There was not much movement in the latest Associated Press men’s college basketball Top 25, but one team that continues to rise is the Maryland Terrapins.
Maryland overtook North Carolina for No. 5 in the country by a mere two votes, 1,262 to 1,260. It’s the program’s first time in the top five since holding the No. 2 ranking the week of Feb. 8, 2016.
The Terrapins went 2-0 last week with convincing wins over Fairfield and George Mason to improve to 5-0 on the season. The Tar Heels only played once, beating Elon by 14, which perhaps contributed to the close voting between them and Maryland.
This week, Maryland will compete in Florida’s Orlando Invitational, starting on Thanksgiving against Temple.
The rest of the top 10 stayed the same, with Duke at No. 1, followed by Louisville, Michigan State and Kansas. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski set the record for wins coaching a No. 1 team — he’s 218-34 in that category — when his top-ranked Blue Devils knocked off California and Georgetown on back-to-back nights to win the 2K Empire Classic.
The Cardinals avoided Akron’s upset bid Sunday to remain No. 2 in the poll, receiving seven first-place votes.
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Gonzaga, Kentucky and Ohio State filled out the top 10.
Virginia received the only other first-place vote and remained No. 7 after a busy week. The reigning national champion Cavaliers improved to 6-0 but needed a late comeback to beat Arizona State and win the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament on Sunday.
They wound up leaning on freshman Casey Morsell and their stingy defense to counter a 19-0 run by the Sun Devils and escape with a 48-45 victory.
“It’s always a battle of wills and styles,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “We’ll keep trying to become more efficient offensively, but we can never give ground defensively. That’s our statement.”
Virginia Commonwealth remained unbeaten at 5-0 and moved up to No. 20. Georgetown only received one vote despite upsetting then-No. 22 Texas and playing neck and neck with Duke the following night at Madison Square Garden.
In the Associated Press women’s basketball poll, the Terrapins stayed No. 9 as the top 10 teams remained unchanged. Oregon led the way with 28 of the 30 first-place votes. Baylor was second, receiving the other two first-place votes. Stanford, UConn and South Carolina followed the Lady Bears.
Texas A&M, Oregon State, Louisville, Maryland and Mississippi State round out the top 10.
The Maryland women (5-1) are coming off a 55-point win Sunday over Quinnipiac. They will head to Florida to play in the Daytona Beach Invitational this weekend. They face Clemson on Friday and Belmont on Saturday.
This article is based in part on wire service reports.
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