Memphis Remains #1

MCLEAN, Virginia (Ticker) -- With two more victories, Memphis remained undefeated and kept their top-ranked status for a third consecutive week in the latest USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll released Monday. The No. 1 Tigers (21-0) posted two Conference USA wins, defeating Houston 89-77 on Wednesday before edging Texas-El Paso, 70-64, on Saturday. Memphis claimed all 31 first-place votes.

No. 2 Duke (19-1), No. 3 North Carolina (21-1) and No. 4 UCLA (20-2) all moved up one spot with two victories apiece. Only the Tar Heels were pushed during the week, being taken to overtime before prevailing 84-73 on Sunday over Florida State. No. 5 Kansas (21-1) dropped three spots following its first loss of the season, 84-75, to Kansas State on Wednesday.

Georgetown (18-2) remained at No. 6 with a pair of double-digit victories over Seton Hall and South Florida. Tennessee (19-2), Wisconsin (18-3), Stanford (16-3) all moved up from last week's poll with two wins. Michigan State (19-3) rounds out the top 10, dropping three spots after Saturday's 85-76 loss to Penn State.

No. 11 Butler (19-2) moved up a spot despite remaining idle since January 26. Texas (17-4) and Indiana (18-3) each dropped two spots to No. 12 and 13, respectively, after suffering conference losses. No. 14 Xavier (18-4) won its only game of the week while Drake (20-1) moved up two spots to No. 15 with a pair of victories over Creighton and Indiana State.

Marquette (16-4) stayed at No. 16 with a pair of wins against South Florida and Cincinnati. Washington State (17-4) suffered the biggest drop of the week, falling eight spots to No. 17 after two home setbacks against California and Stanford. Conversely, No. 18 Texas A&M (18-4) jumped up five spots from the last poll, following impressive home wins against Texas and Oklahoma. No. 19 Connecticut made its first appearance in the poll this season with two Big East Conference home victories over Louisville and Pittsburgh. Vanderbilt (18-4) rounds out the top 20, moving up two spots despite suffering a 74-58 loss to Mississippi on Wednesday.

No. 21 Notre Dame (16-4) also joined the rankings, joining UConn as the only new teams to the poll. The Fighting Irish notched home wins over Providence and DePaul. After making their season debut in the rankings last week, Florida dropped three spots to No. 22 after getting routed by Arkansas, 80-61, on Saturday. Saint Mary's (18-3) dropped three spots to No. 23 after a 63-55 loss to San Diego last Monday. Kansas State (15-5), with its impressive victory over Kansas, stayed at No. 24 and Pittsburgh (17-5) dropped four spots to No. 25 after losing to UConn. Mississippi and Mississippi State fell out of the poll.