Stanford Remains No. 1 in AP Poll

Stanford, Duke and Michigan State were the top three teams in The Associated Press college basketball poll Monday, the third straight week they have held those places. <br><br>Fresno State was No. 22 in

Monday, January 22nd 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Stanford, Duke and Michigan State were the top three teams in The Associated Press college basketball poll Monday, the third straight week they have held those places.

Fresno State was No. 22 in the latest national media voting, the Bulldogs' first appearance in the Top 25 since early in the 1997-98 season, while Texas returned at No. 20 after a one-week absence.

Stanford (17-0) was again the runaway choice at No. 1, getting 68 first-place votes and 1,748 points. The Cardinal won their games against California and New Mexico last week by a total of 57 points.

Duke (17-1), which beat Boston College by 22 and Georgia Tech by 21, received two first-place votes and 1,677 points. Michigan State (15-1), which beat Ohio State 71-56 in its only game last week, had 1,607 points.

This is the seventh straight week those schools were in the top three. For two weeks, it was Duke, Michigan State and Stanford and then it was Michigan State, Stanford and Duke for two more weeks before the Cardinal took over the top spot.

Kansas and North Carolina each moved up one place from last week to be fourth and fifth. Tennessee, which was the highest ranked team to lose last week â€” 84-74 to Kentucky â€” fell from fourth to sixth. Illinois and Maryland each moved up four spaces to seventh and eighth, while Wake Forest and Georgetown were ninth and 10th, switching places from last week.

Syracuse, which lost to Seton Hall on Sunday, fell three spots to lead the Second Ten and was followed by Arizona, Virginia, Florida, Wisconsin, Seton Hall, Iowa State, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas.

The last five ranked teams were Iowa, Fresno State, Boston College, Connecticut and Southern California.

Fresno State (16-2) enters the Top 25 on a 12-game winning streak. The Bulldogs, who have started the Western Athletic Conference season 5-0, lost to St. Bonaventure in the second game of the season and then fell in double overtime to San Francisco.

The last time Fresno State was ranked was in 1997-98 when it was in the preseason poll and the first four of the regular season, getting as high as No. 12.

Texas (15-3) was ranked for two weeks â€” 24th and 23rd â€” before falling out following a loss at Nebraska. The Longhorns have won three straight since, beating Connecticut, Texas A&M and Baylor.

Missouri (12-5) fell out of the rankings from No. 20 after being ranked for just one week. The Tigers lost road games this week to Kansas State and Virginia.

Oklahoma (13-4) is out of the Top 25 for the first time this season. The Sooners, who got as high as 14th, fell out from 22nd after losing to Texas Tech, their third loss in four games.

The week's biggest jump was Iowa State's climb from 23rd to No. 17 following wins over Colorado and Nebraska.

The biggest fall was Connecticut's drop from 15th to No. 24. The Huskies lost to Texas and Miami last week, extending their losing streak to three games, all on the road.