College Basketball: Wyoming, VCU Crack Coaches’ Poll for First Time

Wyoming, one of four remaining unbeatens in college basketball, joins the USA Today Coaches’ Poll for the first time this season. The Cowboys (13-0) check in at No. 25, one rung below fellow first-time poll entrant Virginia Commonwealth.

An overlooked dark horse in an improved Mountain West Conference, Wyoming is nationally ranked for the first time since USA TODAY Sports took over the coaches poll prior to the 1991-92 season. VCU (12-3), meanwhile, takes over the No. 24 spot in lieu of a one-loss Wichita State team that beat the Rams in Richmond earlier this season.

New Mexico fell out of the rankings from No. 23 after losing at Saint Louis during the week. Pittsburgh toppled out after successive losses in the week, first to Cincinnati in the Big East season opener and again to Rutgers over the weekend in Piscataway.

There was no movement in the first seven spots of the poll. Duke held down the top ranking for the fourth consecutive week. The Blue Devils again received 30 of the 31 available first-place votes while second-ranked Michigan received the other. Arizona (No. 3), Louisville (4), Indiana (5), Kansas (6) and Syracuse (7) all retained their spots from last week as well.

Gonzaga leaped from tenth to eighth, replacing previous placeholder Ohio State, which lost by 19 to Illinois in Champaigni. The coaches kept Florida ninth and moved Minnesota into the Top 10 for the first time in more than a decade.

Kentucky is out of the poll for the second straight week, the first such time the Wildcats under John Calipari have not cracked the coaches’ poll in successive weeks.

• Others receiving votes: New Mexico 48, Wichita State 47, Kentucky 43, Oklahoma State 34, Maryland 10, Pittsburgh 7, North Carolina 5, UCLA 3, Marquette 3, Colorado State 2, Saint Mary’s 2, Temple 1, Arizona State 1, Utah State 1, Virginia 1