Villanova remains No. 1 in AP basketball poll

Villanova held onto its impressive lead as the No. 1 team in the Associated Press’ college basketball poll Monday.

The Wildcats (11-0) are on top for a third straight week, receiving 56 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel.

UCLA remained ranked second with three No. 1 votes. Kansas, Baylor (which got the other six first-place votes), Duke and Kentucky remained third through sixth for a third consecutive week.

Gonzaga moved up one spot to seventh while North Carolina, which lost 103-100 to Kentucky on Saturday, dropped one place to eighth.

Creighton and Louisville moved up one spot each to round out the top 10.

West Virginia was 11th followed by Virginia, Butler, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana, Xavier, Arizona, Saint Mary’s and Oregon.

Butler’s 83-78 victory over Indiana gave the Bulldogs the week’s biggest jump, from 18th to No. 13. The loss dropped Indiana from ninth to No. 16.

ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL

1. Villanova, 11-0

2. UCLA, 12-0

3. Kansas, 10-1

4. Baylor, 11-0

5. Duke, 10-1

6. Kentucky, 10-1

7. Gonzaga, 11-0

8. North Carolina, 10-2

9. Creighton, 11-0

10. Louisville, 10-1

11. West Virginia, 9-1

12. Virginia, 9-1

13. Butler, 10-1

14. Wisconsin, 10-2

15. Purdue, 9-2

16. Indiana, 8-2

17. Xavier, 9-2

18. Arizona, 10-2

19. Saint Mary's (Calif.), 8-1

20. Oregon, 10-2

21. Florida State, 11-1

22. South Carolina, 9-1

23. Southern California, 10-0

24. Cincinnati, 9-2

25. Notre Dame, 9-2

Others receiving votes: Florida 48, Virginia Tech 40, Maryland 27, Seton Hall 15, Oklahoma State 8, Valparaiso 7, Minnesota 6, Miami 5, Northwestern 4, Clemson 1, Iowa State 1, Kansas State 1, Loyola of Chicago 1.