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Coming off of a convincing 72-40 win over in-commonwealth foe William and Mary, the Virginia Cavaliers moved up one spot in this week’s AP Poll to No. 4. Duke re-took the top spot after Kansas fell to Arizona State on the road. Michigan leap-frogged the Hoos from No. 5 to No. 2 despite struggling through the first half against Air Force. Tennessee moved up to No. 3 after a convincing win over Wake Forest. Kansas rounds out this week’s top-5.
All five of the top teams received first place votes this week with Virginia topping the ballots of four voters.
Nevada, Gonzaga, Michigan State, Florida State, and Virginia Tech complete the top-10. The ACC is tied this week with the Big Ten with six ranked teams, but four of the ACC’s six are in the top-10.
North Carolina, which lost to now No. 16 Kentucky, fell to No. 14 and NC State jumped into the rankings at No. 20 after upsetting then-No. 7 Auburn. Virginia opens ACC play with No. 9 FSU, and will face No. 10 Virginia Tech and No. 1 Duke within the first five games of conference play.
The Hoos are one of five undefeated teams left, joining No. 2 Michigan, No. 6 Nevada, No. 22 Houston, and unranked St. John’s.
Virginia has one more non-conference game (vs. Marshall on December 31) before the calendar switches to 2019 and things start getting tougher.
In the USA TODAY Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, the Hoos jumped two spots to take over No. 1. Duke follows Virginia at No. 2, with Tennessee, Michigan, and Kansas making up the rest of the top-5.
Check out the full AP Poll below:
AP Poll - Week 8
| Rank | Team | Conference | Record | Previous Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | Conference | Record | Previous Week |
| 1 | Duke | ACC | 11-1 | 2 |
| 2 | Michigan | Big Ten | 12-0 | 4 |
| 3 | Tennessee | SEC | 10-1 | 3 |
| 4 | Virginia | ACC | 11-0 | 5 |
| 5 | Kansas | Big 12 | 10-1 | 1 |
| 6 | Nevada | Mountain West | 12-0 | 6 |
| 7 | Gonzaga | West Coast | 11-2 | 8 |
| 8 | Michigan State | Big Ten | 10-2 | 10 |
| 9 | Florida State | ACC | 11-1 | 11 |
| 10 | Virginia Tech | ACC | 10-1 | 13 |
| 11 | Texas Tech | Big 12 | 10-1 | 12 |
| 12 | Auburn | SEC | 10-2 | 7 |
| 13 | Ohio State | Big Ten | 11-1 | 15 |
| 14 | North Carolina | ACC | 8-3 | 9 |
| 15 | Wisconsin | Big Ten | 10-2 | 16 |
| 16 | Kentucky | SEC | 9-2 | 19 |
| 17 | Arizona State | Pac-12 | 9-2 | 18 |
| 18 | Marquette | Big East | 10-2 | 20 |
| 19 | Mississippi State | SEC | 11-1 | 17 |
| 20 | NC State | ACC | 11-1 | NR |
| 21 | Buffalo | Mid-American | 11-1 | 14 |
| 22 | Houston | AAC | 12-0 | 21 |
| 23 | Indiana | Big Ten | 11-2 | 22 |
| 24 | Iowa | Big Ten | 10-2 | 23 |
| 25 | Oklahoma | Big-12 | 11-1 | NR |