texas, was suspended by the Longhorns after his arrest on a felony family violence by choking charge, which carries a possible punishment of two to 10 years in prison.

ETC.

College football:

Mississippi State coach

Mike Leach was hospitalized in critical condition a day after what the university called “a personal health issue” at his home in Starkville forced him to be airlifted to a medical facility in Jackson.

Tennis: Iga Swiatek

was honored as WTA Player of the Year for the first time after rising to No. 1 in the rankings in April and remaining there for the rest of the season thanks in part to two Grand Slam titles. Swiatek, a 21-year-old from Poland who was the WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2020, led the tour with 67 match wins and eight titles.

Olympics: Susanne Lyons, leader of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said it would be “impossible” to monitor which athletes have supported the war in Ukraine if a plan is devised to allow some Russians to compete as neutrals in international competitions, and potentially the Olympics. Lyons said the federation supported an IOC decision to explore a pathway for Russian athletes back into competition.