After suffering their third two-loss week of the season, the Syracuse Orange are ranked No. 17 in the AP poll and No. 20 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll in the latest college basketball rankings, released Monday. Last week, the Orange (20-6, 7-6 Big East) were ranked No. 12 in the AP poll and No. 13 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll, but lost Wednesday to the No. 9 Georgetown Hoyas and Saturday to the No. 16 Louisville Cardinals. The latest ranking is Syracuse's lowest of the season. Two weeks ago, Syracuse was No. 17 in both polls after dropping four consecutive games.
Despite winning for the fourth time in five games, which included wins over two Top 10 teams -- the Duke Blue Devils and Connecticut Huskies -- The St. John's Red Storm just missed making the Top 25. The Johnnies (15-9, 7-5) are No. 31 in the AP poll and tied for No. 33, with the West Virginia Mountaineers, in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll. The last time St. John's was ranked in the Top 25 was on Nov. 28, 2000, at No. 24.
For the third straight week, the Big East Conference's top team, the Pittsburgh Panthers, are No. 4 in both polls. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish stayed at No. 8 in the AP poll and No. 7 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll. The Hoyas were the final Big East team to earn a Top-10 ranking.
After losing to St. John's on Thursday, the Huskies fell to No. 13 in the AP poll and No. 12 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll. The Villanova Wildcats dropped the farthest in the rankings. Last week, 'Nova was No. 9 in both polls, but this week they are No. 15 in the AP poll and No. 14 USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll.
The Kansas Jayhawks are the new No. 1 team in the nation in both polls after. No. 2 Ohio St. Buckeyes lost Saturday to No. 10 Wisconsin. The Texas Longhorns are No. 3, while Duke is No. 5.