UNC, UConn top basketball polls

0

Associated Press

North Carolina is No. 1 in the first regular-season men’s college basketball poll by The Associated Press after opening with victories over Temple and Fairfield.

The Tar Heels were the preseason No. 1 for a record ninth time. They received 37 first-place votes Monday from the 65-member national media panel — 29 more than second-place Kentucky. Maryland is third with 14 first-place votes and Kansas is fourth with five first-place votes.

Defending national champion Duke is fifth and followed by Virginia, which had the other first-place vote.

Iowa State, Oklahoma, Wichita State and Gonzaga round out the top 10.

Oregon won its opener and joined the poll at No. 25. Wisconsin dropped out from 17th after losing to Western Illinois and beating Siena.

UConn stays No. 1 in AP women’s hoops poll; Cal in at No. 21

Lindsay Gottlieb wanted to challenge her young talented California early, so she took a trip across country to face Louisville.

The Golden Bears came away with two wins and a Top 25 ranking in the process.

Cal entered The Associated Press women’s basketball poll at No. 21 on Monday after beating then-No. 8 Louisville 75-71. The Cardinals fell eight spots to 16th.

“This group is really fun to coach since they are so young,” Gottlieb said. “We had to earn this one since we weren’t ranked in the preseason. The polls will be a good lesson for them on how to handle our business. This group has something to prove.”

Gottlieb’s team opened up the season with a victory over Austin Peay before upsetting the Cardinals.

“One of my best moves was scheduling the Austin Peay game to get some of our jitters out,” she said. “Taking a young team into a tournament like atmosphere, I was really pleased how our players reacted to that environment.”

The top of the poll remained the same with UConn still No. 1. The Huskies open their season Monday night when they visit No. 7 Ohio State. The Buckeyes lost to No. 2 South Carolina on Friday and dropped one spot in the Top 25. Ohio State is believed to be the first program to begin the season playing the top two teams in the country. North Carolina State was the last team to play the top two teams in the poll during the season, losing to both Duke and North Carolina in January 2007 according to STATS.

Notre Dame, Tennessee and Baylor followed the Gamecocks to round out the first five.

Associated Press

No posts to display