NEW YORK — Tennessee stayed atop the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for a second straight week.
The Volunteers earned 48 of 64 first-place votes in Monday’s poll to extend the program’s first stint at No. 1 since February 2008. Tennessee (18-1, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) has won 14 straight games — the program’s longest run since the 1922-23 season and one shy of the school record — since suffering a neutral-court loss to Kansas in November.
“To be quite honest with you, I talked to them about (how) it’s new to them,” Volunteers coach Rick Barnes said of the No. 1 ranking after Saturday’s victory against West Virginia. “They’ve earned it, but they can’t forget what got them where they are.
“Is there more noise around them? Obviously, it is. But they’ve got to be mature enough to deal with that.”
The top six teams in the poll remained unchanged, with Duke sitting at No. 2, followed by Virginia, Gonzaga, Michigan and Michigan State. The Spartans stayed put despite suffering their first Big Ten loss at Purdue in a game that helped lift the Boilermakers back into the poll.
Kentucky moved past Nevada to reach No. 7, while North Carolina and Marquette each rose two spots to round out the top 10.
No. 15 Louisville moved up eight spots for the week’s biggest jump after reaching 6-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while No. 19 LSU rose six spots. No. 13 Houston, No. 14 Villanova and No. 20 Iowa State each jumped four spots.
No. 17 Purdue, No. 24 Wisconsin and No. 25 Florida State returned to the poll after being ranked for multiple weeks earlier this season.
Maryland had the week’s biggest slide among ranked teams, falling eight spots to No. 21. Auburn, Iowa and Mississippi fell out of the poll.
Baylor is No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll for the first time in nearly six years.
The Lady Bears (17-1) ascended to the top spot after then-No. 1 Notre Dame lost to unranked North Carolina on Sunday. Baylor, which received 24 of 28 first-place votes Monday from a national media panel, last was No. 1 in the final poll of the 2012-13 season. The team was the top choice among voters for the final 11 weeks of that season.
The Fighting Irish fell to fifth, with UConn, Louisville and Oregon following Baylor.
Mississippi State, North Carolina State, Stanford, Oregon State and Marquette rounded out the top 10. The Wolfpack are the only undefeated team left in Division I basketball.
BYU entered the poll at No. 25 while Missouri fell out. It’s the Cougars first ranking since February 2012.