Villanova, Kansas stay on top
Saint Mary’s moves up to No. 21 in AP poll; N.C. State upsets Duke
Villanova and Kansas remain the top two teams in The Associated Press college basketball poll, while Gonzaga moved up to third.
The Wildcats (19-1) beat Seton Hall and Providence last week and received 35 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel on Monday.
This is the seventh week on top this season for Villanova.
Kansas (18-1) was No. 1 on 28 ballots. Last week, the Jayhawks had 32 firstplace votes, compared with 28 for Villanova.
Saint Mary’s moved up two spots to No. 21.
Gonzaga (19-0), the last unbeaten team in Division I, got the other two firstplace votes and moved up one spot to third, the Bulldogs’ highest ranking of the season.
Kentucky and Baylor both moved up one place to fourth and fifth, while Florida State jumped from 10th to sixth, the Seminoles’ highest ranking since February 1993, when they also were sixth.
Arizona had the week’s biggest jump, going from 14th to No. 7 with its win at UCLA on Saturday. The loss knocked the Bruins from third to No. 8. North Carolina and Oregon rounded out the Top Ten.
N.C. State 84, No. 17 Duke 82: Freshman Dennis Smith Jr. scored a season-high 32 points to help the Wolfpack rally from 12 down late in the first half and stun the Blue Devils.
Abdul-Malik Abu added 19 points for N.C. State (14-7, 3-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), which earned the program’s first win at Duke’s famously hostile Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1995. Luke Kennard finished with 20 points to lead Duke, which shot just 38 percent after halftime.
No. 3 Gonzaga 83, Portland 64: Zach Collins had 13 points, and the Bulldogs remained the nation’s only undefeated Division I team.
Gonzaga has won 20 straight games, their longest streak since winning that many in the 2005-06 and 2003-04 seasons.
Women
UConn remains the No. 1 choice in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll Monday after cruising to two more easy victories last week.
The Huskies (18-0) extended their NCAA record winning streak to 93 consecutive games. The top five was unchanged with Baylor, Maryland, Mississippi State and South Carolina following UConn.
Florida State, Washington, Notre Dame, Louisville and Stanford round out the first 10 teams in the Top 25.
No. 5 South Carolina 64, Mississippi State 61: A’ja Wilson tied her season high with 26 points, Allisha Gray had 16 of her 17 points in the final two quarters and the Gamecocks held off the previously undefeated Bulldogs.