Virginia solidifies its hold on No. 1

Virginia strengthened its hold on No. 1 in the AP men’s Top 25 as it coasts to an ACC regular-season title, and Duke made a big jump after two impressive wins without its top freshman.

The Cavaliers earned 42 of 65 first-place votes in the poll. That’s 12 more than last week, when they reached No. 1 for the first time since the Ralph Sampson era.

The top four remained unchanged, with No. 2 Michigan State earning 19 first-place votes after rallying from 27 down to beat Northwestern. Third-ranked Villanova got the other four first-place votes after winning at No. 4 Xavier. And Duke jumped seven spots to No. 5 after beating Virginia Tech and Clemson despite playing without Marvin Bagley, the ACC’s scoring and rebounding leader who is recovering from a knee sprain.

Virginia (24-2, 13-1 ACC) long ago took the drama out of the ACC race with a 12-0 start and hasn’t played since winning at Miami last Tuesday.

Texas Tech and Gonzaga were tied for No. 6. Honor for USF’s Ferrari: After leading USF to wins over St. Mary’s and Loyola Marymount, the Dons’ Frankie Ferrari was named WCC Player of the Week. The junior point guard from Burlingame High had a combined 37 points, going 13-for-20 from the floor, and 13 assists. #8 Kansas 104,Oklahoma 74: Devonte Graham had 23 points and seven assists, Malik Newman added 20 and the Jayhawks (22-6, 11-4 Big 12) beat the visiting Sooners (16-11, 6-9). The Jayhawks controlled things early, taking a 10-0 lead after less than four minutes.