Louisville Men’s Basketball was ranked number 1 for the first time since 2013 in last week’s AP Poll and USA TODAY Coaches Poll. They had two big challenges on the court as they faced then number 4 Michigan in the Big 10/ACC Challenge at home last Tuesday and ACC foe Pitt on Friday. They dispatched both teams handily and protected their status as the number 1 ranked college basketball team in all the land.
Louisville is ranked number 1 in both polls again this week. They currently sit at 9-0 and look as if they could hold onto this ranking for a while.
AP Poll
Of course, the AP Poll has the Cards atop it with 55 first place votes. Coming in at number 2 is Kansas. They have 4 first place votes. Number three is the red hot Ohio State Buckeyes. They are the last team receiving first place votes with 5. Maryland at 4 and the Michigan team Louisville handled relatively easily round out the top 5.
The rest of the top 10 is Gonzaga, Duke, Kentucky, Virginia, and Oregon respectively. Duke moved up from 10th, North Carolina fell out of the top 10, Gonzaga moved up from 9th, Virginia dropped from 5th, Ohio State moved up from 6th, Oregon replaced North Carolina in the top 10 at 10th, and Kentucky remained at 8.
USA TODAY Coaches Poll
Louisville also remained number 1 in the coaches poll with 28 first place votes. However, Ohio State is in at 2 with 2 first place votes. Kansas at 3, Maryland at 4, and Duke at 5 round out the top 5. The only other team receiving first place votes outside Louisville and Ohio State is Maryland with 1.
The rest of the top 10 finds Gonzaga at 6, Michigan at 7, Virginia at 8, Kentucky at 9, and Auburn at 10. Auburn at 10 replaced North Carolina who dropped out of the top 10. Gonzaga moves up from 9th, Kentucky from 10th, Michigan dropped from 5th, and Virginia dropped from 2nd. Duke jumped from 8th to 5th and Ohio State from 6th to 2nd.
Louisville begins a week with a tough game in the Jimmy V Classic in NYC. They will take on national runner-up Texas Tech at 7 pm in “the World’s Most Famous Arena,” Madison Square Garden. They then return home Saturday for out of conference foe Eastern Kentucky. That game will tip at noon.
