PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Though the men’s basketball season is roughly halfway complete, the BIG EAST continues to make history in 2008-09 with the appearance of nine schools in both of this week’s major national polls.
The rankings are highlighted by the rise of Pittsburgh to the No. 1 spot in both the Associated Press and the ESPN/USA Today polls. Pittsburgh is one of four unbeaten teams in Division I and enters Sunday's game against St. John’s at 14-0 overall and 2-0 in BIG EAST play. The Panthers earned 70 of a possible 72 first-place votes in the AP poll and was the choice of 30 of the 31 coaches polled in the ESPN/USA Today ranking.
Pittsburgh is the first BIG EAST team to hold the No. 1 spot in the AP poll since Connecticut was atop the March 6, 2006, ranking.
Connecticut (12-1) stands at No. 5 in both polls while Georgetown is the third BIG EAST school ranked in the top 10 of both polls. The Hoyas are No. 9 in the AP and No. 10 in the ESPN/USA Today ranking.
Syracuse was chosen at No. 9 by the coaches and is No. 11 in the AP poll.
Notre Dame (No. 13/13), Villanova (No. 18/17) and Louisville (No. 23/21) remained in the top 25 of both polls for the ninth straight week. Marquette (No. 18/15) appears in both polls after a two-week hiatus from the AP ranking. West Virginia (No. 25/22), meanwhile, appears in both polls for the first time.
The BIG EAST became the first conference to have seven teams ranked in the Associated Press preseason poll, while the conference became the first league to have eight teams in the same AP poll when the Dec. 1 ranking was released.
Associated Press Poll
School
Record
Pts
1.
Pittsburgh (70)
14-0
1,798
2.
Duke
12-1
1,660
3.
North Carolina (2)
13-1
1,651
4.
WakeForest
13-0
1,553
5.
Connecticut
12-1
1,474
6.
Oklahoma
13-1
1,358
7.
Texas
11-2
1,348
8.
MichiganState
11-2
1,269
9.
Georgetown
10-2
1,208
10.
UCLA
12-2
1,162
11.
Syracuse
14-1
1,113
12.
Clemson
14-0
968
13.
Notre Dame
10-3
802
14.
Purdue
11-3
774
15.
Tennessee
9-3
533
16.
Xavier
11-2
483
17.
BostonCollege
13-2
453
18.
Marquette
13-2
436
Villanova
12-2
436
20.
ArizonaState
12-2
374
21.
Butler
12-1
341
22.
Minnesota
13-1
290
23.
Baylor
12-2
289
Louisville
9-3
289
25.
West Virginia
11-2
230
Receiving Votes: Michigan 153, California 122, Arkansas 109, Illinois 108, Gonzaga 86, Wisconsin 86, Memphis 67, Davidson 56, Saint Mary’s 50, UNLV 43, Illinois State 39, Kansas 37, Ohio State 28, Texas A&M 27, Maryland 25, Dayton 22, Florida 13, Florida State 13, Brigham Young 12, Miami (Fla.), Missouri 4.
ESPN/USA Today Poll
School
Record
Pts
1.
Pittsburgh (30)
14-0
774
2.
Duke
12-1
714
3.
North Carolina (1)
13-1
707
4.
WakeForest
13-0
687
5.
Connecticut
12-1
630
6.
Oklahoma
13-1
593
7.
Texas
11-2
546
UCLA
12-2
546
9.
Syracuse
14-1
526
10.
Georgetown
10-2
506
11.
Clemson
14-0
480
12.
MichiganState
11-2
452
13.
Notre Dame
10-3
277
14.
Purdue
11-3
261
15.
Marquette
13-2
251
16.
ArizonaState
12-2
238
17.
Villanova
12-2
225
18.
Xavier
11-2
217
19.
Minnesota
13-1
183
20.
Butler
12-1
147
21.
Louisville
9-3
136
22.
West Virginia
11-2
132
23.
Baylor
12-2
98
24.
BostonCollege
13-2
90
25.
Tennessee
9-3
85
Receiving Votes: Dayton 54, Illinois State 50, Michigan 49, Saint Mary’s 43, Ohio State 40, Memphis 37, Illinois 34, Brigham Young 34, California 31, Davidson 31, Arkansas 27, Gonzaga 27, Wisconsin 26, Texas A&M 22, Missouri 21, Florida 11, UNLV 11, Louisiana State 10, Kansas 7, Stanford 5, Maryland 1, Florida State 1, Utah State 1, Washington 1.
Courtesy: Associated Press
