/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/29104719/20140222_rnb_bc4_174.0.jpg)
The Arizona Wildcats shoveled themselves out of a hole and once again find themselves sitting quite pretty in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls. Sean Miller's crew is third in both rankings.
The Florida Gators became the new No. 1 thanks to Syracuse's fall, earning 47 first-place votes. Wichita State earned 14 first-place ballots, and Arizona received four. Once again, the Pac-12 cannibalism took a toll, as the Wildcats are once against the only top-25 team in the conference.
This week will prove crucial to the Wildcats' chances at chasing after not only a No. 1 seed, but the top overall seed. Arizona is considered by some as the top overall seed by bracketologist Joe Lunardi, and he's not necessarily going out on a limb with that claim. Between a healthy list of impressive road wins, a defense that's arguably the best in college basketball and the parity in the top-10, UA faces Cal and Stanford at home this week, where it cane assure itself that the regular-season Pac-12 title won't be coughed up to UCLA.
AP Top 25
Rank | Team | Record | Pts | Prev |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Florida Gators (47) | 25-2 | 1,606 | 2 |
2 | Wichita St. Shockers (14) | 23-4 | 1,549 | 3 |
3 | Arizona Wildcats (4) | 25-2 | 1,494 | 4 |
4 | Syracuse Orange | 25-2 | 1,410 | 1 |
5 | Kansas Jayhawks | 21-6 | 1,310 | 8 |
6 | Duke Blue Devils | 22-6 | 1,286 | 5 |
7 | Louisville Cardinals | 23-4 | 1,152 | 11 |
8 | Villanova Wildcats | 24-3 | 1,113 | 9 |
9 | Creighton Bluejays | 23-4 | 1,103 | 11 |
10 | Saint Louis Billikens | 25-2 | 1,047 | 10 |
11 | Cincinnati Bearcats | 24-4 | 921 | 7 |
12 | Virginia Cavaliers | 23-5 | 909 | 14 |
13 | San Diego St. Aztecs | 23-3 | 886 | 6 |
14 | Wisconsin Badgers | 22-5 | 818 | 16 |
15 | Iowa St. Cyclones | 21-5 | 709 | 17 |
16 | Michigan Wolverines | 19-7 | 653 | 20 |
17 | Kentucky Wildcats | 21-6 | 629 | 18 |
18 | Michigan St. Spartans | 22-6 | 552 | 13 |
19 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 20-7 | 440 | NR |
20 | Iowa Hawkeyes | 19-7 | 418 | 15 |
21 | Memphis Tigers | 21-6 | 288 | 22 |
22 | Ohio St. Buckeyes | 22-6 | 253 | 24 |
23 | SMU Mustangs | 22-6 | 155 | NR |
24 | Texas Longhorns | 20-7 | 129 | 19 |
25 | New Mexico Lobos | 21-5 | 113 | NR |
USA Today Coaches Poll
Rank | Team | Record | Last week |
1 | Florida Gators | 25-2 | 2 |
2 | Wichita State Shockers | 29-0 | 3 |
3 | Arizona Wildcats | 25-2 | 4 |
4 | Louisville Cardinals | 23-4 | 5 |
5 | Syracuse Orange | 25-2 | 1 |
6 | Kansas Jayhawks | 21-6 | 8 |
7 | Duke Blue Devils | 22-6 | 6 |
8 | Saint Louis Billikens | 25-2 | 10 |
9 | Villanova Wildcats | 24-3 | 11 |
10 | Creighton Bluejays | 23-4 | 12 |
11 | Virginia Cavaliers | 23-5 | 13 |
12 | Cincinnati Bearcats | 24-4 | 9 |
13 | San Diego State Aztecs | 23-3 | 7 |
14 | Wisconsin Badgers | 22-5 | 18 |
15 | Kentucky Wildcats | 21-6 | 16 |
16 | Michigan Wolverines | 19-7 | 20 |
17 | Iowa State Cyclones | 21-5 | 19 |
18 | Michigan State Spartans | 22-6 | 14 |
19 | Iowa Hawkeyes | 19-7 | 15 |
20 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 22-6 | 23 |
21 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 20-7 | NR |
22 | Memphis Tigers | 21-6 | 24 |
23 | Texas Longhorns | 20-7 | 17 |
24 | Southern Methodist Mustangs | 22-6 | NR |
25 | Oklahoma Sooners | 20-7 | NR |