College Basketball: Arizona to No. 3 in AP Poll, Syracuse Slides

Nearly ten years have passed since the last time Arizona sat where it sits today.

The Wildcats are No. 3 in the newest AP Top 25, marking the program’s highest ranking since 2003. Arizona replaced previous placeholder Syracuse, which fell to No. 9 after falling to Temple over the weekend.

Duke and Michigan remain the top two teams in the poll. The Blue Devils received 63 of 65 first-place votes while the Wolverines received the other two.

The Blue Devils received all but two of the first-place votes Monday from the 65-member national media panel. Michigan got the others.

Louisville and Indiana each moved up one place to fourth and fifth, respectively. Kansas, which took down Ohio State in Columbus, jumped from ninth to sixth while Border War rival Missouri, fresh off handing Illinois its first loss in the Braggin’ Rights game, surged from No. 12 to No. 7. The Fighting Illini dropped only two spots from No. 10 to No. 12. Cincinnati moved up from No. 11 to No. 8. Fellow in-state school Ohio State rounds out the Top 10 despite owning two losses.

Pittsburgh and Kansas State (defeated Florida on Saturday) are newcomers to the poll at No. 24 and No. 25, taking the place of New Mexico and North Carolina. Ranked No. 16 last week when they were still without a loss, the Lobos tumbled out of the poll in Week 8 after dropping a home tilt to road-weary South Dakota State. The writers also jettisoned the Tar Heels (No. 23 last week) following their dismal showing in Texas against a Longhorns teams down Myck Kabongo.