Louisville takes over as new No. 1
Louisville is the latest No. 1 following an unexpected loss by Duke. Michigan has matched a record by debuting at No. 4.
A season of parity is taking a toll in the AP Top 25.
Louisville became the fourth team in five weeks to claim the top spot, receiving 48 of 65 first-place votes from a media panel in The Associated Press men’s basketball poll released Monday.
No. 2 Kansas, coming off the Maui Invitational title, had three first-place votes and No. 5 Virginia received five. Maryland rose to No. 3 in a week when every spot in the poll changed from last week.
Michigan (7-0) knocked off Iowa State, No. 7 North Carolina and No. 9 Gonzaga to win the Battle 4 Atlantis title in the Bahamas.
The Wolverines were rewarded with nine first-place votes and matched Kansas in 1989 for the biggest jump from being unranked in the history of the poll that dates to 1949.
Not a bad first season under former Michigan star Juwan Howard.
“I’m sure we’re on the map now,” Howard said. “A lot of teams are looking and seeing Michigan as a name that’s out there. When you beat teams like Creighton and Iowa State as well as North Carolina and Gonzaga, you’re no longer under the radar.”
Louisville wasn’t exactly under the radar after opening the preseason poll at No. 5. The Cardinals (7-0) made a steady climb to No. 2 and moved to the top spot when previous No. 1 Duke lost at home to Stephen F. Austin.
Duke dropped to No. 10 after its 150-game home winning streak against nonconference opponents ended in Durham.
Louisville has its first No. 1 ranking in six years after beating Akron and Western Kentucky last week.
“There’s no team that’s arrived. No team’s arrived,” Cardinals coach Chris Mack said. “A lot of people are saying that we haven’t played anybody. A lot of people are saying we’re not there. Maybe we aren’t deserving. I don’t care.”
The record for most teams at No. 1 is seven, set in 1983, so this season is already more than halfway there. Another jumble could come next Monday because of a slate of huge games this week — including Michigan at Louisville on Tuesday.
Hoyas say 2 players not with team anymore: Georgetown sophomore PG James Akinjo and sophomore F Josh LeBlanc were removed from the roster “effective immediately,” according to a statement by head coach Patrick Ewing.
Akinjo, who is averaging 13.4 points per game, had been the No. 2 scorer for the Hoyas this season.
He was the 2019 freshman of the year in the Big East, averaging 13.4 points and 5.2 assists, while making 39.1% of his 3-point attempts. He started 32 of Georgetown’s 33 games and appeared in all of them.
LeBlanc was averaging 7.2 PPG this season. As a freshman, he started the last 22 games and averaged 9.1 points and 7.3 rebounds, earning a spot on the Big East all-freshman team.
Georgetown (4-3), which is in its third season under Ewing, hasn’t reached the NCAA tournament since 2015.
Wake players held out of finale: Wake Forest held out players from Sunday’s final of the Wooden Legacy tournament in Anaheim, California, against No. 14 Arizona because they “may have behaved in a manner that does not reflect the standards and values of Wake Forest Basketball and our University,” according to a statement from head coach Danny Manning and reported by ESPN.com.
Manning didn’t specify the issue, but his statement came after a Disneyland employee, in a letter directed to Manning that she shared on Twitter, accused four players of rude behavior and using offensive language while at the theme park on Saturday.
One player allegedly directed a gay slur at another employee.
With just eight players available, the Demon Deacons (5-3) shot 32.2% from the field and fell to the Wildcats 73-66