The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cavaliers atop poll first time since ’82
Saturday’s home loss to Virginia Tech doesn’t sway voters.
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 ACC) 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 . ... Everybody is capable of beating everybody in this league and that is reality.”
Michigan State (24-3, 12-2 Big Ten) climbed two spots after a weekend win against Purdue in a top-5 matchup. The Spartans, who reached No. 1 for a week in January, earned 21 first-place votes.
Next came Villanova (23-2, 10-2 Big East), which fell to third after a five-week stay at No. 1 and earned nine firstplace votes. Xavier (23-3, 11-2 Big East) inched up a spot to fourth and earned five firstplace votes, followed by Cincinnati (23-2, 12-0 American Athletic Conference) at No. 5.
This is Xavier’s highest ranking in its history, while Cincinnati is in the top five for the first time since spending a good chunk of the 200102 season there.
Purdue (23-4, 12-2 Big East) fell from third to sixth after losing to Ohio State and Michigan State last week.
Texas Tech was next at No. 7, followed by Ohio State, Gonzaga and Auburn to round out the top 10.
Mississippi: Coach Andy Kennedy and the school are parting ways after 12 seasons.
Kennedy announced his decision would be effective at the end of the season. The decision comes two days after Ole Miss (11-14, 4-8 SEC) lost at LSU to extend its losing streak to five.
Kennedy is the winningest coach at Ole Miss with 245 victories, ranking 18th in SEC history. This season he picked up his 100th SEC regular season win and is the only Ole Miss coach to reach that accomplishment.
Kentucky: Former player Terry Mobley, who served the school in numerous leadership roles for over five decades, died Monday after a long illness. He was 74.
(At) No. 14 North Carolina 83, Notre Dame 66: Joel Berry II scored 21 points, Theo Pinson had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and the Tar Heels (20-7, 9-5 ACC) defeated the Fighting Irish (15-11, 5-8). Martinas Geben and John Mooney each scored 18 for Notre Dame.
TCU at No. 20 West Virginia: Late
Women’s poll: Belmont is in the AP Top 25 for the first time in school history.
The Bruins (24-3) entered the Associated Press women’s basketball poll at No. 24. First-year coach Bart Brooks has the team riding a 15-game winning streak with the only losses coming this season to Oklahoma, Stanford and Wright State.
The top five remain unchanged with UConn leading the way as the unanimous choice from the 32-member national media panel. The Huskies host No. 4 Louisville on Monday night. Mississippi State, Baylor and Notre Dame round out the first five teams in the poll.