Wildcats jump five spots to No. 8 in both polls
Dec 21, 2015, 12:43 PM | Updated: 5:47 pm
Arizona guard Kadeem Allen (5) drives between UNLV forward Dwayne Morgan (15) and UNLV guard Patrick McCaw during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
The Arizona Wildcats cracked the the Top 10 of the Associated Press poll for the first time this season on Monday, claiming the No. 8 spot and jumping five spots from last week’s No. 13 ranking.
The Wildcats (11-1) picked up a 82-70 win over UNLV on Saturday and a 92-37 win over Northern Arizona last week and will host Long Beach State on Tuesday.
UA also jumped to the No. 8 spot in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
Arizona began the season at No. 12 in the preseason AP poll but fell to No. 19 after a 69-65 loss to Providence at the Wood Classic in November.
UA rose to No. 13 after a 68-63 win over Gonzaga on Dec. 5 and its ranking remained unchanged last week.
The Wildcats are the lone PAC-12 team represented in the AP poll, although Oregon and UCLA did receive votes.
The top three spots remained unchanged in Michigan State, Kansas and Oklahoma while Maryland, Virginia and Xavier moved up within the Top 10 and North Carolina, Butler and Providence also cracked the Top 10.
Kentucky and Duke each dropped eight spots to No. 12 and No. 15 respectfully following its upset losses over the weekend.
