Canes climb to No. 19 in AP poll; Purdue No. 1 despite loss

Purdue remained atop The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll Monday despite losing its second game of the season, and the University of Miami climbed four spots after a 2-0 week.

The Hurricanes moved up from No. 23 to 19 on the strength of wins over Virginia Tech at home followed by a road win on Saturday against then-No. 20 Clemson.

Florida Atlantic fell out of the top 25 following the end of its school-record 20-game winning streak with a loss to UAB, despite a subsequent 67-52 victory over Charlotte on Saturday.

The Owls got away from their strength against

UAB, which is moving the ball and creating shots on offense. That all changed against Charlotte when unselfish passes led to open three-pointers and 13 assisted baskets.

Purdue’s unquestioned grip on No. 1 is gone after a weekend loss. That didn’t stop the Boilermakers from remaining at the top anyway.

The Boilermakers earned 38 of 62 first-place votes in the poll to remain at No. 1 for a third straight week and seventh time this season. Purdue was the unanimous choice last week, the first for any team this season, before falling at Indiana for only its second loss.

The Boilermakers (22-2, 11-2) have a leading candidate for national player of the year in Zach Edey and KenPom’s No. 1ranked offense (121.1 points scored per 100 possessions) to go with a top-25 defense. But they got down big, committed 16 turnovers and allowed the Hoosiers — up to No. 18 this week — to shoot nearly 53% in a 79-74 loss Saturday.

“When we go to Zach and we make some perimeter shots, the defense gets better sometimes when the offense flows,”

Purdue coach Matt Painter said after the defeat. “And you can’t do that. You can always rebound, you can always take care of the ball, you can always make your free throws, those things there.”

The loss meant Houston collected 22 first-place votes as it rose one spot to No. 2, followed by No. 3 Alabama and No. 4 Arizona each claiming one.

COVID PROMPTS POSTPONEMENT

Minnesota’s game at

Illinois that was scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed because of COVID-19 health and safety protocols within the Gophers’ program.

The announcement was made Monday by Minnesota, which didn’t specify how many players would have been unable to play.

The Gophers (7-15, 1-11) had only eight available scholarship players for their last game, an 81-46 loss to Maryland on Saturday.