North Carolina did not have a dominant first-place start. Tar Heels opened its second week Heading the Associated Press College Men’s Basketball Poll With coach Hubert Davis reminding his players that it will take some time to find a flow like the one that carried them to last year’s NCAA Championship game.
1st place (2-0) had 44 of 63 first-place votes to finish ahead of No. 2 Gonzaga in his first regular season on Monday. AP top 25which included only minor changes From a pre-season poll released on October 17.
Tar Heel brings back four beginners From last year’s teamincluding the pre-season AP All-American Armando Bacot inside. But they got through the victories last week first Against UNC Wilmington and then In front of the College of Charleston.
After the opening game, Davis said he hoped to have “anxiety and nervousness in the first game.” After the second, he said he spoke to his team about dealing with expectations.
“One of the things I felt was — I didn’t feel nervous, but maybe a little overburdened by expectations,” Davis said. “And I tried to make them understand that although these expectations are noise, they mean nothing.
“I felt like in every game, they were trying to make it look what it looks like in April. It’s not possible. This can’t happen. This is the team of the year.”
Upper class
The second-seeded Bulldog (2-0) got 14 votes in first place after winning against North Florida and Michigan State, The latter comes on the deck of an aircraft carrier. Third-placed Houston (2-0) and fourth-ranked Kentucky (2-0) won the remaining five first-place votes.
Baylor and Kansas tied for fifth previously. This time, Baylor was alone in fifth, followed by Kansas and Doc. UCLA, Arkansas, and Creighton top the top ten.
New Ages
Both Duke and Villanova started out with young coaches to replace the retired Hall of Famers. One had an early stumble that sent him straight off the polls.
The Wildcats turned to Kyle Neptune, who took over in the spring after Jay Wright retired. They won the opening match against La Salle, Then he lost to Templewhich dropped Villanova from 16th to the unranked standings for the first time since February 2019.
The Blue Devils beat Jacksonville and USC Upstate – giving up 82 combined points – In the first two games under the leadership of John Scheerwho took over as Mike Krzyzewski in the Duke’s first coaching change since 1980.
to rise
And Illinois (2-0) recorded the biggest jump, moving up four places to 19th after two easy home wins. No. 14 Arizona and No. 21 Dayton each rose three points. In all, 12 teams advanced from the pre-season poll.
sliding
Tennessee (1-1) recorded the biggest loss, dropping 11 points to 22nd place After losing to Colorado in his home state.
Kansas — which fell from a tie in the voting at No. 5 — dropped Creighton and No. 15 TCU into one place each to round off the four teams that slipped out of the pre-season ratings.
the current situation
Seven teams, all within the top ten, held their pre-season positions.
Hello
No. 24 Texas A&M and No. 24. 25 Connecticut are the two new additions for this week. The Huskys spent most of last season in the AP’s Top 25, and the Aggies joined the poll for the first time under year four coach Buzz Williams. Texas A&M was last ranked in February 2018, a season that ended with an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.
Farewell (for now)
Oregon (#21) joined Villanova as another team to exit the pre-season poll. The Ducks opened with a home win against Florida A&M but Lost at home to UC Irvine Four days later.
Watch the conference
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) led the way with six ranked teams, with No. 13 Auburn and No. 18 Alabama joining Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee and Texas A&M.
The Big 12 ranked next with five, with No. 11 in Texas and No. 23 of Texas Tech joining Baylor, Kansas and Texas.
The ACC and the Big Ten had three, with Virginia number 16 joining UNC and Duke of ACC and number 12 Indiana and Michigan number 20 joining Illinois in the Big Ten.
Pac-12 and Big East had two seeded teams, followed by the West Coast Conferences, American Athletic, Mountain West, and Atlantic 10 each with one.