DUKE REPLACES ZAGS ATOP POLL
Mike Krzyzewski’s final team at Duke has reached a familiar milestone: No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll.
The Blue Devils jumped four spots to the top of Monday’s poll following a win against Gonzaga that knocked the Bulldogs from the top spot. That adds to a record haul of top rankings both for the Duke program and for Krzyzewski, who is set to retire after the season.
Later Monday, Gonzaga (6-1) struggled to pull away from Tarleton (1-6), 64-55.
This is the 127th week at No. 1 for Krzyzewski and the 145th for the Blue Devils, ahead of the late John Wooden (121) and UCLA (134).
The Blue Devils are No. 1 for the first time since spending two weeks there in November 2019, and it comes after a tumultuous season amid the pandemic that saw the program fail to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995.
Duke (7-0) reloaded with a top-tier recruiting class featuring 6-foot-10 star Paolo Banchero and is back among the nation’s elite.
When the Blue Devils visit Ohio State on Tuesday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, it will mark Duke’s 255th game as a top-ranked team under Krzyzewski compared with 161 games as an unranked team.
“It’s not about me, it’s about us,” Krzyzewski said after Friday night’s win against
Gonzaga in Las Vegas. “This is our moment together, not my moment.”
Women’s poll
Maryland dropped six spots to No. 8 in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll Monday after losing two games in a week that saw eight of the top 10 teams change places behind unanimous No. 1 South Carolina.
UConn reclaimed No. 2 spot — up one spot and shared with N.C. State — after the Terrapins were blown out by the Wolfpack and new No. 4 Stanford, which climbed three spots. The Terrapins were shorthanded with only seven available players due to injuries and illness.
Monday’s games
No. 7 Texas 73, Sam Houston State 57: Marcus Carr scored a season-high 19 points and host Texas (7-1) beat Sam Houston State (2-5), as the Longhorns played in cozy and cramped Gregory Gym for the first time in almost five decades.
The Longhorns left Gregory Gym in the heart of campus when the spacious but soonto-be-demolished Frank Erwin Center opened in 1977. The one-game return to the 3,234-seat Gregory Gym was open to only students and some VIPs.
No. 9 Kentucky 85, Central Michigan 57: Oscar Tshiebwe had 20 points and 16 rebounds, TyTy Washington Jr. added 15 points and the host Wildcats (6-1) cruised.