Kentucky new No. 1 in both polls; KU up to 5th

Kentucky, the only team in last week’s top four not to lose over the weekend, is back on top of The Associated Press’ college basketball poll.

The Wildcats, who were ranked No. 1 for two weeks earlier this season, moved up one place Monday after receiving 61 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel.

Missouri, which got two No. 1 votes, jumped from fifth to second, while Syracuse, which was in first place for the last six weeks, dropped to third after losing at Notre Dame, its first loss this season. The Orange were No. 1 on two ballots.

Ohio State and Kansas moved up two places to fourth and fifth and were followed by Baylor, which fell three places after losing two games last week, North Carolina, Duke, Georgetown and Michigan State. Duke dropped four places after losing to Florida State at home.

The top five was nearly identical in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll, as Kentucky was first, followed by Missouri, Ohio State, Syracuse and Kansas.

See how Journal-World sports editor Tom Keegan voted in the Associated Press poll.

The full rankings are below.

Associated Press Poll

  1. Kentucky (61) 19-1 1,620
  2. Missouri (2) 18-1 1,532
  3. Syracuse (2) 20-1 1,506
  4. Ohio State 17-3 1,411
  5. Kansas 16-3 1,383
  6. Baylor 17-2 1,234
  7. North Carolina 16-3 1,232
  8. Duke 16-3 1,176
  9. Georgetown 16-3 1,045
  10. Michigan State 16-4 1,009
  11. Murray State 20-0 925
  12. UNLV 18-3 886
  13. San Diego State 17-2 832
  14. Florida 15-4 709
  15. Creighton 18-2 682
  16. Indiana 16-4 609
  17. Marquette 16-4 517
  18. Mississippi State 16-4 422
  19. Virginia 15-3 414
  20. Michigan 15-5 396
  21. Saint Mary’s 19-2 345
  22. Kansas State 14-4 252
  23. Florida State 13-6 244
  24. Connecticut 14-5 203
  25. Wisconsin 16-5 182

Others receiving votes: West Virginia 96, Gonzaga 82, Vanderbilt 40, Louisville 35, Harvard 32, Wichita State 28, Cincinnati 20, Illinois 11, Middle Tennessee 9, Dayton 3, Iona 2, Long Beach State 1.

ESPN/USA Today coaches poll

  1. Kentucky (31) 19-1 775
  2. Missouri 18-1 725
  3. Ohio State 17-3 687
  4. Syracuse 20-1 686
  5. Kansas 16-3 660
  6. Duke 16-3 571
  7. Baylor 17-2 569
  8. North Carolina 16-3 565
  9. Murray State 20-0 502
  10. Georgetown 16-3 498
  11. Michigan State 16-4 453
  12. San Diego State 17-2 403
  13. Florida 15-4 396
  14. Creighton 18-2 343
  15. UNLV 18-3 337
  16. Mississippi State 16-4 236
  17. Indiana 16-4 230
  18. Marquette 16-4 213
  19. Connecticut 14-5 203
  20. Saint Mary’s 19-2 193
  21. Virginia 15-3 171
  22. Michigan 15-5 165
  23. Harvard 16-2 99
  24. Kansas State 14-4 80
  25. Louisville 15-5 49
  26. Wisconsin 16-5 49

* — Louisville and Wisconsin tied for 25th.

Others receiving votes: Florida State 41, Gonzaga 34, West Virginia 33, Wichita State 29, Middle Tennessee 28, Vanderbilt 20, Nevada 12, Illinois 6, Cincinnati 4, Southern Miss 3, UCF 3, Iowa State 2, Dayton 1, New Mexico 1