ARLINGTON, Va. -- For the first time in over 2 ½ seasons, North Carolina is atop the college basketball world.
The streaking Tar Heels have assumed the No. 1 spot in the
latest coaches poll released Sunday night for
the first time since entering the 1998 NCAA Tournament in the
same position.
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| Matt Doherty and the Heels have a lot to celebrate -- they moved up to No. 1. (AP) | |
Under first-year coach Matt Doherty, North Carolina has won 16
consecutive games, its longest streak since opening the 1997-98
campaign with 17 consecutive wins. The Tar Heels (19-2) won at
then-No. 4 Duke on Thursday and are 9-0 in Atlantic Coast
Conference play.
North Carolina began the season ranked fourth but fell to 16th
after suffering back-to-back losses to defending national
champion Michigan State and Kentucky, the latter an embarrassing
home setback.
The Tar Heels, who received 23 first-place votes and a total of
762 points from a nationwide panel of coaches, are the fifth
team to hold the top ranking this season, joining Stanford,
Duke, Michigan State and Arizona.
Stanford (20-1), which held the lofty status for four weeks,
garnered six first-place votes and dropped just one spot after
Saturday's home loss to UCLA. The Cardinal trail North Carolina
by 32 points.
No. 3 Duke (20-2) and fourth-ranked Michigan State (18-2) both
received one first-place vote. As for Arizona (15-6), it is
ranked 10th, moving down one position after a loss at Oregon on
Thursday.
Rounding out the top 10 is fifth-ranked Kansas (18-2), Illinois
(17-5), Syracuse (18-3), Tennessee (18-4) and Virginia (16-4).
It was a bittersweet week for the Big East Conference. Two
slumping teams, Connecticut and Seton Hall, both fell from the
rankings, but Notre Dame (14-5) entered the poll for the first
time in a month at No. 23.
Also back is No. 24 Mississippi (17-4) after just a one-week
absence.
Improving Florida (15-4) is up three notches to 11th and is
followed by Georgetown (18-3), Maryland (15-6) and Iowa State
(19-3).
Maryland and Iowa State both get their shots at the elite this
week with games against North Carolina and Kansas, respectively.
Completing the poll are No. 15 Wake Forest (15-6), Iowa (17-4),
Alabama (17-4), Wisconsin (14-5), Southern California (16-5),
Boston College (16-2), Oklahoma (17-4), 22nd-ranked Fresno State
(18-3) and No. 25 Texas (16-6).
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