New AP Poll

CINCINNATI (AP) -- For the second time this season, Cincinnati has moved up to No. 1 and accepted the honor with a shrug. Cincinnati, which lost its No. 1 ranking because of a loss to Xavier on Dec.

Monday, January 10th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

CINCINNATI (AP) -- For the second time this season, Cincinnati has moved up to No. 1 and accepted the honor with a shrug. Cincinnati, which lost its No. 1 ranking because of a loss to Xavier on Dec. 18, regained the top spot Monday in the AP college basketball poll, taking advantage of losses by the two teams ahead of it. The Bearcats (14-1) moved ahead of Stanford (12-1) and Connecticut (11-2), both of which lost last week. By contrast, Cincinnati has won six in a row, all by double digits, since its two-point loss to Xavier. Cincinnati was No. 1 for five weeks before the loss to its crosstown rival. Cincinnati received 62 first-place votes and 1,740 points from the national media panel, while Arizona (13-2) jumped three places to second after beating Stanford on Saturday. Arizona received five No. 1 votes and 1,640 points. The Cardinal dropped two spots to third. Auburn, which was No. 1on two ballots, held fourth place. Connecticut, the preseason No. 1 which won 10 straight after the season opener, fell from second to fifth after losing to Notre Dame. Duke, which opened the Atlantic Coast Conference with road wins over Virginia and Maryland, moved up two places to sixth. Syracuse (11-0), the only remaining unbeaten Division I team, stayed seventh, getting one first-place vote. Kansas and Indiana moved one spot each to eighth and ninth, while Florida dropped from sixth to 10th following a loss at Vanderbilt. Michigan State, Tennessee, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Maryland, Tulsa and Kentucky filled out the next 10 slots. The last five ranked teams were DePaul, Illinois, Temple, LSU and Louisville. Temple returned to the Top 25 after a one-week absence, and Louisville moved in for the first time since last season. Kentucky, which beat Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt, had the week's biggest jump, from 25th to No. 20, while Maryland, which lost to North Carolina State and Duke, had the biggest fall, dropping from12th to No. 18.