Connecticut overtakes Duke in polls

With no more unbeaten teams left, Connecticut took over the No. 1 spot in The Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN college basketball polls Monday.

Two days after Duke, Florida and Pittsburgh lost, the Huskies (16-1) moved from No. 3 to the top of the AP rankings for the sixth time in school history and the first since a one-week run in December 2004. The Blue Devils, Gators and Panthers were the last three undefeated Division I teams.

The Huskies are one of seven Big East teams in the Top 25, tying the record for most schools from one conference. The Atlantic Coast Conference and Big Ten have each done it twice.

Duke (17-1), which had been No. 1 since the preseason poll, dropped one spot after losing 87-84 at Georgetown on Saturday. The win sent the Hoyas (12-4) into the Top 25 for the first time since Dec. 31, 2001.

Florida (17-1), second in the poll the last two weeks, dropped to No. 5 after losing 80-76 at Tennessee on Saturday. The win got the Volunteers (12-3) back in the rankings after being out for four weeks.

Pittsburgh (15-1) lost 55-50 at St. John's on Saturday and fell from ninth to No. 12.

Connecticut received 64 first-place votes and 1,790 points from the 72-member national media panel. The Huskies have spent a total of 21 weeks at No. 1. The longest run was 10 straight polls in the 1998-99 season, when they won the first of their two national championships.

"It's always good to be No. 1 in anything but it's not great at this time of year. I want it at the beginning of April, but I'll take it now," Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said Monday.

Duke was No. 1 on seven ballots and had 1,711 points. Memphis and Texas each moved up one place to third and fourth, respectively.

Following Florida was Villanova (13-2), which received one first-place vote, Gonzaga, Illinois, West Virginia and Washington.

West Virginia is in the top 10 for the first time since the Mountaineers were No. 8 on March 2, 1982.