City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
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Villanova dropped from its spot as the nation’s No. 1 team after three weeks.

The Wildcats, who lost to Xavier last Wednesday, fell to No. 3 in Monday’s AP poll, the second-to-last one before Selection Sunday. The complete poll, which features Kansas and Michigan State ahead of Villanova, can be found here.

Villanova stayed ahead of No. 5 Xavier after the Musketeers lost on the road at Seton Hall on Sunday. In fact, three of the Wildcats’ four losses have come to the three teams directly behind them in the poll: No. 4 Virginia, No. 5 Xavier and No. 6 Oklahoma. Jay Wright’s team was No. 2 in the coaches poll, meanwhile.

The Wildcats close out their regular season with a pair of home games – hosting DePaul on Tuesday and rival Georgetown on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center. A win in either game secures the team’s third consecutive Big East regular season crown.

Elsewhere in the Big 5, St. Joseph’s had a 2-0 week to improve to 24-5. But the Hawks are still on the outside looking in of the top 25.

St. Joe’s seems safely in the NCAA Tournament, but the team still hasn’t been able to get a ranking next to its name all season – something it last accomplished in the 2003-04 season. The Hawks received 29 points in this week’s poll, the most in the Atlantic 10 and good for 29th in the country