Ohio State reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25, while St. John’s climbed to No. 15, a week after entering the ranking for the first time in more than a decade.
The Buckeyes (27-2) received 45 of 65 first-place votes in the media poll to move atop the ranking.
Former No. 1 Duke dropped into fourth place following a loss Saturday at Virginia Tech. Duke (26-3) received one first-place vote.
Kansas, which held the No. 1 ranking two weeks ago, climbed one spot to second, receiving 14 first-place votes, and BYU jumped four notches to No. 3. The Cougars won 80-67 at San Diego State on Saturday, dropping the Aztecs three spots to ninth.
Pittsburgh is No. 5 following Sunday’s loss at Louisville.
St. John’s climbed eight spots after entering the poll last week for the first time since November 2000. The jump came after a 76-51 home win over DePaul on Feb. 23 and an 81-68 road victory Saturday at then-No. 15 Villanova.
St. John’s has not been ranked this high since March 13, 2000, when the Red Storm was picked ninth in the AP Poll and 12th in the Coaches Poll following a win in the Big East tournament.
“We have been pleased with the steady progress our senior-laden team has made throughout the course of the season,” Johnnies coach Steve Lavin said. “A leap in the polls this late in the year provides further evidence that our group is truly galvanized in their purpose to finishing the regular season with momentum. Our seniors are looking forward to completing their final campaign with a postseason run.”
St. John’s has won six straight and eight of nine entering Thursday’s tilt at Seton Hall.
| Rank | School | Record | Points | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State (45) | 27-2 | 1602 | 2 |
| 2 | Kansas (14) | 27-2 | 1554 | 3 |
| 3 | Brigham Young (5) | 27-2 | 1460 | 7 |
| 4 | Duke (1) | 26-3 | 1380 | 1 |
| 5 | Pittsburgh | 25-4 | 1380 | 4 |
| 6 | Purdue | 24-5 | 1305 | 8 |
| 7 | Texas | 24-5 | 1216 | 5 |
| 8 | Notre Dame | 23-5 | 1173 | 9 |
| 9 | San Diego State | 27-2 | 1151 | 6 |
| 10 | Wisconsin | 22-6 | 1040 | 12 |
| 11 | Louisville | 22-7 | 937 | 16 |
| 12 | Syracuse | 24-6 | 898 | 17 |
| 13 | North Carolina | 22-6 | 797 | 19 |
| 14 | Florida | 22-6 | 688 | 13 |
| 15 | St. John’s | 19-9 | 651 | 23 |
| 16 | Connecticut | 21-7 | 643 | 14 |
| 17 | Georgetown | 21-8 | 559 | 11 |
| 18 | Arizona | 23-6 | 404 | 10 |
| 19 | Villanova | 21-8 | 382 | 15 |
| 20 | Kentucky | 20-8 | 335 | 22 |
| 21 | Vanderbilt | 21-7 | 330 | 18 |
| 22 | Missouri | 22-7 | 261 | 20 |
| 23 | Xavier | 22-6 | 246 | 25 |
| 24 | Texas A&M | 22-6 | 178 | 21 |
| 25 | Utah State | 26-3 | 129 | 26 |
JessieWildcat / March 1, 2011
AZ,
We are seeing the GREEN LIGHT effect from the Ucon thing.
Kentucky has the GREEN light on Shabazz. But, R & R are heading men.
Can not trust what comes out of Kentucky mouth.
Best option is to wait and SEE.
Actions first!
Words , you can throw out the window.
Time to look at Bristol.
Ucon and Bristol are interrelated.
/
JessieWildcat / March 1, 2011
Tokoto to UNC.
Louiv is out.
Duke is out.
The best place for Shabazz is out WEST.
And i am not talking about LA LA land.
/
JonHuskyMS / March 1, 2011
interrelated? does taking 20 point beatdowns from unranked teams give you the ability to make up words?
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BostonCat / March 1, 2011
bazz wants nothing to do with the west. nothing. just like all elite players on the west coast.
pac-10….where your career goes to die.
husky….zona is mexico….there is a basic language barrier for them.
/