Undefeated Villanova jumps to No. 1
Villanova’s unbeaten start now includes a No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25, while Arizona State is making a rapid rise into the top 10 under thirdyear coach Bobby Hurley.
After a tumultuous week in which unanimous No. 1 Duke and No. 2 Kansas lost, the Wildcats (10-0) earned 41 of 65 first-place votes to hop over Michigan State and reach the top for the third straight season.
Villanova and Michigan State were the favorites to take over at the top after the Blue Devils’ weekend loss at Boston College, though there was far less certainty for voters about who was now the nation’s top team. The Spartans (9-1) earned 19 first-place votes to climb from third to second, while the other five first-place votes went to the Sun Devils who leapt 11 spots to No. 5 after Sunday’s win at Kansas.
Arizona State (9-0) is off to its best start since the 1974-75 season. Now the Sun Devils have their highest ranking since reaching third during the 1980-81 season.
Wichita State climbed three spots to No. 3, followed by Duke and Arizona State. Unbeaten Miami climbed four spots to No. 6, followed by North Carolina, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Xavier to round out the top 10. LAND ALE NABS WCC WEEKLY HONOR » Saint Mary’s senior center Jock Landale was named West Coast Conference Player Of The Week as the Gaels (8-2) went undefeated after defeating Sacramento State and Seattle. The All-American averaged 28.5 points, 14.5 rebounds on 66.7 percent shooting from the floor.
TEXAS’ LEADING SCORER SIDELINED » Texas will be without leading scorer Andrew Jones for several games because of a fracture in his right wrist. The guard is averaging 15.3 points this season for the Longhorns (6-2).
EX-YALE PLAYER MONTAGUE TRANSFERS » Former Yale captain Jack Montague, who was expelled from the Ivy League school in 2016 for sexual misconduct, has enrolled at Belmont University in Tennessee.
Women
VOLS RETURN TO TOP 10 » Tennessee moves back into the top 10 after a big win while UConn continues to be No. 1 in the AP’s women’s poll. The Lady Vols (10-0) knocked off then No. 2 Texas on Sunday and climbed four spots to seventh in the Top 25. Tennessee, which was a perennial top team in the sport, hasn’t been among the first 10 teams in the poll since Nov. 30, 2015. The Longhorns dropped six spots to eighth. Stanford (5-4) is still ranked at No. 18 while Cal (7-2) moved from 25th to No. 24.
MARYLAND 114, LOYOLA (MARYLAND) 45 » Blair Watson made six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 24 points, Brianna Fraser added 20 points, and No. 15 Maryland (10-2) beat the Greyhounds (2-8).