Virginia climbs to No. 1 in AP poll for first time since 1982

Virginia is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time since 1982.

Coach Tony Bennett's Cavaliers earned 30 of 65 first-place votes from the national media panel in the latest AP poll released Monday despite suffering an overtime home loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday.

Virginia (23-2) outdistanced No. 2 Michigan State in the poll shakeup that included last week's top three teams all losing.

The Cavaliers climbed one spot to No. 1 for the first time since December 1982 -- the senior season of 7-foot-4 great Ralph Sampson -- when the AP poll only ranked 20 teams.

"I do not get too carried away with where we are," Bennett said after the 61-60 loss to Virginia Tech. "I always say `thus far,' and now we have to prove it again. ... Now we are going to get a chance to do it again and we are going to have to fight like crazy every game. Everybody is capable of beating everybody in this league and that is reality. If you are little off it is not enough."

Michigan State (24-3) moved up two slots after its win Saturday against then-No. 3 Purdue, which also lost against Ohio State last week. The Spartans received 21 first-place votes.

Former No. 1 Villanova (23-2) dropped to third after a home loss to St. John's. Villanova, which had a five-week stay at No. 1, had nine first-place votes.

Xavier (23-3), which got five first-place votes, and Cincinnati (23-2) rounded out the top five in the AP poll. This is Xavier's highest ranking in its history.

When the Division I men's basketball committee released a snapshot of its top 16 teams on Sunday, Virginia held down the top spot overall, with Villanova, Purdue and Xavier flagged as the other projected regional No. 1 seeds.

Purdue (23-4) fell from third to sixth after back-to-back losses that ended the nation's longest winning streak at 19 games.

Texas Tech (21-4) was No. 7, followed by Ohio State (22-5), Gonzaga (23-4) and Auburn (22-3) to round out the top 10. Ohio State rose six spots this week.

Kentucky (17-8) fell out of the rankings for the second time this season from No. 24 after three straight losses.

--Field Level Media