Arizona remains No. 1; Oklahoma, Florida move up AP poll
SportsLine.com wire reports
Arizona and Kentucky were 1-2 in The Associated Press college basketball poll for a second straight week Monday, while Memphis entered the Top 25 for the first time this season.
It was the third week in a row and 11th time this season the Wildcats (21-2) have been ranked No. 1. Arizona beat Arizona State 92-72 in its only game last week and received 58 first-place votes and 1,786 points from the national media panel.
Kentucky (22-3), which beat Arkansas and Mississippi State last week to extend the nation's longest winning streak to 16 games, was No. 1 on 14 ballots and had 1,741 points.
For the 10th straight week, the top five changed.
Oklahoma, which beat Kansas in a matchup of Nos. 5 and 6, moved up two spots to third. Florida, which won in overtime at Vanderbilt, jumped three places to No. 4.
Texas, which lost to Oklahoma State on Saturday, fell from third to fifth and was followed in the Top 10 by Duke, Kansas, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Marquette. The Golden Eagles moved up one place to No. 10, their first appearance in the Top 10 this season.
Louisville (19-4) doubled its loss total last week by dropping games to Memphis and Cincinnati and fell from No. 4 to No. 11, ending its run of five weeks in the Top 10. The Cardinals reached as high as No. 2 then dropped when their 17-game winning streak was snapped by Saint Louis.
Wake Forest was 12th and was followed by Xavier, Maryland, Syracuse, Oklahoma State, Creighton, Illinois, Stanford and Mississippi State.
The last five ranked teams were Georgia, Utah, California, Memphis and Dayton.
Memphis (18-5) moved into the poll on a seven-game winning streak, including last week's 80-73 win over Louisville, the Cardinals' first home loss of the season. The Tigers were ranked for the first four polls last season.
Purdue (16-8) fell out after one week in the poll for the second time this season. The Boilermakers, who were ranked 24th, lost to Michigan and Ohio State last week and have lost four of five.
Memphis' appearance gives Conference USA three ranked teams (Marquette, Louisville), meaning six leagues have at least that many schools in the Top 25. The Southeastern Conference and Big 12 both have four ranked teams, while the Pac-10, Atlantic Coast Conference and Big East also have three.
The Atlantic 10 has two teams in the Top 25. With Purdue out and only Illinois still ranked, the Big Ten joins the Missouri Valley and Mountain West as conferences with one school in the poll.
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