Rebels drop from AP poll, ranked 23rd by coaches

By Ryan Greene

Monday, Dec. 14, 2009 | 10:32 a.m.

A 95-80 victory over then-No. 18 UNLV on Saturday at the Orleans Arena vaulted Kansas State into this week's Associated Press Top 25 poll.

As the Wildcats (9-1) entered the rankings, the Rebels (7-1) dropped out. Also, following the weekend's action, K-State now ranks No. 2 in the nation in RPI, while UNLV is at No. 28.

In the "others receiving votes" portion of the poll just below No. 25 Cincinnati, UNLV checks in at third, garnering 96 nods from the media. The Rebels are behind Memphis (129 votes) and Wisconsin (110). The Badgers were the only other team dropped from the Top 25 this week.

As for their perch in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, the Rebels fell from No. 17 to No. 23.

UNLV has a chance to play its way back into the AP Top 25 this week, as it plays three games before heading to next week's Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu. The Rebels are at Southern Utah on Tuesday at 6 p.m., home against Weber State on Thursday at 7 p.m. and back at the Thomas & Mack on Saturday against South Carolina Upstate for a 7 p.m. tip.

A 10-1 record at the end of the week might look impressive to voters, as this week's Top 25 already includes nine teams with at least two losses.

Also into the Top 25 rankings this week is New Mexico, which improved to 10-0 on the season with an 84-81 victory over Texas A&M on Saturday in Houston.

BYU was the only other Mountain West team to take in votes, getting 14.

There was a minor shakeup in the Top 5 following Villanova's 75-65 loss to Temple on Sunday afternoon. The Wildcats dropped from No. 3 to No. 8.

Atop the poll again is Kansas, who at 9-0 collected 61 of 65 first place votes. The Jayhawks are followed by Texas, Kentucky, Purdue and Syracuse.