Hurricanes
Gators climb back into AP rankings after rare victory at Kentucky.
The Miami Hurricanes, who reached as high as No. 6 during an unbeaten start to their season, are now out of the Associated Press Top 25 poll entirely.
Miami (14-4, 3-3 ACC) began last week with an 83-75 loss to No. 5 Duke on Jan. 15. A tight win on
the road Sunday, 86-81 at North Carolina State, couldn’t save its spot in the rankings, which were released Monday.
Miami did stay in the coaches’ poll, at No. 23.
Meanwhile, Florida (14-5, 6-1
SEC) jumped back into the AP Top 25 following its 66-64 win Saturday night at Kentucky. The Gators, who ranked as high as No. 5 early in the season, returned to the poll at No. 20 Monday after the momentous win in Lexington, Ky.
It was only Florida’s fourth win at Rupp Arena in the last 20 years and knocked the Wildcats from No. 18 to out of the poll. Kentucky (14-5, 4-3) fell from the AP poll for the first time in nearly four years — a 68-week stretch. Villanova (18-1, 5-1 Big East) remained atop the poll.
At 3-3 in ACC play, the Hurricanes are tied with Georgia Tech for sixth in the league. They have a chance to climb Wednesday, with Louisville (15-4, 5-1) coming to the Watsco Center.
The Cardinals, who are not ranked despite their record, are chasing second-ranked Virginia (18-1, 7-0) for the top spot in the ACC standings.
A few notes entering the game:
■ Junior forward Deng Adel (6-foot-7, 200 pounds) leads the Cardinals with 15.8 points per game and is shooting 48.9 percent from the field. Senior point guard Quentin Snider (6-2, 175) handles scoring (12.8 points) and playmaking (4.2 assists) duties. Inside, junior Ray Spalding (6-10, 215; teamhigh 9.3 rebounds and 11.4 points) should see a lot of UM’s Dewan Huell (teambest 13.6 points, with 6.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks). Senior center Anas Mahmoud, 7-foot, 215, leads the ACC in blocks (3.53) and is a major reason Louisville leads the league in that stat as a team.
■ Miami, which has had trouble sharing the ball of late, broke out of that funk against N.C. State (seasonhigh 26 assists on 34 made baskets). One reason the offense flowed better: more playing time for freshman Chris Lykes, who started his first game with fellow newcomer Lonnie Walker ailing. Lykes had six points and five assists.
■ UM coach Jim Larranaga said after the game that Walker, who scored 12 points in 30 minutes, was a question mark for Sunday’s game after his back stiffened up so badly Friday night that he couldn’t bend enough to touch his knees. He was held out of Saturday’s practice, according to AP.
■ Guard Bruce Brown is coming off one of his best outings of the year, scoring 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting (3-for-3 from beyond the arc), with four rebounds and nine assists. Center Ebuka Izundu chipped in 15 points in 19 minutes, going 7 of 7 from the floor. Forward Anthony Lawrence, who hit 3-of-4 shots from outside, had 15 points and four assists. Guard Ja’Quan Newton had a gamehigh seven assists.
■ Guard D J Vasiljevic scored six points in 15 min- utes — he went 2 of 6 from deep — after going scoreless in his previous two games. Vasiljevic, who last scored in double-figures Dec. 25 against Middle Tennessee, is 5-for-26 shooting 3-pointers (19.2 percent) in ACC play.
■ After Virginia and Louisville, fourth-ranked Duke (17-2, 5-2) and 18th-ranked Clemson (16-3, 5-2) — two teams with wins over Miami — are next in the ACC standings, followed by 10th-ranked North Carolina (16-4, 5-2). UM hosts Virginia on Feb. 13 and visits UNC on Feb. 27. After Louisville, Miami travels to Florida State for a 4 p.m. Saturday showdown.