Not your usual AP basketball poll this week

Lots of rarities in the latest AP poll, and that includes newly crowned #1 Syracuse. You’d think Jim Boeheim’s spent a ton of time atop the polls, but that really hasn’t been the case. This is the first time Syracuse has been ranked number one since 1990.

If you’ll recall, Syracuse wasn’t even ranked to start the season. Boeheim’s team is the first to go from out of the polls to #1 since Kansas turned the trick in 1990.

This week’s poll also featured another rarity invoving a top ranked team, that being a team going from #1 to completely of the poll. That dubious distincion goes to Texas, a team that’s 22-7 after starting the season 17-0.

The last team to have the bottom drop out like this after getting to the top of the mountain? Indiana during Isiah Thomas’ freshman season in 1979-80.

Damn, Texas really had me going this season, once they got to around 15-0 I’ll admit that I was singing their praises in a big way. Fool me once, Rick Barnes, shame on you…

But let’s get back to the rarities. How about a Kansas State team cracking the top five? That hasn’t happened since March 7, 1962, when Tex Winter was on the bench in Manhattan.

This Wednesday K-State will hook up with Kansas in just the third meeting with both teams ranked in the top five. The last time that happened was in 1958 when Bob Boozer and the Wildcats went into Allen Field House and took a 79-75 decision over Wilt Chamberlain and the Jayhawks.

Rounding out the rarities is an appearance in the poll by UTEP. It’s the first time in 18 years that a Miner team has been ranked.

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