Arizona slides up to No. 2 in AP Poll after Michigan State’s loss
Nov 20, 2017, 10:58 AM | Updated: 11:56 am
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
The Arizona Wildcats beat yet another over-matched opponent on Thursday, but it was a game between the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils and No. 2 Michigan State Spartans that resulted in Sean Miller’s team moving from third to second in the Associated Press Poll.
The Blue Devils, who beat then-No. 2 Michigan State 88-81 in Chicago, pulled in 54 of 65 first-place votes from a national media panel in the AP Top 25 released Monday. That was an increase of 20 first-place votes over the first regular-season poll released last week.
Arizona was the only other team to receive a No. 1 nod, getting 11 first-place votes and taking the Spartans’ place at No. 2. Kansas moved up to third after topping then-No. 7 Kentucky in the other game at the Champions Classic, while Michigan State and Villanova rounded out the top 5.
On Thursday, Arizona fell short of the 100-point mark for the first time in three games, but it appeared to take a step forward defensively in a 91-59 win over Cal State Bakersfield.
The Wildcats held the Roadrunners to 39 percent shooting and 1-of-16 from the three-point line on Thursday, when Allonzo Trier scored 28 points, dropping his season average to 30 points per game.
Next up for Arizona is a Wednesday matchup against North Carolina State (4-0) in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.