Louisville supplants Duke at No. 1
As a wacky month of November in college men’s basketball came to a close, the No. 1 spot in the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll has changed hands again.
Louisville grabs the top spot this week following Duke’s stunning overtime loss at home to Stephen F. Austin. The Cardinals picked up 25 of the 32 first-place votes, improving to 7-0 with a win against Western Kentucky over the weekend. It is Louisville’s first top ranking since the final poll in 2013 following its national championship.
A number of holiday tournament results caused major movement throughout the rest of this week’s Top 25.
Virginia vaults all the way up to No. 2 from the sixth spot, picking up a pair of first-place nods. Kansas climbs to No. 3 after claiming the Maui Invitational title. The Jayhawks also received a No. 1 vote.
Big Ten squads occupy the next three positions as Maryland moves up to No. 4 with a pair of firsts. It was Michigan, however, that made the biggest splash of the week. The Wolverines enter the poll at No. 5 after upending North Carolina and Gonzaga en route to the Battle 4 Atlantis championship. Michigan picked up a first-place nod in the process as well, with the final No. 1 nod going to No. 6 Ohio State.
North Carolina, Duke, Gonzaga and Kentucky round out the top 10.
In addition to the Wolverines, four other new teams enter the Top 25 this week. Dayton makes its season debut at No. 17 after taking Kansas to overtime in the final in Maui. No. 19 Florida State, No. 24 Butler and No. 25 Oklahoma State also move in.
Dropping out are Texas Tech, Utah State, Virginia Commonwealth, Xavier and Florida.