No. 24 FAU tops W Kentucky 76-62 for first ranked victory

Houston and Kansas remained firmly atop The Related Press males’s school basketball ballot after a document weekend of Prime 25 losses, whereas Florida Atlantic took benefit of the chaos to crack the rating for the primary time at school historical past.

Eleven groups within the Prime 25 went down on Saturday, tying a document that has stood for almost 12 years, whereas Connecticut and Marquette additionally misplaced on Sunday to present the AP ballot one among its greatest shakeups in current historical past.

The banged-up Cougars, who needed to struggle off South Florida to keep away from their very own upset loss, watched their benefit over the Jayhawks shrink ever so barely, pulling in 34 of 60 first-place votes from a nationwide media panel. Kansas acquired 23 votes to stay second whereas Purdue picked up the remaining three to remain third.

Alabama remained at No. 4 whereas UCLA, using a 13-game profitable streak, climbed two spots to spherical out the highest 5.

“We’ve dodged plenty of bullets this 12 months by way of accidents and stuff. Generally you simply acquired to get fortunate,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson mentioned. “I assumed we acquired fortunate (towards South Florida). We might’ve misplaced that sport.”

Loads of different groups weren’t so lucky.

Tennessee fell 4 spots to No. 9 after dropping to unranked Kentucky; UConn dropped from sixth to No. 15 after falling to Marquette and St. John’s, giving the Huskies 4 losses of their final 5 video games; Arizona fell two to No. 11 after dropping to Oregon and Kansas State fell two to No. 13 after dropping to TCU; Arkansas plummeted 10 spots to No. 25 after losses to Alabama and Vanderbilt; and Missouri and Wisconsin dropped out altogether after every misplaced twice final week.

Kansas could have had probably the most spectacular week, beating Oklahoma on Tuesday earlier than squeaking by Iowa State 62-60 on Saturday – although the Cyclones had been notable sufficient in defeat that they really climbed two spots to No. 12 within the ballot.

“We are able to play higher, nevertheless it was a terrific week,” Jayhawks coach Invoice Self mentioned. “I don’t imply to say this in a method that comes off incorrect, however individuals would get fired as much as play towards Kansas due to time, and you then add a nationwide championship onto it, I imply, it’s an enormous sport for folk. Massive video games for us, too. So typically I believe we have a look at it like, `Nicely, we ought to be doing this higher,’ which is true in some circumstances, however typically we’re getting some fairly good efforts from different opponents.

“So having the ability to win these video games,” Self mentioned, “I believe, is a mark of a fairly respectable group.”

Gonzaga climbed to sixth within the ballot Monday and was adopted by Texas, Xavier, Tennessee and Virginia. Arizona was eleventh, with the Cyclones forward of Massive 12 rivals Kansas State and TCU. UConn, Auburn, Miami, Charleston, Clemson and Marquette made the highest 20. The ultimate 5 had been Baylor, Windfall, Rutgers, FAU and Arkansas.

FAU, which has only one NCAA Event look in three a long time of Division I hoops, continued its rise below Dusty Might, a onetime scholar supervisor for Bob Knight who additionally labored for Mike White at Florida.

“This group may be very poised,” Might mentioned of his Owls, who’ve gained 15 straight after an early loss to Ole Miss. “Even when there’s friction, they keep collectively and love one another and assist one another. That’s an indication of a extremely good group.”

RISING AND FALLING

Xavier climbed 4 spots to No. 8 after pushing its profitable streak to 11 video games, Charleston additionally moved up 4 to No. 18 on the heels of its 17-game profitable streak, whereas Marquette moved up 5 spots regardless of its shut loss to the Musketeers.

Arkansas took the largest tumble, falling 10 spots to No. 25, whereas UConn dropped 9 to No. 15.

IN AND OUT

Clemson debuted at No. 19 after coach Brad Brownell picked up his four-hundredth victory and the Tigers improved on the very best begin in ACC play at school historical past (7-0) with a 72-64 win over Duke on Saturday. Baylor, Rutgers and FAU additionally entered the ballot on the expense of San Diego State, Wisconsin, Missouri and the Blue Devils.

“Should you’re going to be good, it’s essential to have a superpower,” Brownell mentioned. “Perhaps it’s protection, taking pictures, rebounding – you already know, hopefully it’s a number of issues to be actually good. I believe our superpower is our camaraderie. The unity, the real care and love for each other, is clearly evident. I believe that’s why we’re profitable.”

WAITING IN THE WINGS

North Carolina State and Saint Mary’s are the primary groups to land exterior the Prime 25, whereas North Carolina State went from receiving no votes per week in the past to just about making the ballot after wins over Virginia Tech and Miami.