Feb. 25, 2002
ARLINGTON, Va. (SportsTicker) - Kansas strengthened its hold on No. 1 and the top seven remained the same in the latest ESPN/USA Today men's college basketball coaches' poll released Sunday night.
Kansas (25-2) and Maryland (23-3) barely survived with one-point wins on Sunday, but remain 1-2 in the poll.
Kansas extended its winning streak to 12 games and clinched the outright Big 12 Conference regular-season title with a 14-0 record, although the Jayhawks struggled to beat Nebraska, 88-87 on Sunday afternoon.
Maryland rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit and edged Wake Forest, 90-89, when Josh Howard called a timeout when Wake Forest had none left and Juan Dixon converted 1-of-2 technical foul shots with one second left.
Kansas received 25 of 31 first-place votes, four more than the previous week, and 768 points from a panel of Division I coaches. Maryland has six first-place votes and 746 points.
Duke (25-2) remained at No. 3 followed by Cincinnati (26-2), Oklahoma (22-4), Alabama (23-5) and Gonzaga (26-3). Gonzaga finished the regular season with wins at San Francisco and Saint Mary's, and now sets its sights on a fourth straight West Coast Conference Tournament title. The Bulldogs open play Saturday against Loyola Marymount University at the Jenny Craig Pavilion at the University of San Diego.
Cincinnati and Alabama also had close calls this past week. The Bearcats edged Marquette, 63-62, on a basket by Donald Little with three seconds left and Alabama beat Florida, 65-64 on a buzzer-beating layup by Antoine Pettway.
Marquette (23-4) stayed at No. 9 while Florida (20-6) slipped two spots to No. 10.
Pittsburgh (23-4) extended its winning streak to five games and rose two places to eighth.
Kentucky (19-7) is 11th followed by Oklahoma State (22-6), Oregon (20-7), Arizona (18-8), Georgia (20-7), Illinois (21-7), Ohio State (19-6), Miami (21-6), Stanford (17-8) and Southern California (19-7).
Indiana (18-9), Wake Forest (18-10), Western Kentucky (25-3), Xavier (20-5) and California (20-6) complete the poll.
Virginia (16-9) and Syracuse (20-8) dropped out of the poll.
USA TODAY/ESPN Top 25 Poll
First-place votes in parentheses.
Rank School Record Points Last Week1. Kansas (25) 25-2 768 12. Maryland (6) 23-3 746 23. Duke 25-2 716 34. Cincinnati 26-2 678 45. Oklahoma 22-4 653 56. Alabama 23-5 601 67. Gonzaga 26-3 562 78. Pittsburgh 23-4 535 109. Marquette 23-4 531 910. Florida 20-6 502 811. Kentucky 19-7 433 1212. Oklahoma State 22-6 405 1413. Oregon 20-7 357 1714. Arizona 18-8 332 1615. Georgia 20-7 287 2016. Illinois 21-7 262 1917. Ohio State 19-6 248 1818. Miami (Fla.) 21-6 217 1319. Stanford 17-8 207 1120. So. California 19-7 157 2221. Indiana 18-9 145 2322. Wake Forest 18-10 106 2123. Western Kentucky 25-3 105 NR24. Xavier 20-5 74 2425. California 20-6 63 NR
DROPPED OUT: No. 15 Virginia, No. 25 Syracuse.
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: (with season record before Sunday's North Carolina-N.C. State game) Hawaii (23-4) 59, Syracuse (20-8) 48, Connecticut (19-6) 45, North Carolina State (19-8) 43, UCLA (18-9) 40, Butler (25-4) 30, Texas Tech (20-6) 27, Virginia (16-9) 27, Texas (17-10) 12, Kent State (22-5) 11, Memphis (22-7) 10, Utah (19-6) 8, Mississippi (19-8) 7, Tulsa (23-5) 6, Mississippi State (21-7) 5, Valparaiso (22-7) 2, Bowling Green (21-6) 1, Hampton (22-5) 1, Notre Dame (19-8) 1, Southern Illinois (23-6) 1, Utah State (21-4) 1.
