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UVa Moves Up in the Polls and has a Showdown with No. 1 on the Horizon

NCAA Basketball: Providence at Villanova Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

After going 2-0 against lesser competition, the pollsters of the AP and Coaches’ polls rewarded the Cavaliers by giving them a bump in the rankings.

UVa jumped 4 spots in this week’s AP poll to No. 12. The move put them just ahead of Louisville and Notre Dame, who both lost to Florida State (No. 6) this past week. The 4 spot jump also comes in large part to West Virginia falling to No. 18, who lost on the road to Kansas State, and Creighton’s fall to No. 16 after losing at home Marquette. UVa’s Sunday opponent, Villanova, sits atop the rankings, so the Cavaliers will have a chance to knock off the No. 1 team in the country this weekend.

AP Poll

RK TEAM RECORD PTS
RK TEAM RECORD PTS
1 Villanova (35) 19-1 1,591
2 Kansas (28) 18-1 1,572
3 Gonzaga (2) 19-0 1,471
4 Kentucky 17-2 1,414
5 Baylor 18-1 1,379
6 Florida State 18-2 1,215
7 Arizona 18-2 1,190
8 UCLA 19-2 1,177
9 North Carolina 18-3 1,171
10 Oregon 18-2 1,035
11 Butler 17-3 914
12 Virginia 15-3 803
13 Louisville 16-4 796
14 Notre Dame 17-3 767
15 Wisconsin 16-3 746
16 Creighton 18-2 731
17 Duke 15-4 628
18 West Virginia 15-4 569
19 Cincinnati 17-2 478
20 Purdue 16-4 412
21 Saint Mary's 17-2 290
22 Maryland 17-2 261
23 South Carolina 15-4 171
24 Xavier 14-5 146
25 Florida 14-5 47
Others receiving votes: Kansas State 41, SMU 33, Northwestern 28, UNC Wilmington 14, Iowa State 12, Virginia Tech 7, USC 6, Dayton 6, Illinois State 1, Akron 1, Utah 1, Middle Tennessee 1

The Coaches Poll gives UVa a similar jump from No. 16 to No. 13. Instead of jumping ahead of Notre Dame and Louisville like the AP, UVa sits in between the ACC rivals. Unlike the AP Poll, Kansas takes the top here. Knocking off the No. 2 team would probably be ok with most UVa fans as well.

USA Today Coaches’ Poll

RK TEAM RECORD PTS
RK TEAM RECORD PTS
1 Kansas (18) 18-1 785
2 Villanova (11) 19-1 773
3 Gonzaga (3) 19-0 734
4 Kentucky 17-2 696
5 Baylor 18-1 666
6 North Carolina 18-3 577
7 UCLA 19-2 552
8 Florida State 18-2 550
9 Arizona 18-2 549
10 Oregon 18-2 513
11 Butler 17-3 410
12 Notre Dame 17-3 407
13 Virginia 15-3 405
14 Louisville 16-4 374
15 Wisconsin 16-3 366
16 Creighton 18-2 358
17 Duke 15-4 298
18 West Virginia 15-4 290
19 Cincinnati 17-2 264
20 Purdue 16-4 187
21 Saint Mary's 17-2 143
22 Xavier 14-5 138
23 Maryland 17-2 106
24 South Carolina 15-4 100
25 Florida 14-5 37
Others receiving votes: Northwestern 21, UNC Wilmington 21, Kansas State 17, Indiana 16, USC 16, SMU 16, Iowa State 4, New Mexico State 4, Middle Tennessee 4, Miami 2, Nevada 1