Big Ten has top two spots with Buckeyes No. 2
Wisconsin jumped past Ohio State and Florida into the No. 1 position.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Get ready for another 1 vs. 2 showdown in the Big Ten -- this time on the hardwood.
Wisconsin was the new No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 poll Monday and Big Ten rival Ohio State was not far behind at No. 2.
The Badgers (26-2, 12-1), on top of the poll for the first time in school history, play the Buckeyes (24-3, 12-1) in Columbus Sunday -- just a bit more than three months after Ohio State and Michigan played a much-hyped 1 vs. 2 football game at Ohio Stadium.
Florida's 83-70 loss at Vanderbilt Saturday snapped the Gators' 17-game winning streak and dropped them from the top spot in the media poll for the second time this season.
52nd different leader
Wisconsin, which was No. 3 last week, leapfrogged second-ranked Ohio State to become the fourth No. 1 team this season, and 52nd different school to hold the top spot in the history of the AP poll.
Ohio State was the No. 1 team in the USA Today/ESPN poll.
For the Badgers and coach Bo Ryan, there's not much time to celebrate their new lofty status, not with a game at Michigan State tonight.
So Ryan held his own 60-second celebration at home, with a big foam "We're No. 1" finger he took from his kids, a party favor and a handful of paper torn into confetti.
"I ran around with the foam finger, blowing the horn and throwing the confetti for about a minute," Ryan said with a laugh. "Then I went back into my office and watched the DVD of a very good Iowa team losing by 30 to Michigan State."
Close race on top
The Badgers received 35 first-place votes and 1,747 points. Ohio State got 31 first-place votes and 1,728 points. No. 3 Florida received four first-place votes and No. 4 UCLA got two.
Ohio State has a much easier test before facing Wisconsin, a home game against last-place Penn State Wednesday.
"Our focus right now is to continue to improve as a team and prepare for our game with Penn State," Buckeyes coach Thad Matta said.
For the Big Ten, it's the second time the league best known for its football has had the top two teams in the AP basketball poll. Michigan was No. 1 and Indiana No. 2 on Nov. 30, 1992.
The last time the same conference had Nos. 1 and 2 was last season, when the Big East had Connecticut at No. 1 and Villanova No. 2 in the second-to-last poll.
The last 1 vs. 2 game was also last season. No. 1 Duke defeated No. 2 Texas 97-66 at the Meadowlands in New Jersey on Dec. 10, 2005.
Women's poll
No. 1 Duke has some new company at the top of the AP women's basketball poll.
Tennessee moved into the No. 2 spot to replace North Carolina, which was upset by North Carolina State last week. The Tar Heels, who had been second all season, slipped to fourth, while Connecticut climbed two spots to third.
Ohio State dropped from fourth to fifth after a home loss to Michigan State on Sunday ended its 17-game winning streak. In the only other change among the top 10, No. 8 Stanford traded places with No. 9 George Washington.
Wisconsin-Green Bay was the lone newcomer, returning at No. 24 after a one-week absence. California dropped out.
Duke (28-0) led the poll for the sixth consecutive week and was a unanimous pick for the second straight week, receiving all 50 first-place votes from a national media panel.
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