Virginia atop poll for 1st time since 1982
RALEIGH, N.C. — A loss didn’t prevent Virginia from climbing to No. 1 in AP men’s basketball poll for the first time in more than 35 years after all.
The Cavaliers rose a slot to sit atop Monday’s AP Top 25 despite an overtime home loss Saturday to Virginia Tech, part of an upset-filled week that allowed for plenty of uncertainty in the poll.
The Cavaliers (23-2, 12-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) earned 30 of 65 first-place votes to outdistance No. 2 Michigan State and rise above the turmoil that included last week’s top three teams all losing. Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers had been at No. 2 before this season, but this is the first time the program has reached No. 1 since December 1982 — the senior season of 7-foot-4 great Ralph Sampson — back when the poll ranked only 20 teams. And that team fell out of that spot after its improbable upset loss to Chaminade in Hawaii, regarded by many as the biggest upset in the history of college sports. Virginia looked set to reach the No. 1 spot after Villanova’s home loss to St. John’s before losing to the Hokies. Still, the Cavaliers ended up there a day after the NCAA selection committee had them as the No. 1 overall seed in its reveal of the top 16 seeds to date. The Cavaliers — whose 12 previous weeks at No. 1 all came during the Sampson era — play with the top ranking for the first time since the Chaminade loss on Tuesday at Miami.
“I do not get too carried away with where we are,” Bennett said after the loss to the Hokies. “I always say ‘thus far,’ and now we have to prove it again . ... Now we are going to get a chance to do it again and we are going to have to fight like crazy every game. Everybody is capable of beating everybody in this league and that is reality. If you are little off it is not enough.”
Belmont earns 1st Top 25 ranking
NEW YORK — There’s a buzz at Belmont — the Bruins are in the AP Top 25 for the first time in school history.
“It’s a huge honor to think of all the teams and players who have come through the program, for this to be the first team that’s ranked that’s special,” first-year coach Bart Brooks said Monday. “It’s a cool thing to be a part of.”
Brooks is no stranger to the Top 25, having been an assistant coach at DePaul for many years where the Blue Demons were consistently ranked. He inherited a really good team that is 24-3 this season and has won 39 consecutive Ohio Valley Conference games — the second longest active conference streak behind only No. 1 UConn.
“Coach Cam Newbauer did a really, really good job putting the team together. Most of those guys were back,” Brooks said of his predecessor who took over at Florida. “We have some new faces and dealt with some injury stuff. It’s been an absolute pleasure to coach these guys. Most people don’t walk into a situation like this.”
The rookie coach told his team at the end of practice that they were going to be ranked and there was jubilation from the players. The Bruins host Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State this weekend in their first game as a ranked team. Brooks knows his team will be ready for the upcoming contests.