Duke still tops poll, now unanimously
Arizona is first No. 2 in 31 years to fall out of poll in one week.
Duke pulled off two big comebacks to become the unanimous No. 1 in the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll. Now Arizona could use one of its own from a holiday-tournament stumble that dropped the Wildcats from No. 2 to out of the poll in a week.
The Blue Devils (8-0) were atop all 65 ballots in results released Monday after they won the PK80 Invitational’s Motion Bracket in Portland, Ore.
They picked up the 11 firstplace votes that last week went to Arizona, with the Wildcats (3-3) turning in a stunning 0-3 showing in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.
That made them the first team to go from No. 2 to unranked in a week since Louisville in 1986-87 after its own November tournament flop in the Great Alaska Shootout.
“I wouldn’t have predicted we would come down here and finish 0-3. That wasn’t the goal,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said before heading home, “but nothing’s ever as bad as it seems.”
Kansas moved up to No. 2, followed by three teams that won Thanksgiving week tournaments: Michigan State (PK80 Invitational Victory Bracket), Villanova (Atlantis ) and Notre Dame (Maui Invitational).
Florida, which held a 17-point lead with 10 minutes left against Duke on Sunday night only to lose 87-84, checked in at No. 6.
The Gators were followed by Kentucky, Wichita State, Texas A&M and Miami to round out the top 10.
It ultimately took only a month for the Blue Devils to convince all the poll voters that they’re the nation’s top team. They had roughly half the first-place votes (33) in the preseason poll, climbed to 54 votes after beating then-No. 2 Michigan State in the Champions Classic in Chicago — and now own them all.
That came after Duke rallied from 16 down to beat Texas in overtime and then from double digits to beat the Gators, with star freshman Marvin Bagley III turning in huge performances (34 points and 15 rebounds against Texas, 30 points and 15 rebounds against Florida).
“It’s November, whatever happens we have to use it as the process of growth,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
In the women’s poll, UConn (5-0) remained the unanimous choice at No. 1.
Champs lose
Reigning national men’s champion North Carolina slid from No. 9 to No. 13 after its first loss since last season. The Tar Heels (5-1) lost 63-45 to the Spartans in the PK80 Invitational Victory finale while shooting a program-record-low 24.6 percent.
It was their first loss since falling to Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals in March, snapping an 11-game winning streak that included their win against Gonzaga for the 2017 title.
Longest slides
Arizona aside, Xavier (5-1) took the biggest fall by going from No. 15 to No. 21 after losing to Arizona State in the Las Vegas Invitational title game.
Monday’s Top 25 games
(At) No. 11 Cincinnati 83, Alabama State 51: Gary Clark had 14 point and seven rebounds as the Bearcats (7-0) beat the Hornets (0-7). Alabama State had 20 turnovers that led to 30 Cincinnati points.
(At) No. 18 Virginia 49, Wisconsin 37: Kyle Guy scored 17 points to lead the Cavaliers (7-0) past the Badgers (3-4). Ethan Happ had 14 points for Wisconsin, which shot just 15 of 48 (31 percent) for the game and had 17 points in the second half.
Sunday’s Games Monday’s Games
Panthers 3, (at) Devils 2: Roberto Luongo made 23 saves to become the second goalie to win 200 games with two different teams. Luongo , who also won 252 with Vancouver, joins Hall of Famer Patrick Roy (289 wins for Montreal and 262 for Colorado) as the only other goalie to accomplish the feat. The Devils came in on a 5-1-2 run.
(At) Penguins 5, Flyers 4 (OT): Sidney Crosby redirected Jake Guentzel’s shot past Philadelphia’s Bryan Elliott 1:48 into overtime as Pittsburgh handed Philadelphia its eighth straight loss. Guentzel had two goals and an assist.
(At) Canadiens 3, Blue Jackets 1: Carey Price made 37 saves, and Brendan Gallagher got his 10th goal as Montreal snapped Columbus’ six-game winning streak.
(At) Jets 7, Wild 2: Seven different players scored for Winnipeg, which matched its highest scoring output of the season. Minnesota has lost two straight, getting outscored 13-5 by the Jets and Blues on the road.
(At) Blackhawks 7, Ducks 3: Alex DeBrincat had three goals and an assist, Nick Schmaltz had a goal and two assists, and Patrick Kane added three assists as Chicago won for the fourth time in five games (4-0-1). Chris Wagner had two goals for the Ducks, who have lost four straight.
NHL notes
Avalanche: Captain Gabriel Landeskog was suspended four games without pay by the NHL for his cross-check Saturday on Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk.