Duke men, UConn women still occupy top poll spots
Notre Dame won the Maui Invitational with an impressive comeback against Wichita State.
The Fighting Irish didn’t fare as well against another top 10 team, leading a shuffling at the top half of The Associated Press Top 25 poll.
Duke (10-0) received all 65 first-place votes in the poll released Monday after a pair of easy victories, its second straight week as the unanimous No. 1. The next three spots also remained the same from last week: Kansas, Michigan State and Villanova.
Notre Dame was No. 5 last week, but dropped to No. 9 following its 81-63 loss to the Spartans.
“They come at you with fresh bodies, they just keep coming at you and it takes its toll,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said of Michigan State.
Florida moved up to No. 5 despite not playing last week, followed by Wichita State, Texas A&M, Kentucky and Miami
at No. 10 behind the Irish.
Notre Dame (7-1) pulled off an impressive comeback in Maui to beat Wichita State for its first title in paradise.
The Irish were no match for Michigan State last week, taken out of rhythm by the Spartans while falling into an early hole.
Notre Dame did make a push in the second half, but Michigan State pushed back to run away with it. The Irish bounced back to beat St. Francis Brooklyn on Sunday despite the ejections of preseason All-American Bonzie Colson (flagrant two foul) and Brey. The pair ended up in the locker room watching the rest of the game on Colson’s phone.
“That’s new territory for me,” Brey said. “That was very unusual.”
UConn still No. 1 after stiff test from Notre Dame
NEW YORK — UConn passed its first major test of the season to stay No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll.
The Huskies (7-0) trailed No. 3 Notre Dame by 11 points in the fourth quarter before rallying for an 80-71 victory on Sunday. UConn remained the unanimous top team from the 32-member national media panel Monday.
Texas, Notre Dame, Louisville and South Carolina follow the Huskies as the top five teams were unchanged.
Mississippi State, UCLA, Baylor, Oregon and West Virginia round out the top 10.
Ohio State, which lost to No. 14 Duke, dropped four spots in the poll to 12th.
Green Bay entered the Top 25 for the first time this season at No. 23, replacing Marquette.
The Phoenix beat the Golden Eagles on Saturday.