Virginia Basketball Jumps to No. 5 in Latest AP Top 25 Poll

The Cavaliers moved up 11 spots in this week's poll after picking up two impressive wins over Baylor and Illinois this weekend in Las Vegas

After earning two remarkable wins over Baylor and Illinois this weekend in Las Vegas, the Virginia men's basketball team moved up 11 spots to No. 5 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Men's Basketball Poll released on Monday. 

This is UVA's highest-ranking in the AP poll since being ranked No. 4 in the preseason top 25 at the start of the 2020-2021 season. Virginia's 11-spot jump is the largest week-to-week increase UVA has experienced in the AP rankings since 1993. 

Virginia is the second-highest ranked team in the ACC, trailing No. 1 North Carolina. The ACC has only three teams in the top 25, but all three are in the top 10, as Duke came in at No. 8 this week. 

The teams that UVA beat this weekend are still ranked in the top 25 - Illinois moved up to No. 16 and Baylor dropped a couple of spots to No. 7. 

Virginia has four games against teams currently ranked in the top 10 left on its schedule: vs. No. 2 Houston (Dec. 17), vs. No. 1 North Carolina (Jan. 10), vs. No. 8 Duke (Feb. 11), and at No. 1 North Carolina (Feb. 25). 

AP Top 25 Men's Basketball Poll - Week 3

1. North Carolina (4-0)
2. Houston (4-0)
3. Kansas (4-0)
4. Texas (3-0)
5. Virginia (4-0)
6. Gonzaga (3-1)
7. Baylor (4-1)
8. Duke (3-1)
9. Arkansas (3-0)
10. Creighton (4-0)
11. Indiana (4-0)
12. Michigan State (3-1)
13. Auburn (4-0)
14. Arizona (3-0)
15. Kentucky (3-2)
16. Illinois (4-1)
17. San Diego State (3-0)
18. Alabama (4-0)
19. UCLA (3-2)
20. UConn (5-0)
21. Texas Tech (3-0)
22. Tennessee (2-1)
23. Maryland (5-0)
24. Purdue (3-0)
25. Iowa (3-0)

Others receiving votes: TCU (82), Saint Mary's (59), Ohio State (56), Michigan (24), Xavier (22), Charleston (17), Toledo (16), Miami (10), Dayton (9), Villanova (7), Arizona State (5), Virginia Tech (5), Saint Louis (5), UNLV (5), Oregon (4), West Virginia (3), Texas A&M (2), Utah State (1), Penn State (1), Mississippi State (1)

Virginia (4-0) will return to action on Friday at 6pm against Maryland Eastern Shore at John Paul Jones Arena. 

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