After a two-loss week, the Syracuse Orange dropped a few spots in the latest college basketball polls, released Monday. The Orange (18-2, 5-2), who last week were ranked No. 3 in both polls, dropped to No. 9 in the AP poll and No. 10 in the USA Today/Coaches poll. Last week, SU lost to the No. 2 Pittsburgh Panthers, 74-66, and the Villanova Wildcats (No. 8 in the AP poll and No. 7 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll), 83-72. After losing to the No. 19/23 Louisville Cardinals and Cincinnati Bearcats, the St. John's Red Storm, who earned votes last week, earn no votes this week.
The Big East Conference earned seven Top 25 spots, four in the Top 10. The Panthers (19-1, 7-0 Big East), who are currently on a nine-game winning streak, are ranked No. 2 in both polls.The Connecticut Huskies are No. 5 in both polls and the Wildcats are No. 8/7. Earning the last spots for the Big East were: No. 15/14 Notre Dame, No. 21/20 Georgetown Hoyas and No. 19/23 Louisville Cardinals. The West Virginia Mountaineers and Cincinnati Bearcats each dropped out of the polls.
The Ohio St. Buckeyes (20-0), who are one of the last two teams in the nation to remain undefeated -- the No. 4 San Diego St. Aztecs (20-0) are the other unbeaten team -- remain No. 1 for the second straight week. The Duke Blue Devils (18-1) are No. 3.