Texas survived its first week as the No. 1 team in The Associated Press college basketball poll. The Longhorns weren’t as lucky in the second.
Texas moved into the top spot for the first time in school history last week and the Longhorns stayed there Monday, receiving 57 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel. They won 90-83 at Iowa State in their first game in the top spot and then beat Texas A&M 72-67 in overtime in their first home game as a No. 1 team.
But Texas (17-1) wasn’t able to make it three wins on top, falling 71-62 at No. 10 Kansas State on Monday night. The Longhorns play at Connecticut on Saturday.
Kentucky (18-0), which was No. 1 on eight ballots, Kansas, Villanova and Syracuse remained second through fifth. Michigan State, Duke and Tennessee all moved up one place to sixth through eighth, respectively.
Pittsburgh, which moved into the Top 25 for the first time this season just two weeks ago and has started 5-0 in the Big East, jumped from 16th to ninth. Kansas State was 10th, its first appearance in the top 10 since being ninth in the final poll of the 1972-73 season.
West Virginia was 11th, followed by Georgetown, Purdue, BYU, Gonzaga, Temple, Clemson, Wisconsin, Georgia Tech and Northern Iowa, which is ranked for the second time in school history.
The last five were Ohio State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, North Carolina and Baylor. Ohio State and Mississippi State both returned to poll after being ranked earlier in the season.
The Tar Heels (12-6), who lost two games last week and three of four, dropped from 12th to No. 24, their first time below 13th in the poll since February 2006.
Northern Iowa (16-1) moved in on a 15-game winning streak that began following a loss to DePaul in the opening round of the Paradise Jam. The Panthers were ranked for three weeks in January and February 2006.
Ohio State (13-5) was out of the poll the last two weeks but returned following victories over Purdue and Wisconsin. The Buckeyes have won three of four since the return of Evan Turner, who missed six games after breaking bones in his back while dunking. They split the games he missed, so all but one of their losses have come when Turner was out.
Mississippi State (15-3) was 18th in the preseason Top 25 but was gone quickly following a season-opening loss to Rider. The Bulldogs have won 12 of their last 13 games, including their first three Southeastern Conference games.
UConn (11-6) dropped out from 15th following losses last week to Pittsburgh and Michigan that gave the Huskies their first three-game losing streak since closing 2006-07 with four straight defeats. They were 12th in the preseason poll and ranked as high as 10th this season.
Miami (15-3) moved into the poll for the first time this season at No. 23 last week. The Hurricanes didn’t fare well as a ranked team, losing to Virginia Tech and Virginia.
Florida State (14-4) saw a three-week run in the rankings end after losing to North Carolina State last week. The Seminoles, who were 25th, followed that loss with a win over Virginia Tech.