Virginia jumps one spot in AP Poll despite program pause

The Virginia Cavaliers haven’t taken the court since taking down Kent State in overtime on December 4. That didn’t stop the 3-1 Hoos from moving up one spot to No. 17 in this week’s AP Poll, however. Virginia has been on a pause since December 8 due to COVID-19 issues within the program, causing games against Michigan State and William and Mary to be postponed.

There have not been any updates from the program about when they’ll start back up, but Virginia is still scheduled to face No. 7 Villanova on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

Virginia Tech, Richmond, and Arizona State all fell out of this week’s rankings, making room for three new teams. Missouri made the biggest splash as a newcomer, jumping in at No. 16 with a 5-0 record, including a win over an Illinois team that just dominated Duke. Clemson climbed in at No. 24, followed by Michigan at No. 25.

The top-5 didn’t change with No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 2 Baylor, No. 3 Iowa, No. 4 Michigan State, and No. 5 Kansas staying put. The ranked ACC teams didn’t fare well in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, leading to Duke and North Carolina falling to No. 21 and No. 22, respectively. Florida State jumped up five spots to No. 15, and Louisville slid up two spots to No. 23 to round out the six ranked ACC squads.

Seven Big Ten squads were ranked this week, followed by the ACC with six and the Big 12 with five.

Check out the full poll: