Uconn strengthens hold on top spot in AP poll
The AP Top 25 had another week of upheaval, with teams bouncing around like kernels in a popcorn maker.
The same two teams remained at the top amid the poll turmoil.
Reigning national champion Uconn stayed No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll released Monday, receiving 44 firstplace votes from a 61-person media panel. No. 2 Purdue got 17 first-place votes.
A loss by Kansas jumbled the rest of the top five.
No. 3 North Carolina, No. 4 Houston and No. 5 Tennessee all moved up a spot by sweeping two games each last week.
The Jayhawks dropped four spots to No. 7 following a 91-85 loss to West Virginia that ended their six-game winning streak in the series.
Uconn moved to the top of the poll last week for the first time in 15 years.
The Huskies opened the week with a lopsided win over No. 17 Creighton in Donovan Clingan’s return from a right foot injury. Uconn then edged Villanova 66-65 in a physical game that had coach Dan Hurley talking about jujitsu, Muay Thai and UFC fighting.
“When you get ranked No. 1 — coach talked about it the entire week — it’s like a temporary belt,” Uconn’s Alex Karaban said. “You’ve got to continue to protect the belt, protect the heavyweight championship.”
Depaul: Coach Tony Stubblefield was fired after he was unable to turn around a once-proud program that has struggled in recent decades.
The Blue Demons were 28-54 overall and 9-38 in Big East play in twoplus seasons under Stubblefield. They’re headed to their fourth straight losing season, with a 3-15 record and 0-7 mark in the conference.
Depaul has dropped 20 of 21 games against Big East opponents, counting the league tournament, since beating then-no. 8 Xavier on Jan. 18, 2023. Stubblefield’s final game was a loss at Butler on Saturday.
Women
AP poll: Kansas State has its best ranking in 21 years after the Wildcats moved up to fourth in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll.
The Wildcats, who climbed three spots, were last ranked this high in 2003. They have a key Big 12 Conference showdown Monday night at No. 13 Baylor. Kansas State is missing star center Ayoka Lee, who is out for a few weeks with an ankle injury.
South Carolina remained the unanimous choice at No. 1 in the poll, receiving all 35 votes from a national media panel. The Gamecocks cruised to easy wins over Kentucky and Texas A&M. Coach Dawn Staley’s team has a showdown at No. 9 LSU on Thursday night.