City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
--

Thanks to some losses from teams ahead of it, as well as a win over St. John’s at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Villanova moved up to No. 3 in this week’s Associated Press poll.

It’s the highest ranking the Wildcats have had all season, and they fall behind only Oklahoma and North Carolina, which got 45 and 20 first-place votes, respectively. Villanova, which was ranked No. 6 in last week’s poll, faces one of its toughest tests of the season when it travels to No. 11 Providence on Saturday.

Also in the Big East, Xavier checked in at No. 6. Villanova, which was No. 4 in this week’s coaches poll, sits first in the conference at 8-1.

St. Joseph’s received a vote in the poll for the third time this season. The Hawks, who have won 14 of their last 15 games, got one vote in the AP poll and five in the coaches poll. St. Joe’s entered the week at 7-1 in the Atlantic 10, good for third place in the conference.