jakncoke
01-05-2009, 12:40 PM
Pittsburgh has the Steelers pursuing a Super Bowl XLIII berth, one of the brightest young stars in the NHL in Sidney Crosby, and, well, we'll just skip the Pirates.
Now, the city also claims the top-ranked men's college basketball team in the country as its own.
For the first time in the 101 seasons of Pitt basketball, the Panthers are No. 1, making the jump from third in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' rankings on Monday after previously unbeatens North Carolina (to heavy underdog Boston College) and Connecticut (to Georgetown) lost in the last week.
Pitt received 30 of 31 first-place votes, the other going to the third-ranked, 13-1 Tar Heels, as the coaches' top 10 endured a top-to-bottom shakeup.
Pitt improved to 14-0 after winning its first two Big East games (against Rutgers and Georgetown). Its win over the Hoyas was a smackdown -- a 70-54 victory for Pitt after Georgetown had just taken out UConn on the road earlier in the week.
"I don't think it will change anything for us," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon told ESPN.com's Andy Katz on Sunday night. "We've become rivals of schools over the years, rivals of schools that weren't rivals before."
Besides Pitt, the other undefeated Division I men's teams are Wake Forest (13-0), Clemson (14-0) and Illinois State (14-0). Wake, off to its best start since the 1996-97 season, plays host to North Carolina on Sunday.
The Panthers collected 774 total points in the voting, 60 more than No. 2 Duke (12-1), which was bumped three spots in the poll. Wake Forest was fourth, followed by UConn, with the rest of the top 10 looking like Oklahoma (13-1), Texas (11-2) and UCLA (12-2) tied for seventh, Syracuse (14-1) and Georgetown (10-2).
Eleventh-ranked Clemson kicked off the second 10 after a five-spot jump, followed by Michigan State (11-2), Notre Dame (10-3), Purdue (11-3), Marquette (13-2), Arizona State (12-2), Villanova (12-2), Xavier (11-2), Minnesota (13-1) and Top 25 newcomer Butler (12-1).
No. 21 Louisville (9-3), West Virginia (11-2), Baylor (12-2), Boston College (13-2) and Tennessee (9-3) rounded out the Top 25. Gonzaga, Ohio State and Michigan dropped out of the poll.
With the Steelers playing host to San Diego in the NFL's AFC divisional playoffs on Sunday, it could take some heat off Pitt this week. The Panthers' next game is Sunday against St. John's.
"[A No. 1 ranking] doesn't mean much to me, but it will mean something to other people," Dixon said Sunday night. "It won't mean much to our players. We've been consistently good, but at the same time we haven't won a national championship, so nothing changes."
Go Pitt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://assets.espn.go.com//photo/2009/0104/ncb_a_blair_576.jpg
ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. Pittsburgh (30) 14-0 774
2. Duke 12-1 714
3. North Carolina (1) 13-1 707
4. Wake Forest 13-0 687
5. Connecticut 12-1 630
6. Oklahoma 13-1 593
7. Texas 11-2 546
7. UCLA 12-2 546
9. Syracuse 14-1 526
10. Georgetown 10-2 506
11. Clemson 14-0 480
12. Michigan State 11-2 452
13. Notre Dame 10-3 277
14. Purdue 11-3 261
15. Marquette 13-2 251
16. Arizona State 12-2 238
17. Villanova 12-2 225
18. Xavier 11-2 217
19. Minnesota 13-1 183
20. Butler 12-1 147
21. Louisville 9-3 136
22. West Virginia 11-2 132
23. Baylor 12-2 98
24. Boston College 13-2 90
25. Tennessee 9-3 85
Others Receiving Votes
Dayton 54, Illinois State 50, Michigan 49, Saint Mary's 43, Ohio State 40, Memphis 37, Illinois 34, Brigham Young 34, California 31, Davidson 31, Arkansas 27, Gonzaga 27, Wisconsin 26, Texas A&M 22, Missouri 21, Florida 11, UNLV 11, LSU 10, Kansas 7, Stanford 5, Maryland 1, Florida State 1, Utah State 1, Washington 1.
