ANN ARBOR, Mich. – John Beilein acknowledged Monday he had quite a few text messages on his phone. The Michigan coach just hadn't checked them yet.
"I've been absorbed in Northwestern tape," he said, looking ahead to Wednesday's game.
The Wolverines are No. 1 in the Associated Press' poll for the first time since their Fab Five days – the first three weeks of the 1992-93 season, to be exact.
Michigan (19-1) took the top spot from Duke. The Blue Devils (17-2) dropped to fifth after being routed by Miami 90-63 – the third-worst defeat by a top-ranked team.
The Wolverines are tied for the Big Ten Conference lead at 6-1 with No. 3 Indiana (18-2). The Hoosiers host Michigan on Saturday.
Led by guards Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. and a talented group of freshmen, Michigan has emerged as a national title contender.
"What I'd like to see is what we've already seen," Beilein said. "That they're on a mission to be the best that this team can possibly be."
No. 2 Kansas 61, West Virginia 56 in Morgantown, W.Va. – Travis Releford and Jeff Withey had 15 points each as the Jayhawks (19-1, 7-0 Big 12 Conference) held off the Mountaineers (9-11, 2-5).
Kansas shot 54.1 percent and extended the nation's longest winning streak to 18 games.
No. 12 Louisville 64, Pittsburgh 61 in Louisville, Ky. – Russ Smith had 20 points as the Cardinals (17-4, 5-3 Big East Conference) ended a three-game skid by beating the Panthers (17-5, 5-4).
Pittsburgh made seven three-pointers in the final 13:18 and trailed only 60-58 with 13.3 seconds left. But Smith and Gorgui Dieng sank two free throws each as Louisville held on.
Syracuse – Freshman forward Dajuan Coleman will have a surgical procedure on his left knee today, the school said.
Women
No. 2 Notre Dame 77, No. 9 Tennessee 67 in Knoxville, Tenn. – Skylar Diggins scored a career-high 33 points, and the Irish (19-1) built a 19-point lead in the second half before withstanding a late rally by the Lady Vols (16-4).
AP poll – Baylor (18-1) was No. 1 for the fourth straight week.
Stanford (18-2) rose two spots to fourth, and Cal (17-2) moved up one spot to sixth.
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