Top defense carries Virginia to No. 2
Duke was the ACC’s preseason favorite and North Carolina the defending national champion. The conference leader and highest-ranked team as of Monday: Virginia.
Picked to finish sixth in the ACC preseason poll, the Cavaliers have been the conference’s most consistent team behind their still stifling defense.
Virginia (16-1, 5-0 ACC) moved up a spot to No. 2 and received a first-place vote in the AP Top 25 released Monday, its highest ranking since reaching No. 2 in the 2014-15 season.
The Cavaliers, No. 1 in KenPom.com’s defensive efficiency rankings, beat Syracuse and North Carolina State last week.
Villanova remained at the top spot for the second straight week, receiving 63 of 65 firstplace votes from a media panel. The Wildcats (16-1, 4-1 Big East) moved atop the poll for the second time this season after Michigan State’s loss to Ohio State on Jan. 7 and stayed there after wins over No. 10 Xavier and St. John’s.
Purdue (17-2, 6-0 Big Ten) had the other No. 1 vote and moved up two spots to No. 3, its highest ranking since reaching No. 3 in 2009-10 after extending its winning streak to 13 games. #5 Duke 83, #25 Miami 75: Gary Trent Jr. scored a seasonhigh 30 points and the visiting Blue Devils (16-2, 4-2 ACC) needed less than three minutes to erase a 13-point second-half deficit, scoring 18 consecutive points to beat the Hurricanes. Marvin Bagley III had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who shot 55 percent and won despite tying a season high with 19 turnovers, but they had none in the final 10 minutes as they rallied. Lonnie Walker IV scored 19 points for the Hurricanes (13-4, 2-3).
#10 Kansas 71, #6 West Virginia 66: Svi Mykhailiuk scored 17 points, including 12 over the final seven minutes, and the visiting Jayhawks roared back from a big deficit to win. Kansas (15-3, 5-1 Big 12) trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half before going on a 15-3 run to take its first lead since early in the game, 61-60 with 3:49 left. Sagaba Konate had 16 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots for the Mountaineers (15-3, 4-2).
#23 Michigan 68, Maryland
67: Muhammad-Ali AbdurRahkman made two free throws with 1.2 seconds left, lifting the host Wolverines. Kevin Huerter had connected on a go-ahead three-pointer on the previous possession for the Terrapins. The Wolverines (16-4, 5-2 Big Ten) went ahead by 10 with 5:50 to go and prevailed against a team with eight healthy players on scholarship. Stanford’s Davis wins honor: Daejon Davis, who led Stanford to its first conference road sweep in eight years, was named Pac-12 Player of the Week. He averaged 15.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists.
Texas Tech fined: The Big 12 has fined Texas Tech $25,000 and reprimanded West Virginia forward Wes Harris for hitting a Tech fan who joined thousands of others in storming the court during a postgame celebration.
Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said Texas Tech did not ensure the safety and security of West Virginia players.