For the first time since mid-January, Duke is back at No. 1. That and more with the latest AP Top 25 out ahead of the first Tobacco Road rivalry matchup later this week:
Back on top
After the Blue Devils put together one of the most improbable comebacks in recent memory Tuesday night at Louisville, they took care of business Saturday vs. N.C. State to stay atop the ACC. Those two wins, combined with a Tennessee loss later Saturday night at Kentucky, vaulted Duke back to No. 1 in this week's poll as the previously-top-ranked Volunteers dropped to No. 5. Gonzaga, Virginia and Kentucky each moved up a spot to Nos. 2-4, respectively, rounding out the upper half of the top 10. The Blue Devils secured 58 of 64 first place votes.
You're gonna hear them roar
LSU's biggest win of the season didn't come without controversy—the Tigers eked out a two-point victory Tuesday night at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., but only after a game-winning tip-in that almost certainly should've been waved off for basket interference. LSU followed up that performance with a narrow win over the weekend at Georgia, and they have now leapfrogged all the way from No. 19 last week to No. 13 in this week's poll. Head coach Will Wade and the Tigers now have another tough task ahead of them as they travel to Knoxville this weekend for a battle with Tennessee, which gets the entire week to rest and prepare for LSU.
One-loss warriors
Just two teams remain with only one defeat this season: No. 6 Nevada and No. 9 Houston. Of course, neither team has played the gauntlet of a Power-5 schedule—the Wolf Pack have just the 114th-toughest slate and that of the Cougars is only slightly better, coming in at No. 106 thanks to their spot in the American Athletic Conference. Still, both teams are hanging in the top 10, and it's unlikely either will lose another game this week.
Complete rankings:
- Duke
- Gonzaga
- Virginia
- Kentucky
- Tennessee
- Nevada
- Michigan
- North Carolina
- Houston
- Michigan State
- Marquette
- Kansas
- LSU
- Texas Tech
- Purdue
- Florida State
- Villanova
- Louisville
- Iowa State
- Virginia Tech
- Iowa
- Wisconsin
- Kansas State
- Maryland
- Buffalo
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Twitter: @mpgladstone13
A junior from just outside Philadelphia, Mitchell is probably reminding you how the Eagles won the Super Bowl this year and that the Phillies are definitely on the rebound. Outside of The Chronicle, he majors in Economics, minors in Statistics and is working toward the PJMS certificate, in addition to playing trombone in the Duke University Marching Band. And if you're getting him a sandwich with beef and cheese outside the state of Pennsylvania, you best not call it a "Philly cheesesteak."