Tuesday, February 19, 2002
Kansas takes over No. 1
Enquirer staff and news services
Kansas, the only team besides Duke to be ranked No.1 in the AP college basketball poll this season, moved back into the top spot.
The Jayhawks (23-2) took advantage of Duke's loss at Maryland on Sunday to reclaim the top ranking, receiving 48 first-place votes and 1,745 points from the national media panel.
Maryland (21-3) moved up one place to second following the 87-73 victory over Duke. The Blue Devils had been No.1 for all but one week this season, including nine when they were a unanimous choice.
The Terrapins were No.1 on 19 ballots and had 1,713 points, 61 more than Duke (23-2), which still received four No.1 votes.
Kansas moved into the No.1 spot following Duke's only other loss, Jan.6 at Florida State, but the Jayhawks held it for just the one week as they lost at UCLA that weekend. They have won 10 straight since, all in the Big 12.
“Being No.1 later in the season is much better than earlier and it should mean a little more because you have already accomplished something,” Kansas coach Roy Williams said Monday.
“If you're there the first week it's what people expected. After a couple of weeks it's about your nonconference wins. College basketball is so different than college football where the polls mean so much. Everybody has the goals you set as a team, that drive the team, but I can't remember a time I ever said one was to be No.1 on Feb.18.”
Maryland's No.2 ranking is its third of the season. The Terrapins have held that position more than any other school without ever reaching No.1 — 21 weeks. Louisville is second on that list with 15 weeks.
This is the first week of the season that Duke isn't ranked No.1 or 2, and the Blue Devils haven't been below fourth since the middle of the 1999-2000 season.
Cincinnati moved up one place to fourth, while Alabama jumped two spots to fifth. Oklahoma, which lost at Oklahoma State last week, fell from fourth to sixth and was followed in the Top Ten by Gonzaga, Florida, Marquette and Stanford.
Pittsburgh moved up three places to lead the Second Ten and was followed by Kentucky, Oklahoma State, Arizona, Oregon, Illinois, Miami, Georgia, Ohio State and Southern California and Wake Forest, which were tied for 20th.
The last of the ranked teams were Virginia, Indiana, Western Kentucky and UCLA.
Western Kentucky (23-3) returned to the rankings for the first time since December. which was when senior center Chris Marcus went to the sideline with a stress fracture in his ankle bone. The Hilltoppers more than held their own without Marcus, who led the nation in rebounding last season, but his return for the last four games — all wins — has them back in the Top 25.
The only team to fall out of the rankings was North Carolina State (19-7), which moved in at No.24 for the first time this season last week, but lost 108-71 to Duke before beating Clemson 83-54.
Gonzaga avenged its only West Coast Conference loss by beating Pepperdine 91-78 on Saturday, and the Bulldogs' No.7 ranking is the highest in school history.
Marquette's No.9 ranking is the highest for the school since Feb. 20, 1979, while Pittsburgh's rise to 11th is its highest since Jan.1, 1991.
Virginia (16-7), which lost 92-70 to Wake Forest on Sunday, for its fifth loss in seven games, had the week's biggest fall, dropping from 15th to No.22.
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Kansas takes over No. 1
