UW men fall two spots in AP poll

Published 10:40 am Monday, January 31, 2011

SEATTLE _ It turned out to be as good a week as ever for the University of Washington men’s basketball team to lose a conference game.

A little over 12 hours after losing to rival Washington State on Sunday night, the Huskies (15-5) found out that they had only dropped two spots, from No. 18 to No. 20, in the Associated Press top 25 poll. UW was one of 15 teams in the current top 25 to have lost a game during the past week.

Losses by Illinois, Vanderbilt, Florida, Florida State and Cincinnati were particularly helpful for the Huskies, who lost 87-80 to the Cougars on Sunday night.

UW is one of two Pac-10 teams in the current poll, with Arizona making its AP season debut at No. 21. The Cougars (15-6) received one vote in the poll but were not among the top 25 teams.

Ohio State, the country’s lone remaining unbeaten, was the unanimous choice for No. 1. The Buckeyes (22-0) are followed by Kansas at No. 2, Texas at No. 3, Pitt at No. 4 and Duke at No. 5. The top-ranked West Coast team is San Diego State, which checked in at No. 7 this week.