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Villanova is AP's top-ranked team for second straight week

The Wildcats, who improved to 11-0 with a win last week over Temple, picked up 45 first-place votes.

Mikal Bridges and his Wildcats teammates are ranked No. 1 for the second straight week.
Mikal Bridges and his Wildcats teammates are ranked No. 1 for the second straight week.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

Villanova maintained its No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press top 25 Monday, picking up four more first-place votes than it had the previous week.

The Wildcats (11-0), who won their only game of the week, 87-67 over Temple, collected 45 first-place votes in the balloting of media members to hold a solid lead over No. 2 Michigan State. The Spartans (10-1) notched 15 first-place votes, down four from a week ago.

Arizona State (10-0), which picked up the other five first-place votes, jumped from No. 5 to No. 3.

For the Wildcats, it marked the second time this year and 13th time overall that they had been voted No. 1 in the AP poll. They made their debut atop the rankings on Feb. 8, 2016 – their national-championship season – and continued for the next two weeks.

Villanova was ranked No. 1 for eight weeks last season, earning that spot over a nine-week period from Dec. 5, 2016, to Feb. 20, 2017.

Duke, which did not play last week, stayed at No. 4 this week, while North Carolina moved up from No. 7 to No. 5 after its road win over Tennessee. The rest of the top 10 consisted of Miami, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Xavier, and West Virginia.

Wichita State, which was ranked third last week, fell eight spots to No. 11 after losing to Oklahoma. The Sooners were one of two newcomers in this week's rankings, coming in at No. 17.