Dropped From Rankings
Gonzaga 17, Ohio State 23, Michigan 24.
Now, the city also claims the top-ranked men's college basketball team in the country as its own.
For the first time in the 101 seasons of Pitt basketball, the Panthers are No. 1, making the jump from third in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' rankings on Monday after previously unbeatens North Carolina (to heavy underdog Boston College) and Connecticut (to Georgetown) lost in the last week.
Pitt received 30 of 31 first-place votes, the other going to the third-ranked, 13-1 Tar Heels, as the coaches' top 10 endured a top-to-bottom shakeup.
Pitt improved to 14-0 after winning its first two Big East games (against Rutgers and Georgetown). Its win over the Hoyas was a smackdown -- a 70-54 victory for Pitt after Georgetown had just taken out UConn on the road earlier in the week.
"I don't think it will change anything for us," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon told ESPN.com's Andy Katz on Sunday night. "We've become rivals of schools over the years, rivals of schools that weren't rivals before."
Besides Pitt, the other undefeated Division I men's teams are Wake Forest (13-0), Clemson (14-0) and Illinois State (14-0). Wake, off to its best start since the 1996-97 season, plays host to North Carolina on Sunday.
The Panthers collected 774 total points in the voting, 60 more than No. 2 Duke (12-1), which was bumped three spots in the poll. Wake Forest was fourth, followed by UConn, with the rest of the top 10 looking like Oklahoma (13-1), Texas (11-2) and UCLA (12-2) tied for seventh, Syracuse (14-1) and Georgetown (10-2).
Eleventh-ranked Clemson kicked off the second 10 after a five-spot jump, followed by Michigan State (11-2), Notre Dame (10-3), Purdue (11-3), Marquette (13-2), Arizona State (12-2), Villanova (12-2), Xavier (11-2), Minnesota (13-1) and Top 25 newcomer Butler (12-1).
No. 21 Louisville (9-3), West Virginia (11-2), Baylor (12-2), Boston College (13-2) and Tennessee (9-3) rounded out the Top 25. Gonzaga, Ohio State and Michigan dropped out of the poll.
With the Steelers playing host to San Diego in the NFL's AFC divisional playoffs on Sunday, it could take some heat off Pitt this week. The Panthers' next game is Sunday against St. John's.
"[A No. 1 ranking] doesn't mean much to me, but it will mean something to other people," Dixon said Sunday night. "It won't mean much to our players. We've been consistently good, but at the same time we haven't won a national championship, so nothing changes."
Go Pitt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://assets.espn.go.com//photo/2009/0104/ncb_a_blair_576.jpg
ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. Pittsburgh (30) 14-0 774
2. Duke 12-1 714
3. North Carolina (1) 13-1 707
4. Wake Forest 13-0 687
5. Connecticut 12-1 630
6. Oklahoma 13-1 593
7. Texas 11-2 546
7. UCLA 12-2 546
9. Syracuse 14-1 526
10. Georgetown 10-2 506
11. Clemson 14-0 480
12. Michigan State 11-2 452
13. Notre Dame 10-3 277
14. Purdue 11-3 261
15. Marquette 13-2 251
16. Arizona State 12-2 238
17. Villanova 12-2 225
18. Xavier 11-2 217
19. Minnesota 13-1 183
20. Butler 12-1 147
21. Louisville 9-3 136
22. West Virginia 11-2 132
23. Baylor 12-2 98
24. Boston College 13-2 90
25. Tennessee 9-3 85
Others Receiving Votes
Dayton 54, Illinois State 50, Michigan 49, Saint Mary's 43, Ohio State 40, Memphis 37, Illinois 34, Brigham Young 34, California 31, Davidson 31, Arkansas 27, Gonzaga 27, Wisconsin 26, Texas A&M 22, Missouri 21, Florida 11, UNLV 11, LSU 10, Kansas 7, Stanford 5, Maryland 1, Florida State 1, Utah State 1, Washington 1.
Dropped From Rankings
Gonzaga 17, Ohio State 23, Michigan 24.